Commuter rail orsuburban rail is apassenger rail service that primarily operates within ametropolitan area, connectingcommuters to acentral city from adjacentsuburbs orcommuter towns.^[1][2][3] Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled trains or multiple units, using electric or diesel propulsion.^[2] Distance charges or zone pricing may be used.

Clockwise from top left:

• AMetra service of double-decker cars hauled by anF40PH inChicago
• ARER NG train online E of theRéseau Express Régional inParis
• ACPTM train on theCoral Line inSão Paulo
• ATreno Servizio Regionale train inMilan
• AnAM class electric multiple unit used inAuckland
• TwoN1000 series EMUs of theKeikyu railway pass each other inTokyo

The term can refer to systems with a wide variety of different features and service frequencies, but is often used in contrast torapid transit orlight rail.

Some services share similarities with both commuter rail and high-frequencyrapid transit; examples include GermanS-Bahn in some cities, theRéseau Express Régional (RER) in Paris, theS Lines in Milan, many Japanese commuter systems, theEast Rail line in Hong Kong, and some Australasian suburban networks, such asSydney Trains. Many commuter rail systems share tracks with other passenger services andfreight.

In North America, commuter rail sometimes refers only to systems that primarily operate duringrush hour and offer little to no service for the rest of the day, withregional rail being used to refer to systems that offer all-day service.^[4][5][6]

Most commuter (or suburban) trains are built to main line rail standards,^[7] differing fromlight rail orrapid transit (metro rail) systems by:

• being larger
• providing more seating and less standing room, owing to the longer distances involved
• having (in most cases) a lower frequency of service
• having scheduled services (i.e. trains run at specific times rather than at specific intervals)
• serving lower-density suburban areas, typically connectingsuburbs to the city center
• sharing track orright-of-way with intercity and/orfreight trains
• not fully grade separated (containing at-grade crossings with crossing gates)
• being able to skip certain stations as an express service due to normally being driver controlled

Compared torapid transit (or metro rail), commuter/suburban rail often has lowerfrequency, following a schedule rather than fixed intervals, and fewer stations spaced further apart. They primarily serve lower density suburban areas (non inner-city), generally only having one or two stops in a city's central business district, and often shareright-of-way with intercity orfreight trains.^[8] Some services operate only during peak hours and others use fewer departures during off peak hours and weekends. Average speeds are high, often 50 km/h (30 mph) or higher. These higher speeds better serve the longer distances involved. Some services include express services which skip some stations in order to run faster and separate longer distance riders from short-distance ones.^[9]

The general range of commuter trains' travel distance varies between 15 and 200 km (10 and 125 miles), but longer distances can be covered when the trains run between two or several cities (e.g. S-Bahn in theRuhr area of Germany). Distances between stations may vary, but are usually much longer than those of urban rail systems. In city centres the train either has a terminal station or passes through the city centre with notably fewer station stops than those of urban rail systems. Toilets are often available on-board trains and in stations.

Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the sameright-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs. However, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays, especially where service densities have converged in the inner parts of the network.

Most such trains run on thelocal standard gauge track. Some systems may run on a narrower or broader gauge. Examples ofnarrow-gauge systems are found in Japan,Indonesia,Malaysia,Thailand, Taiwan, Switzerland, in theBrisbane (Queensland Rail'sCity network) andPerth (Transperth) systems in Australia, in some systems in Sweden, and on theGenoa-Casella line in Italy. Some countries and regions, includingFinland, India, Pakistan,Russia, Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well asSan Francisco (BART) in the US andMelbourne andAdelaide in Australia, usebroad gauge track.

