Regional Rail Systems in North America: Top 10 Train Networks That Connect Suburbs to Cities

We used to call these "commuter rail" services. But given regional transportation needs and a worldwide pandemic, Regional Rail is now the preferred term, with services focused on improving connections between suburbs and the central city. We'll look at historical US commuter rail providers like MBTA, SEPTA, Metro-North, LIRR, and NJ Transit, as well as taking closer looks at what our neighbors to the north (GO Transit in Toronto and exo in Montreal, and the Tren Suburbano in Mexico City) are up to.

Also, we'll spend some time exploring the new Moynihan Train Hall addition to NY Penn Station.

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CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)

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[korianderbadger]

PLEASE make the video on salt lake city transit and how things get built! Sounds fascinating!!!

[alanthefisher]

SEPTA has one of the best layouts of a system in North America with the possibility of running an S-Bahn like service, but they just don't run enough trains.
LIRR is notorious for never wanting to fully merge into MTA completely screwing over the entire system integration. The original idea was that:
Metro North = Metro North
LIRR = Metro East
NJT = Metro West/South

[bing_chilling]

I cant imagine life without the LIRR. Growing up, I assumed that every city had a great suburban rail network with stations that are well integrated into the communities, but I have learned that, unfortunately, this is not the case. I do have to give a shoutout to Stony Brook station, which is located at the University and is very helpful for students living on campus.

[scorelessaftertwo]

There was high speed rail planned (and paid for) for the midwest Chicago - Milwaukee - Twin Cities. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) ran his entire campaign on anti-rail with no data to support this stance. $900 million left the state for the west coast. I live in Milwaukee with family in Chicago and Minneapolis and these drives are absolutely soul sucking. This is one of the most upsetting things that has happened to our state in my lifetime. Watching this channel and seeing cities with functional rail angers me to no end.

[angbubba]

Growing up I took the LIRR everyday to high school. Now that I’m studying transportation engineering in college, I can’t believe how much I took our railroad for granted.

[coteries]

I wish you'd spent more time on SEPTA! It's one of the only regional rail systems in the US that has a completely unified system with through-running trains, and it is also completely electrified. While the service frequency is unfortunately low, it is relatively inexpensive and they have talked about wanting to increase frequency to 1 train every 15 minutes on most of the lines. Philadelphia is set up to have an S-bahn system once SEPTA gets the easy work done of raising all the platforms for level boarding and running trains with a greater frequency.

[xavieryozwiak]

Everyone who rode Metro-North knows that the Hudson Line and the views of the River were amazing!

[rafaelmonroyrojas]

I use the Metro-North recreationally every few months. The fact that it keeps parts of the metro area well-connected even during weekends and (some) holidays makes it feel like a true regional (as opposed to commuter) rail system. Also, the Harlem-125th station is great for reverse commuting.

[connor]

I would be very interested in a video about how Utah is politically able to build more rail. As someone who lives in Texas, I wonder if there's any lessons to be learned. Keep up the good work!

[emilymclean]

I grew up in a commuter suburb on Long Island- every family I knew had at least one parent who commuted into Manhattan every day for work, and NO ONE drove into the city. Everyone took LIRR and connected thru the subway if necessary. It was the quickest, easiest way to go. Whenever I went into the city, I took the train. I think I drove into Manhattan once despite spending my first 18 years of life on Long Island. I even used the railroad to get to friends' houses on different parts of the Island. I went to a college in a town serviced by NJ Transit so same deal. But I recently moved to Denver, and I've been shocked at how impossible it is to effectively commute or even travel across this city via public transit! I definitely took for granted the accessibility and ubiquity of train use growing up.

Edit: just subscribed, excited to check out your other content!

[southpond]

With regards to the Paoli Line on SEPTA, it's good to mention that the communities along this train line came into being as a result of the train service, and thus is why this suburban area of Philly is called "The Main Line." With the exception of Merion Station (first stop outside the city border) which is in a leafy residential area, there is dense residential and commercial development pretty much unbroken along the entire line with Lancaster Ave (route 30) running parallel to the train line the whole way. Fun fact: If you want to remember the first six stops on this line, just learn the phrase "Old Maids Never Win At Horseshoes" and you'll get Overbrook, Merion Station, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford. :-)

[saltwotter]

Love the SLC call out. I currently live in SLC with no car and use FrontRunner to commute south to my office in what used to be rural Utah county (and still is for those in denial lol). My office is right next to the station, as well as several other tech companies, and things run... often enough to make it work. Would love a video of you breaking down how Utah managed to build our light rail and regional rail under budget and ahead of schedule!

[ahgrieser]

Interesting to see CalTrain on this list. As someone living within walking distance of a CalTrain station, I’d also call out Palo Alto station as a great station, with a charming historic waiting area on the southbound platform, an easy walk to Stanford to the south, and a great downtown shopping district to the north. As usual for the Bay Area, the problem is a lack of housing around the station, though Stanford (who owns the land) wants to build more there, except there’s been a big kerfuffle around height maxima and parking minima that has stalled that project. I would love to hear more about how Salt Lake City does it, or more about height and parking restrictions in general.

[DesertDwight]

Live in Utah and used to ride Frontrunner everyday. I love that UTA has its own tracks and is able to run all day. Makes it convenient getting around the Wasatch Front

[spencersandberg]

Proud Utah resident who’s literally riding the frontrunner as I watch this video. Love the shoutout! And I’d love a video on the politics of how things get built here. This legislative session a bill was passed to combine UDOT with UTA so they can oversee more construction projects. Our biggest need now is to double track the frontrunner so we can have more frequent headways / maintain higher speeds. Thanks for a great video as always

[jamesnotfound]

As someone who grew up riding all the modes the MBTA offers, I’m happy to see the commuter rail featured! Though I wish they would get rid of that name, regional rail is a lot more accurate of a description. The South Coast Rail will be a great addition to the network and I’m always hoping for a North-South Rail Line connection!

Also I appreciate you attempting to say Framingham, Worcester & Natick. They aren’t easy for people that aren’t from MA :)

[DWNY]

Take the Metro North Hudson Line north on a weekend morning you can get direct access to great hiking trails in the Hudson Highlands. The views from the train are among the best on the continent. The train will be filled with hikers and cyclists. Really amazing to see this in the NYC area.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

My favorite networks are the Metro North, LIRR, and NJ Transit. Metro North because I love the gorgeous views on the Hudson Line. I grew up living in Westchester so the Hudson Line will always have a special place in my heart. And LIRR and NJ Transit because while they may not be perfect, with much of their respective areas are covered, it's better than nothing

[neub]

As someone who lives in NJ suburbs of NYC, I appreciated discussion of 3 NY area rail systems. As a former San Franciscan, I agree with your placement at bottom of this list.

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

"What should we name this new commuter rail system"
"Well, we're the Government of Ontario, we can't come up with something clever-"
*"I think you're onto something"*