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
editRank | System | Major cities served |
Annual Ridership (2023)[1] |
Average Weekday Ridership (Q1 2023)[2] |
Route miles |
Daily Ridership per mile (Q1 2023) |
Year Opened |
Lines | Stations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Long Island Rail Road | New York | 75,186,900 | 276,800 | 321[3] | 791 | 1834[4] | 11[4] | 124[4] |
2 | Metro-North Railroad | New York / Stamford / New Haven | 60,569,700 | 235,300 | 385[5] | 492 | 1983[6] | 5[5][note 1] | 122[5] |
3 | NJ Transit Rail Operations | New York / Newark / Trenton / Philadelphia | 57,179,000 | 140,666 [note 2] | 530[7] | 265 | 1983[8] | 11[9][note 1] | 164[9] |
4 | Metra | Chicago | 31,894,900 | 168,600 | 487.5[10] | 243 | 1984 | 11[10] | 241[10] |
5 | MBTA Commuter Rail | Boston / Worcester / Providence | 26,190,500 | 109,300 | 388[11] | 220 | 1973 | 13[11] | 127[11] |
6 | SEPTA Regional Rail | Philadelphia / Trenton / Wilmington | 17,910,709[12] | 77,700 | 280[13] | 173 | 1983 | 13[13] | 153 |
7 | Denver RTD: A, B, N and G Lines |
Denver | 8,559,700 | 19,850 [note 2] | 40[14] | 496 | 2016 | 4 | 20 |
8 | Caltrain | San Francisco / San Jose | 5,443,800 | 24,700 | 77[15] | 207 | 1863 | 1 | 32[15] |
9 | Metrolink | Los Angeles / San Bernardino / Anaheim / Riverside / Irvine | 4,861,000 | 19,200 | 388[16] | 39 | 1992 | 7[16] | 62[16] |
10 | Tri-Rail | Miami / Fort Lauderdale | 4,402,300 | 15,400 | 80.0[17] | 183 | 1987 | 2[17] | 19[17] |
11 | FrontRunner | Salt Lake City | 3,736,600 | 15,000 | 88 | 140 | 2008 | 1 | 16 |
12 | MARC Train | Baltimore / Washington, D.C. | 3,860,600 | 13,900 | 187 | 63 | 1984 | 3 | 43 |
13 | Sounder commuter rail | Seattle / Tacoma | 1,630,000 | 7,300 | 83[18] | 61 | 2000 | 2 | 9 |
14 | Virginia Railway Express | Washington, D.C. | 1,537,000 | 6,300 | 90[19] | 60 | 1992 | 2[19] | 18[19] |
15 | South Shore Line | Chicago / South Bend | 1,406,900 | 6,300 | 90[20] | 51 | 1908 | 1 | 18 |
16 | eBART | Contra Costa County, California | 1,292,200 | 4,500 | 10.1 | 435 | 2018 | 1 | 3 |
17 | Trinity Railway Express | Dallas / Fort Worth | 1,163,600 | 4,100 | 34 | 112 | 1996 | 1 | 10 |
18 | SunRail | Orlando | 1,083,300 | 4,600 | 49[21] | 88 | 2014 | 1 | 17 |
19 | Keystone Service | Philadelphia / Harrisburg | 1,115,779 | 3,200 [note 3] | 104.6 | 31 | 1972 | 1 | 12 |
20 | Coaster | San Diego / Oceanside | 831,800 | 3,000 | 41[22] | 49 | 1995[22] | 1[22] | 8[22] |
21 | Capitol Corridor | San Jose / Oakland / Sacramento | 921,112 | 1,847[note 3] | 168 | 11 | 1991 | 1 | 15 |
22 | TEXRail | Fort Worth | 714,800 | 2,200 | 27 | 62 | 2019 | 1 | 9 |
23 | Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit | San Rafael / Santa Rosa | 749,700 | 3,400 | 45 | 46 | 2017 | 1 | 12[23] |
24 | CapMetro Rail | Austin | 485,400 | 1,600 | 32[24] | 46 | 2010 | 1 | 9[24] |
25 | Downeaster | Boston / Brunswick, Maine | 542,639 | 1,219[note 3] | 148 | 8 | 2001 | 1 | 12 |
26 | Rail Runner Express | Albuquerque / Santa Fe | 584,400 | 2,800 | 97 | 18 | 2006 | 1 | 13 |
27 | Altamont Corridor Express | San Jose / Stockton | 576,300 | 3,100 | 86[25] | 22 | 1998 | 1[25] | 10[25] |
28 | Shore Line East | New Haven | 176,979 | 600 | 59 | 10 | 1990 | 1 | 13 |
29 | A-Train | Denton, Texas | 233,500 | 1,000 | 21 | 28 | 2011 | 1 | 6 |
30 | WES Commuter Rail | Beaverton, Oregon | 116,300 | 300 | 15 | 33 | 2009 | 1 | 5 |
31 | WeGo Star | Nashville | 108,000 | 500 | 32 | 13 | 2006 | 1 | 7 |
32 | Northstar Line | Minneapolis | 142,200 | 500 | 40 | 8 | 2009 | 1 | 7 |
Systems excluded from ridership table
editSystem | Largest city(s) served | Opened | Route length | 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. |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b c Q4 2022
References
edit- ^ a b "Public Transportation Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA). March 4, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "Public Transportation Ridership Report First Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association (APTA). May 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c "Long Island Rail Road - General Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "MTA Metro-North Railroad - MNR About MNR". Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Retrieved 2014-03-23.
- ^ "New Jersey State Rail Plan" (PDF). State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation. April 2015. p. ES-5. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "NJ Transit - About Us - History & Structure". NJ Transit. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
- ^ a b "NJ Transit Facts at a Glance Fiscal Year 2015" (PDF). NJ Transit. March 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ a b c "Operations and Ridership Data". Metra. 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ^ a b c "MBTA STATE OF THE SERVICE Commuter Rail" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). 2014. p. 3. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ^ "Route Operating Statistics". Retrieved 2024-03-22.
- ^ a b "SEPTA - Media Guide" (PDF). SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority). 2013. p. 7. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "RTD - Facts & Figures". Regional Transportation District. April 4, 2020. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
- ^ a b "Caltrain Modernization Quarterly Update" (PDF). Caltrain. February 2016. p. 2. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ a b c "Metrolink Southern California Regional Rail Authority Fact Sheet" (PDF). Metrolink. 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ a b c "Transportation Division - Moving Around - Tri-Rail". City of Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "2015 Financial Plan" (PDF). Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit). June 2015. p. 3. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ a b c "VRE Strategic Plan Executive Summary" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. May 2004. p. v. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
- ^ 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...
- ^ "SunRail Celebrates Phase 2 Groundbreaking". SunRail. April 22, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Stations".
- ^ a b "Data and Statistics - Fast Facts". Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
- ^ 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.