Metro rail andrapid transit usually cover smaller inner-urban areas within 12 to 20 km (7 to 12 mi) of city centers, with shorter stop spacing, use rolling stocks with larger standing spaces, lower top speed and higher acceleration, designed for short-distance travel. They also run more frequently, to a headway rather than a published timetable and use dedicated tracks (underground or elevated), whereas commuter rail often shares tracks, technology and the legal framework within mainline railway systems, and uses rolling stocks with more seating and higher speed for comfort on longer city-suburban journeys.^{[citation needed]}

However, the classification as a metro or rapid rail can be difficult as both may typically cover a metropolitan area exclusively, run on separate tracks in the centre, and often feature purpose-built rolling stock. The fact that the terminology is not standardised across countries (even across English-speaking countries) further complicates matters. This distinction is most easily made when there are two (or more) systems such as New York'ssubway and theLIRR andMetro-North Railroad, Paris'Métro andRER along withTransilien, Washington D.C.'sMetro along with itsMARC andVRE, London's tube lines of theUnderground and theOverground,Elizabeth line,Thameslink along with other commuter railoperators, Madrid'sMetro andCercanías, Barcelona'sMetro andRodalies, and Tokyo'ssubway and theJR lines along with various privately owned and operated commuter rail systems.

Regional rail usually providesrail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in the wayinter-city rail does. Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations between cities. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line that are often byproducts ofribbon developments, and also connects with long-distance services at interchange stations located at junctions, terminals, or larger towns along the line. Alternative names are "local train" or "stopping train". Examples include the formerBR'sRegional Railways, France'sTER (Transport express régional),^[10] Germany'sRegionalexpress andRegionalbahn, and South Korea'sTonggeun andMugunghwa-ho services.^[11]

In some European countries, the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance/intercity trains is subtle, due to the relatively short distances involved. For example, so-called "intercity" trains in Belgium and the Netherlands carry many commuters, while their equipment, range, and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries.

The United Kingdom has a privatised rail system, with different routes and services covered by different private operators. The distinction between commuter and intercity rail is not as clear as it was before privatisation (when InterCity existed as a brand of its own), but usually it is still possible to tell them apart. Some operators, for exampleThameslink, focus solely on commuter services. Others, such asAvanti West Coast andLNER, run solely intercity services. Others still, such asGWR andEMR, run a mixture of commuter, regional and intercity services. Some of these operators use different branding for different types of service (for example EMR brands its trains as either "InterCity", "Connect" for London commuter services, and "Regional") but even for those operators that do not, the type of train, amenities offered, and stopping pattern, usually tell the services apart.

Russian commuter trains, on the other hand, frequently cover areas larger than Belgium itself, although these are still short distances by Russian standards. They have a different ticketing system from long-distance trains, and in major cities they often operate from a separate section of the train station.

Some consider "inter-city" service to be that which operates as an express service between two main city stations, bypassing intermediate stations. However, this term is used in Australia (Sydney for example) to describe the regional trains operating beyond the boundaries of the suburban services, even though some of these "inter-city" services stop all stations similar to German regional services. In this regard, the German service delineations and naming conventions are clearer and better used for academic purposes.

Sometimeshigh-speed rail can serve daily use of commuters. The JapaneseShinkansen high speed rail system is heavily used by commuters in theGreater Tokyo Area, who commute between 100 and 200 km (62 and 124 mi) byShinkansen.^[12] To meet the demand of commuters,JR sells commuter discount passes. Before 2021, they operated 16-carbilevelE4 Series Shinkansen trains at rush hour, providing a capacity of 1,600 seats.^[13] Several lines inChina, such as theBeijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway and theShanghai–Nanjing High-Speed Railway, serve a similar role with many more under construction or planned.^[14]

InSouth Korea, some sections of the high-speed rail network are also heavily used by commuters, such as the section betweenGwangmyeong Station andSeoul Station on theKTX network (Gyeongbu HSR Line), or the section betweenDongtan Station andSuseo station on theSRT Line.

The high-speed services linkingZurich,Bern andBasel inSwitzerland (200 km/h (120 mph)) have brought the Central Business Districts (CBDs) of these three cities within 1 hour of each other. This has resulted in unexpectedly high demand for new commuter trips between the three cities and a corresponding increase in suburban rail passengers accessing the high-speed services at the main city-centre stations (Hauptbahnhof). TheRegional-Express commuter service betweenMunich andNuremberg in Germany runs at 200 km/h (120 mph) on the 300 km/h (186 mph)Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway.

