List of United States commuter rail systems

The following is a list of commuter rail systems in the United States, ranked by ridership. All figures come from the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) Ridership Reports Statistics for the fourth quarter of 2023,[1] unless otherwise indicated.

List

Rank System Major cities
served 		Annual
ridership
(2024)[1] 		Average
ridership
weekdays, Q3 2025[2] 		Route
length 		Average
ridership
per mile
weekdays, Q3 2025[2] 		Year
Opened 		Lines Stations
1 Long Island Rail Road New York 83,777,900 325,500 321 miles (517 km)[3] 862 1834[4] 11[4] 124[4]
2 Metro-North Railroad New York / Stamford / New Haven 67,778,000 255,700 385 miles (620 km)[5] 611 1983[6] 5[5][note 1] 122[5]
3 NJ Transit Rail Operations New York / Newark / Trenton / Philadelphia 59,447,200 140,666[note 2] 530 miles (850 km)[7] 265 1983[8] 11[9][note 1] 164[9]
4 Metra Chicago, IL 34,877,600 183,200 487.5 miles (784.6 km)[10] 346 1984 11[10] 243[10]
5 MBTA Commuter Rail Boston / Worcester / Providence 30,343,900 100,200 429 miles (690 km)[11] 282 1973 13[12] 142[13]
6 SEPTA Regional Rail Philadelphia / Trenton / Wilmington 22,742,200 84,700 280 miles (450 km)[14] 278 1983 13[14] 153
7 RTD Commuter Rail Denver 8,331,200 37,300 54.09 miles (87.05 km)[15] 518 2016 4 22
8 Caltrain San Francisco / San Jose 7,201,600 40,300 77 miles (124 km)[16] 321 1863 1 32[16]
9 Metrolink Los Angeles / San Bernardino / Anaheim / Riverside / Irvine 5,647,700 20,200 545.7 miles (878.2 km)[17] 35 1992 7[18] 62[18]
10 Tri-Rail Miami / Fort Lauderdale 4,952,500 13,000 80 miles (130 km)[19] 193 1987 2[19] 19[19]
11 MARC Train Baltimore / Washington, D.C. 4,187,100 19,300 187 miles (301 km) 74 1984 3 43
12 FrontRunner Salt Lake City 4,128,700 14,900 88 miles (142 km) 170 2008 1 16
13 Sounder commuter rail Seattle / Tacoma 1,875,400 8,200 82 miles (132 km)[20] 88 2000 2 12[20]
14 South Shore Line Chicago / South Bend 1,766,600 7,200 90 miles (140 km)[21] 70 1908 1 18
15 Virginia Railway Express Washington, D.C. 1,605,300 10,500 90 miles (140 km)[22] 70 1992 2[22] 18[22]
16 eBART Contra Costa County, CA 1,286,400 4,800 10.1 miles (16.3 km) 446 2018 1 3
17 Keystone Service Philadelphia / Harrisburg 1,269,005 3,200[note 3] 104.6 miles (168.3 km) 31 1972 1 12
18 Trinity Railway Express Dallas / Fort Worth 1,265,500 4,400 34 miles (55 km) 121 1996 1 10
19 SunRail Greater Orlando, Florida 1,215,400 4,900 49 miles (79 km)[23] 94 2014 1 17
20 Capitol Corridor San Jose / Oakland / Sacramento 1,032,632 1,847[note 3] 168 miles (270 km) 11 1991 1 15
21 Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit San Rafael / Santa Rosa 973,700 4,800 48 miles (77 km) 76 2017 1 14[24]
22 Coaster San Diego / Oceanside 871,200 3,500 41 miles (66 km)[25] 73 1995[25] 1[25] 8[25]
23 TEXRail Fort Worth 809,300 2,400 27 miles (43 km) 81 2019 1 9
24 Rail Runner Express Albuquerque / Santa Fe 773,900 2,500 97 miles (156 km) 29 2006 1 13
25 Altamont Corridor Express San Jose / Stockton 763,800 2,900 86 miles (138 km)[26] 36 1998 1[26] 10[26]
26 Downeaster Boston / Brunswick, ME 591,948 1,219[note 3] 148 miles (238 km) 8 2001 1 12
27 CapMetro Rail Austin 562,600 2,000 32 miles (51 km)[27] 50 2010 1 9[27]
28 A-Train Denton, TX 273,000 1,100 21 miles (34 km) 48 2011 1 6
29 Shore Line East New Haven 192,500 900 90 miles (140 km) 18[note 4] 1990 1 13
30 WeGo Star Nashville 125,900 600 32 miles (51 km) 16 2006 1 7
31 WES Commuter Rail Beaverton, OR, Wilsonville 118,900 500 14.7 miles (23.7 km) 20 2009 1 5

