List of United States commuter rail systems
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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 2025[2] |
Average ridership weekdays, Q4 2025[3] |
Route length |
Average ridership per mile weekdays, Q4 2025[3] |
Year Opened |
Lines | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long Island Rail Road | New York / Long Island | 103,474,900 | 336,300 | 321 miles (517 km)[4] | 862 | 1834[5] | 11[5] | 124[5] |
| 2 | Metro-North Railroad | New York / Stamford / New Haven | 71,758,600 | 264,100 | 385 miles (620 km)[6] | 611 | 1983[7] | 5[6][note 1] | 122[6] |
| 3 | NJ Transit Rail Operations | New York / Newark / Trenton / Philadelphia | 62,029,400 | 140,666[note 2] | 530 miles (850 km)[8] | 265 | 1983[9] | 11[10][note 1] | 164[10] |
| 4 | Metra | Chicago, IL | 37,950,100 | 167,900 | 487.5 miles (784.6 km)[11] | 346 | 1984 | 11[11] | 243[11] |
| 5 | MBTA Commuter Rail | Boston / Worcester / Providence | 29,707,200 | 107,500 | 429 miles (690 km)[12] | 282 | 1973 | 12[13] | 142[14] |
| 6 | SEPTA Regional Rail | Philadelphia / Trenton / Wilmington | 22,771,200 | 84,700 | 280 miles (450 km)[15] | 278 | 1983 | 13[15] | 153 |
| 7 | Caltrain | San Francisco / San Jose | 11,212,300 | 37,100 | 77 miles (124 km)[16] | 321 | 1863 | 1 | 32[16] |
| 8 | RTD Commuter Rail | Denver | 8,644,700 | 36,500 | 54.09 miles (87.05 km)[17] | 518 | 2016 | 4 | 22 |
| 9 | Metrolink | Los Angeles / San Bernardino / Anaheim / Riverside / Irvine | 6,063,500 | 20,800 | 545.7 miles (878.2 km)[18] | 35 | 1992 | 7[19] | 62[19] |
| 10 | MARC Train | Baltimore / Washington, D.C. | 5,222,500 | 15,900 | 187 miles (301 km) | 74 | 1984 | 3 | 43 |
| 11 | Tri-Rail | Miami / Fort Lauderdale | 4,924,100 | 13,400 | 80 miles (130 km)[20] | 193 | 1987 | 2[20] | 19[20] |
| 12 | FrontRunner | Salt Lake City | 4,141,900 | 14,300 | 88 miles (142 km) | 170 | 2008 | 1 | 16 |
| 13 | Virginia Railway Express | Washington, D.C. | 2,364,000 | 7,900 | 90 miles (140 km)[21] | 70 | 1992 | 2[21] | 18[21] |
| 14 | South Shore Line | Chicago / South Bend | 2,029,900 | 6,300 | 90 miles (140 km)[22] | 70 | 1908 | 1 | 18 |
| 15 | Sounder commuter rail | Seattle / Tacoma | 1,981,100 | 7,700 | 82 miles (132 km)[23] | 88 | 2000 | 2 | 12[23] |
| 16 | eBART | Contra Costa County, CA | 1,431,700 | 4,900 | 10.1 miles (16.3 km) | 446 | 2018 | 1 | 3 |
| 17 | Keystone Service | Philadelphia / Harrisburg | 1,380,000 | 4,500 | 104.6 miles (168.3 km) | 31 | 1972 | 1 | 12 |
| 18 | Trinity Railway Express | Dallas / Fort Worth | 1,337,600 | 4,700 | 34 miles (55 km) | 121 | 1996 | 1 | 10 |
| 19 | Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit | San Rafael / Santa Rosa | 1,329,300 | 4,400 | 48 miles (77 km) | 76 | 2017 | 1 | 14[24] |
| 20 | SunRail | Greater Orlando, Florida | 1,322,500 | 5,200 | 49 miles (79 km)[25] | 94 | 2014 | 1 | 17 |
| 21 | Capitol Corridor | San Jose / Oakland / Sacramento | 1,194,500 | 1,847[note 3] | 168 miles (270 km) | 11 | 1991 | 1 | 15 |
| 22 | Coaster | San Diego / Oceanside | 993,300 | 2,500 | 41 miles (66 km)[26] | 73 | 1995[26] | 1[26] | 8[26] |
| 23 | TEXRail | Fort Worth | 906,800 | 3,000 | 27 miles (43 km) | 81 | 2019 | 1 | 9 |
| 24 | Rail Runner Express | Albuquerque / Santa Fe | 771,100 | 2,300 | 97 miles (156 km) | 29 | 2006 | 1 | 13 |
| 25 | Altamont Corridor Express | San Jose / Stockton | 763,800 | 2,900 | 86 miles (138 km)[27] | 36 | 1998 | 1[27] | 10[27] |
| 26 | CapMetro Rail | Austin | 620,600 | 1,900 | 32 miles (51 km)[28] | 50 | 2010 | 1 | 9[28] |
| 27 | Downeaster | Boston / Brunswick, ME | 591,948 | 1,219[note 3] | 148 miles (238 km) | 8 | 2001 | 1 | 12 |
| 28 | A-Train | Denton, TX | 277,300 | 1,100 | 21 miles (34 km) | 48 | 2011 | 1 | 6 |
| 29 | Shore Line East | New Haven | 246,600 | 900 | 90 miles (140 km) | 18[note 4] | 1990 | 1 | 13 |
| 30 | WeGo Star | Nashville | 153,900 | 600 | 32 miles (51 km) | 16 | 2006 | 1 | 7 |
| 31 | WES Commuter Rail | Beaverton, OR, Wilsonville | 125,400 | 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. |
| PATH | New York / Newark / Hudson County | 1908 | 14 | Despite legally being a commuter railroad under the jurisdiction of the FRA, the PATH functions and operates as a rapid transit system. |
See also
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- Q4 2022
- 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.