The regional trainsStockholm–Uppsala, Stockholm–Västerås, Stockholm–Eskilstuna andGothenburg–Trollhättan inSweden reach 200 km/h (120 mph) and have many daily commuters.

InGreat Britain, theHS1 domestic services between London and Ashford runs at a top speed of 225 km/h, and in peak hours the trains can be full with commuters standing.

TheAthens Suburban Railway in Greece consists of five lines, 4 of which are electrified. TheKiato–Piraeus line and theAigio–Airport lines reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph). TheAthens–Chalcis line is also expected to attain speeds of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) upon upgrading of the SKA–Oinoi railway sector. These lines also have many daily commuters, with the number expected to rise even higher upon full completion of theAcharnes Railway Center.

Eskişehir-Ankara andKonya-Ankara high speed train routes serve as high speed commuter trains inTurkey.

Commuter/suburban trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort andluggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. Cars may be single- ordouble-level, and aim to provide seating for all. Compared to intercity trains, they have less space, fewer amenities and limited baggage areas.

Commuter rail trains are usually composed ofmultiple units, which are self-propelled, bidirectional, articulated passenger rail cars with driving motors on each (or every other)bogie. Depending on local circumstances and tradition they may be powered either bydiesel engines located below the passenger compartment (diesel multiple units) or by electricity picked up fromthird rails oroverhead lines (electric multiple units). Multiple units are almost invariably equipped with control cabs at both ends, which is why such units are so frequently used to provide commuter services, due to the associated short turn-around time.

Locomotive hauled services are used in some countries or locations. This is often a case of asset sweating, by using a single large combined fleet for intercity and regional services. Loco hauled services are usually run inpush-pull formation, that is, the train can run with the locomotive at the "front" or "rear" of the train (pushing or pulling). Trains are often equipped with a control cab at the other end of the train from the locomotive, allowing the train operator to operate the train from either end. The motive power for locomotive-hauled commuter trains may be either electric ordiesel–electric, although some countries, such as Germany and some of the former Soviet-bloc countries, also use diesel–hydraulic locomotives.

In the US and some other countries, a three-and-two seat plan is used. Middle seats on these trains are often less popular because passengers feel crowded and uncomfortable.^[15][16]

In Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, longitudinal (sideways window-lining) seating is widely used in many commuter rail trains to increase capacity in rush hours. Carriages are usually not organized to increaseseating capacity (although in some trains at least one carriage would feature more doors to facilitate easier boarding and alighting and bench seats so that they can be folded up during rush hour to provide more standing room) even in the case of commuting longer than 50 km and commuters in theGreater Tokyo Area,Seoul metropolitan area, andJabodetabek area have to stand in the train for more than an hour.

Currently there are not many examples of commuter rail inAfrica.Metrorail operates in the major cities ofSouth Africa, and there are some commuter rail services inAlgeria,Botswana,Kenya,Morocco,Egypt andTunisia.In Algeria,SNTF operates commuter rail lines between the capitalAlgiers and its southern and eastern suburbs. They also serve to connectAlgiers' mainuniversities to each other. TheDar es Salaam commuter rail offers intracity services inDar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Botswana, the (Botswana Railways) "BR Express" has a commuter train betweenLobatse andGaborone.

In Japan, commuter rail systems have extensive network and frequent service and are heavily used. In many cases, Japanese commuter rail is operationally more like a typical metro system (frequent trains, an emphasis onstanding passengers, short station spacings) than it is like commuter rail in other countries. Japanese commuter rail commonly interline with city center subway lines, with commuter rail trains continuing into the subway network, and then out onto different commuter rail systems on the other side of the city. Many Japanese commuter systems operate various stopping patterns to reduce the travel time to distant locations, often using stationpassing loops instead of dedicated express tracks. It is notable that the larger Japanese commuter rail systems are owned and operated by for-profitprivate railway companies, without public subsidy.

