The Future of Commuter Rail in North America (2025)
Chapter: 3 Overview of Commuter Rail Systems Today
CHAPTER 3
Overview of Commuter Rail Systems Today
Within the FTA classification of commuter rail and the 28 U.S. and Canadian systems that fit it are three subsets of commuter rail systems, which could have substantial implications for their respective futures. For example, some commuter rail providers have served urban cores and suburban communities for decades and usually provide off-peak and weekend service. In other cases, systems have started operations within the past three decades, exclusively serving downtown trips in the morning and return trips to park-and-ride lots in the afternoon. Table 3 lists all the FTA-classified commuter rail systems, their ridership, and high-level operating attributes.23 These are broken down into three categories for the purposes of defining commuter rail:
- Legacy: Commuter rail systems that have been operational since before 198924
- New All-Day: Commuter rail systems that started operation in 1989 and operate off-peak service, weekend service, or both
- New Peak Only: Commuter rail systems that started operation in 1989 and only operate during peak periods
These are simplistic initial classifications, but the table does provide important insights into defining what commuter rail is and what its future might look like in different contexts. First, there is a clear division of ridership recovery between those systems that operate more of a regional rail pattern with off-peak and weekend service and those that do not, with much stronger recovery associated with broader service plans. Also, legacy systems often serve suburban areas with denser land use that developed over a century, rather than most new systems, where land use is heavily or exclusively park-and-ride. These factors need to be explored to better understand long-term service goals and outcomes.
Table 3. Commuter rail systems in the United States, by ridership recovery.
| Agency/Service | Region | Classification | October 2019 Ridership | October 2024 Ridership | Percent Recovery | Weekend Service? | Off-Peak Service? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMARTa | Marin County, California | New—all day | 57,222 | 96,599 | 169 |  | |
| TEXRaila | Fort Worth | New—all day | 41,943 | 70,164 | 167 | | |
| Tri-Railb | South Florida | New—all day | 355,315 | 366,945 | 103 | | |
| MBTA Commuter Rail | Boston | Legacy | 2,911,497 | 2,975,340 | 102 | | |
| GO Transitc | Toronto | Legacy | 5,479,800 | 5,061,100 | 92 | | |
| Utah Transit Authority | Salt Lake City | New—all day | 503,782 | 433,517 | 86 | | |
| Rio Metro Regional Transit District | Albuquerque | New—all day | 69,968 | 57,978 | 83 | | |
| SunRailb | Central Florida | New—all day | 123,686 | 100,394 | 81 |  | |
| Metro-North | New York City | Legacy | 8,304,380 | 6,443,722 | 78 | | |
| New Jersey Transit | New York City | Legacy | 7,978,160 | 6,024,674 | 76 | | |
| Denver RTDa | Denver | New—all day | 947,911 | 704,702 | 74 | | |
| Long Island Rail Road | New York City | Legacy | 10,221,898 | 7,337,480 | 72 | | |
| North County Transit District | San Diego | New—all day | 111,045 | 76,711 | 69 | | |
| SEPTA | Philadelphia | Legacy | 3,268,776 | 2,203,589 | 67 | | |
| Trinity Railway Express, A-Train | Dallas | New—all day | 226,920 | 143,112 | 63 | | |
| Caltraind | San Francisco | Legacy | 1,898,725 | 1,191,615 | 63 | | |
| Metra | Chicago | Legacy | 5,707,631 | 3,424,499 | 60 | | |
| West Coast Expressc | Vancouver | New—peak only | 215,200 | 127,400 | 59 | | |
| Altamont Corridor Express | San Jose, California | New—peak only | 141,701 | 83,594 | 59 | | |
| EXOc | Montreal | Legacy | 1,272,483 | 749,495 | 59 | | |
| South Shore Line | Chicago | Legacy | 288,904 | 168,948 | 58 | | |
| Metrolink | Los Angeles | New—all day | 1,091,193 | 551,770 | 51 | | |
| WeGo Star | Nashville | New—peak only | 28,733 | 13,380 | 47 | | |
| Sounder | Seattle | New—peak only | 442,159 | 187,622 | 42 | | |
| MARC | Maryland/DC | Legacy | 855,182 | 306,000 | 36 | | |
| Virginia Railway Express | Virginia/DC | New—peak only | 423,777 | 148,849 | 35 | | |
| Shore Line East | New Haven | New—all day | 56,966 | 16,991 | 30 | | |
| Northstar | Minneapolis | New—peak only | 62,755 | 10,838 | 17 | | |
a TEXRail, SMART, and Denver RTD have opened extensions of the current service since May 2019.
b Hurricanes Helene and Milton affected commuter rail service in Florida in October 2024. This table compares the average of July, August, and September for 2019 and 2024 for the two systems located in Florida.
c Data on the Canadian systems were available for September 2019 and September 2024 using the APTA ridership reports.
d Caltrain doubled weekend and off-peak service frequency in late September 2024 as part of its service electrification, which is discussed further in a case study.
Note: Not all systems operate weekend service or off-peak service on all lines.
Sources: Federal Transit Database, FTA, 2024; schedule information from individual agency websites. “Off-peak service” is any service that operates outside traditional office commuting hours.
