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.
Rank | 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 | 253,800 | 321[3] | 791 | 1834[4] | 11[4] | 124[4] |
2 | Metro-North Railroad | New York / Stamford / New Haven | 60,569,700 | 189,500 | 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 | 116,200 | 487.5[10] | 238 | 1984 | 11[10] | 241[10] |
5 | MBTA Commuter Rail | Boston / Worcester / Providence | 26,190,500 | 81,800 | 388[11] | 220 | 1973 | 13[11] | 127[11] |
6 | SEPTA Regional Rail | Philadelphia / Trenton / Wilmington | 19,296,500 | 48,491 [note 2] | 280[12] | 173 | 1983 | 13[12] | 153 |
7 | Denver RTD: A, B, N and G Lines |
Denver | 8,559,700 | 19,850 [note 2] | 40[13] | 496 | 2016 | 4 | 20 |
8 | Caltrain | San Francisco / San Jose | 5,443,800 | 16,000 | 77[14] | 207 | 1987 | 1 | 32[14] |
9 | Metrolink | Los Angeles / San Bernardino / Anaheim / Riverside / Irvine | 4,861,000 | 15,400 | 388[15] | 39 | 1992 | 7[15] | 62[15]
> |
10 | Tri-Rail | Miami / Fort Lauderdale | 3,980,600 | 13,000 | 70.9[16] | 183 | 1987 | 2[16] | 19[16] |
11 | FrontRunner | Salt Lake City | 3,736,600 | 12,300 | 88 | 140 | 2008 | 1 | 16 |
12 | MARC Train | Baltimore / Washington, D.C. | 3,680,600 | 11,800 | 187 | 63 | 1984 | 3 | 43 |
13 | Sounder commuter rail | Seattle / Tacoma | 1,630,000 | 5,100 | 83[17] | 61 | 2000 | 2 | 9 |
14 | Virginia Railway Express | Washington, D.C. | 1,172,700 | 6,200 | 90[18] | 60 | 1992 | 2[18] | 18[18] |
15 | NICTD South Shore Line | Chicago / South Bend | 1,526,700 | 4,600[note 3] | 90[19] | 51 | 1903 | 1 | 20 |
16 | eBART | Contra Costa County, California | 1,292,200 | 4,400 | 10.1 | 435 | 2018 | 1 | 3 |
17 | Trinity Railway Express | Dallas / Fort Worth | 1,089,800 | 3,800 | 34 | 112 | 1996 | 1 | 10 |
18 | SunRail | Orlando | 919,600 | 4,300 | 49[20] | 88 | 2014 | 1 | 16[20] |
19 | Keystone Service | Philadelphia / Harrisburg | 889,900 | 3,200 [note 3] | 104.6 | 31 | 1972 | 1 | 12 |
20 | NCTD Coaster | San Diego / Oceanside | 735,100 | 2,000 | 41[21] | 49 | 1995[21] | 1[21] | 8[21] |
21 | Capitol Corridor | San Jose / Oakland / Sacramento | 674,039 | 1,847[note 3] | 168 | 11 | 1991 | 1 | 15 |
22 | TexRail | Fort Worth | 556,300 | 1,700 | 27 | 62 | 2019 | 1 | 9 |
23 | Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit | San Rafael / Santa Rosa | 474,500 | 2,100 | 45 | 46 | 2017 | 1 | 12[22] |
24 | Capital MetroRail | Austin | 466,800 | 1,500 | 32[23] | 46 | 2010 | 1 | 9[23] |
25 | Downeaster | Boston / Brunswick, Maine | 444,812 | 1,219[note 3] | 148 | 8 | 2001 | 1 | 12 |
26 | New Mexico Rail Runner Express | Albuquerque / Santa Fe | 439,200 | 1,800 | 97 | 18 | 2006 | 1 | 13 |
27 | Altamont Corridor Express | San Jose / Stockton | 389,100 | 1,900 | 86[24] | 22 | 1998 | 1[24] | 10[24] |
28 | Shore Line East | New Haven | 190,300 | 600 | 59 | 10 | 1990 | 1 | 13 |
29 | A-Train | Denton, Texas | 184,600 | 589 | 21 | 28 | 2011 | 1 | 6 |
30 | Westside Express Service | Beaverton, Oregon | 115,600 | 500 | 15 | 33 | 2009 | 1 | 5 |
31 | WeGo Star | Nashville | 92,100 | 400 | 32 | 13 | 2006 | 1 | 6 |
32 | Northstar Line | Minneapolis | 77,100 | 300 | 40 | 8 | 2009 | 1 | 7 |
System | 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. |