East Japan Railway Company operates a large suburban train network inTokyo with various lines connecting the suburban areas to the city center. While theYamanote Line,Keihin Tohoku Line,Chūō–Sōbu Line services arguably are more akin torapid transit with frequent stops, simple stopping patterns (relative to other JR East lines) no branching services and largely serving the inner suburbs; other services along theChūō Rapid Line,Sōbu Rapid Line/Yokosuka Line,Ueno–Tokyo Line,Shōnan–Shinjuku Line etc. are mid-distance services from suburban lines in the outer reaches of Greater Tokyo through operating into these lines to form a high frequency corridor though central Tokyo.

Other commuter rail routes in Japan include:

• Hanshin Namba Line andKintetsu Namba Line have a busy east west underground section that allow trains from bothHanshin Electric Railway andKintetsu Railway to accessNamba, a major commercial center of Osaka, and service destinations east and west of Osaka.
• Osaka MetroSakaisuji Line is a north south line that allowsHankyu services from theSenri Line,Kyoto Main Line andArashiyama Line to enter Osaka city center.
• JR WestTozai Line is an underground east west corridor allowing trains from theKobe Line,Takarazuka Line andGakkentoshi Line to accessUmeda in central Osaka.
• JR WestOsaka Loop Line is a mostly elevated loop line that allows for services from theYamatoji Line,Hanwa Line andSakurajima Line to loop around central Osaka.
• JR WestKobe Line/Kyoto Line is a four track corridor allowingBiwako Line,Kosei Line,Takarazuka Line,San'yō Main Line andAkō Line services to serviceKyoto,Osaka andKobe.
• A special private railwayKōbe Rapid Transit Railway owns two underground corridors (a north south and east west line) that allow forSanyo Electric Railway,Hankyu railway,Hanshin Electric Railway andKobe Electric Railway services to enter and cross Kobe city center.
• Most of the trains on theMeitetsu network through operate into a high frequency trunk line on theMeitetsu Nagoya Main Line branching out to other lines on the other side ofNagoya.

Commuter rail systems have been inaugurated in several cities in China such asBeijing,Shanghai,Zhengzhou,Wuhan,Changsha and thePearl River Delta. With plans for large systems in northeasternZhejiang,Jingjinji, andYangtze River Delta areas. The level of service varies considerably from line to line ranginghigh to near high speeds. More developed and established lines such as theGuangshen Railway have more frequent metro-like service.

The twoMTR lines which are owned and formerly operated by theKowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (East Rail line andTuen Ma line which is integrated from the formerWest Rail line andMa On Shan line in 2021), then the"KCR"), and MTR's ownTung Chung line connect the new towns inNew Territories and the city centreKowloon together with frequent intervals, and some New Territories-bound trains terminate at intermediate stations, providing more frequent services in Kowloon and the towns closer to Kowloon. They use rolling stocks with a faster maximum speed and have longer stop spacing compared to other lines which only run in the inner urban area, but in order to maximise capacity and throughput, these rolling stocks have longitudinal seatings, 5 pairs of doors in each carriage with large standing spaces like the urban lines, and run as frequent as well. Most of the sections of these four lines are overground and some sections of the East Rail Line share tracks with intercity trains tomainland China. The three KCR lines are integrated into the MTR network since 2008 and most passengers do not need to exit and re-enter the system through separate fare gates and purchase separate tickets to transfer between such lines and the rest of the network (the exceptions are between the Tuen Ma line'sEast Tsim Sha Tsui station and the Tsuen Wan line'sTsim Sha Tsui station.

In Taiwan, theWestern line in theTaipei-Taoyuan Metropolitan Area,Taichung Metropolitan Area andTainan-Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area as well as theNeiwan-Liujia line in theHsinchu Area are considered commuter rail.

In South Korea, theSeoul Metropolitan Subway includes a total of 22 lines, and some of its lines are suburban lines. This is especially the case for lines operated byKorail, such as theGyeongui-Jungang Line, theGyeongchun Line, theSuin-Bundang Line, or theGyeonggang Line. Even some lines not operated by Korail, such as theAREX Line, theSeohae Line or theShinbundang Line mostly function as commuter rail. Lastly, even for the "numbered lines" (1–9) of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway which mostly travel in the dense parts of Seoul, some track sections extend far outside of the city, and operate large sections at ground level, such as on theLine 1,Line 3 andLine 4. In Busan, theDonghae Line, while part of theBusan Metro system, mostly functions as a commuter rail line.

