Commuter rail in North America: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 06:08, 12 September 2007
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and soon Mexico provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis primarily for short-distance (local) travel between a central business district and adjacent suburbs and regional travel between cities of a conurbation. It does not include rapid transit or light rail service.
Commuter rail operators often sell reduced fare multiple-trip tickets (such as a monthly or weekly pass), charge specific station-to-station fares, and have one or two stations in the central business district.
In the United States, inter-city and commuter trains are operated mostly by Amtrak over a network that is far less dense than ones found in Europe or Japan. The most heavily used routes with the greatest ridership and schedule frequencies are in the Northeast Corridor and Chicago metropolitan area. About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in the New York City metropolitan area.
The two busiest passenger rail stations in the United States are Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal, both in New York City, which also serve the two busiest commuter railroads in the United States (Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, respectively). The major commuter railroads serving Chicagoland are the Metra and South Shore Line. One could also argue that Amtrak trains provide commuter services for New York (Keystone), Chicago (Hiawatha), LA and San Diego (Pacific Surfliner), and the Bay Area (Capitol Corridor)
Passenger rail outside of Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Montreal and Toronto is more infrequent and less extensively used relative to networks in European and Japanese cities of comparable size.
Many commuter railways offer service during peak times only, and on a round-trip basis. For example, West Coast Express runs trains only into Vancouver during the morning rush hour, and out to the suburbs in the evening. This mode of operation is in many cases simplified by ending the train with a special passenger carriage (referred to as a cab car), which has an operating cab attached to the end and can control the locomotive remotely so as to avoid having to turn the train around at each end of its route. Other systems avoid the issue entirely by using bi-directional multiple units. Commuter trains are typically connected to metro or bus services both at their destination and along their route to extend the range of accessibility.
Commuter trains are usually powered by diesel-electric or electric locomotives, or in some cases use self-contained multiple units. Electric power in some instances is transmitted via third rail or overhead wire and catenary. Electric power is often favoured where it is available due to quicker acceleration, lower noise, and fewer air-quality issues. Electric power and even more so multiple-unit trains are, however, much less common than on European railways.
Diesel-electric locomotives based on the EMD F40PH design as well as the F59PHI are popular commuter motive power. Gallery cars made by Nippon Sharyo, Budd, or Kawasaki are common rolling stock, as are Bombardier's BiLevel coaches. See also train.
Most commuter rail services in North America are operated by agencies of government entities or quasi-governmental organisations. Some share the tracks or rights-of-way used by Amtrak, VIA Rail, freight trains, or other commuter services. The 600 mile-long (960 km long) electrified Northeast Corridor in the United States is shared by commuter trains and Amtrak's Acela Express, regional, and intercity trains.
List of Canadian and U.S. commuter rail operators
There are 23 commuter rail systems in Canada and the United States. They are:
Proposed and under construction
There are several commuter rail systems currently in development in Mexico and the United States.
See also
- Regional rail
- List of suburban and commuter rail systems
- Northeast Corridor
- Transit (transportation)
- Public transport
- Transportation in New York City
- List of rapid transit systems
- List of light-rail transit systems
- list of airport circulators