Systems excluded from ridership table

System Largest city(s) served Opened Route length (mi) Reason(s) for exclusion from Ridership table
Hartford Line Hartford / New Haven / Springfield 2018 63 APTA does not provide ridership figures for this system.
Arrow San Bernardino 2022 9 This system is currently too new for APTA to provide ridership figures.
Silver Line Dallas 2025 26 This system is currently too new for APTA to provide ridership figures.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b There are 3 lines operated directly by Metro North, the Harlem Line, Hudson Line, and New Haven Line. The Port Jervis Line is operated under contract by NJ Transit, which also owns the Pascack Valley Line that extends into New York. The New Haven Line has 3 branch lines, the New Canaan Branch, Danbury Branch, and Waterbury Branch.
  2. ^ This is the Average Daily Ridership figure, not an "Average Weekday Ridership" figure – it is averaged from the 2023 First Quarter Ridership figure for this system.
  3. ^ a b c Q4 2022
  4. ^ Only one daily round trip runs the full 90-mile route. All other trips run only the 50 miles (80 km) between New Haven and New London. This figure uses the latter distance.

References

  1. ^ a b "Public Transportation Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA). February 19, 2025. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  2. ^ a b "Transit Ridership Report Third Quarter 2025" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. November 20, 2025. Retrieved 2025-12-01.
  3. ^ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Years Ended December 31, 2012 and 2011" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). June 21, 2013. p. 146. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  4. ^ a b c "Long Island Rail Road - General Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  5. ^ a b c "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Years Ended December 31, 2012 and 2011" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). June 21, 2013. p. 147. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  6. ^ "MTA Metro-North Railroad - MNR About MNR". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  7. ^ "New Jersey State Rail Plan" (PDF). State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation. April 2015. p. ES-5. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  8. ^ "NJ Transit - About Us - History & Structure". NJ Transit. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  9. ^ a b "NJ Transit Facts at a Glance Fiscal Year 2015" (PDF). NJ Transit. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  10. ^ a b c "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  11. ^ "Commuter Rail Safety and Resiliency Program". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  12. ^ "MBTA STATE OF THE SERVICE Commuter Rail" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  13. ^ "Schedules: Commuter Rail". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  14. ^ a b "SEPTA - Media Guide" (PDF). SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority). 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  15. ^ "RTD - Facts & Figures". Regional Transportation District. April 4, 2020. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
  16. ^ a b "Caltrain Modernization Quarterly Update" (PDF). Caltrain. February 2016. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  17. ^ "Metrolink Celebrates 30th Anniversary by Gifting Customers and Introducing New Logo". Metrolink Celebrates 30th Anniversary by Gifting Customers and Introducing New Logo (Press release). October 26, 2022. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  18. ^ a b c "Transportation Division - Moving Around - Tri-Rail". City of Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  19. ^ a b "Sound Transit Transit Development Plan 2024–2029" (PDF). Sound Transit. August 22, 2024. pp. 9, 24–25. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  20. ^ Jay Jones (July 8, 2012). "Dunes Country choo-choo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-05-27. Along the 90-mile route, sightseeing and recreational opportunities are plentiful...
  21. ^ a b c "VRE Strategic Plan Executive Summary" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. May 2004. p. v. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  22. ^ "SunRail Celebrates Phase 2 Groundbreaking". SunRail. April 22, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  23. ^ "Stations".
  24. ^ a b c d "COASTER Fact Sheet" (PDF). North County Transit District. January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  25. ^ a b c Dan Leavitt (July 23, 2015). "ACEforward IMPROVING THE ALTAMONT CORRIDOR EXPRESS" (PDF). San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. p. 1. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
  26. ^ a b "Data and Statistics - Fast Facts". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.