InIndonesia, theKRL Commuterline is the largest commuter rail system in the country, serving theGreater Jakarta. It connects theJakarta city center with surrounding cities and sub-urbans inBanten andWest Java provinces, includingDepok,Bogor,Tangerang,Serpong,Rangkasbitung,Bekasi andCikarang. In July 2015, KRL Commuterline served more than 850,000 passengers per day, which is almost triple of the 2011 figures, but still less than 3.5% of all Jabodetabek commutes.^[17] Other commuter rail systems in Indonesia include theMetro Surabaya Commuter Line,Commuter Line Bandung,KAI Commuter Yogyakarta–Solo Line,Kedung Sepur, and theSri Lelawangsa.

In the Philippines, thePhilippine National Railways has two commuter rail systems currently operational; thePNR Metro Commuter Line in theGreater Manila Area and thePNR Bicol Commuter in theBicol Region. A new commuter rail line in Metro Manila, theNorth–South Commuter Railway, is currently under construction. Its North section is set to be partially opened by 2021.

In Malaysia, there are two commuter services operated byKeretapi Tanah Melayu. They are theKTM Komuter that servesKuala Lumpur and the surroundingKlang Valley area, and theKTM Komuter Northern Sector that serves theGeorge Town Conurbation,Perak,Kedah andPerlis in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

In Thailand, theGreater Bangkok Commuter rail and theAirport Rail Link serve theBangkok Metropolitan Region. TheSRT Red Lines, a new commuter line in Bangkok, started construction in 2009. It opened in 2021.

Another commuter rail system in Southeast Asia is theYangon Circular Railway inMyanmar.

In India, commuter rail systems are present in major cities and form an important part of people's daily lives.Mumbai Suburban Railway, the oldest suburban rail system in Asia, carries more than 7.24 million commuters on a daily basis which constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself.Kolkata Suburban Railway, one of the largest suburban railway networks in the world, consists of more than 450 stations and carries more than 3.5 million commuters per day. TheChennai Suburban Railway along with theChennai MRTS, also covers over 300 stations and carries more than 2.5 million people daily to different areas inChennai and its surroundings. Other commuter railways in India include theHyderabad MMTS,Delhi Suburban Railway,Pune Suburban Railway andLucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway.

In 2020, Government of India approvedBengaluru Suburban Railway to connectBengaluru and its suburbs. It will be unique and first of its kind in India as it will have metro like facilities and rolling stock.

In Bangladesh, there is one suburban rail called theChittagong Circular Railway. Another suburban railway called theDhaka Circular Railway is currently proposed.

Karachi inPakistan has acircular railway since 1969.

Tehran Metro currently operates theLine 5 commuter line betweenTehran andKaraj.^{[citation needed]}

Turkey has lines connectingBaşkentray,İZBAN,Marmaray andGaziray.^{[citation needed]}

Major metropolitan areas in most European countries are usually served by extensive commuter/suburban rail systems. Well-known examples includeBG Voz inBelgrade (Serbia),S-Bahn in Germany, Austria and German-speaking areas of Switzerland,Proastiakos in Greece,RER in France and Belgium, Servizio ferroviario suburbano in Italy,Cercanías andRodalies (Catalonia) in Spain,CP Urban Services in Portugal,Esko inPrague andOstrava (Czech Republic),HÉV inBudapest (Hungary) andDART inDublin (Ireland).

London has multiple commuter rail routes:

• TheElizabeth line runs on a 22-kilometre (14-mile) east–west twin tunnel under central London (Crossrail project) as its central core section.
• Thameslink brings together several branches from northern and southern suburbs and satellite towns in to a high frequency central tunnel underneath London.
• TheLondon Overground, by contrast, skirts through the inner suburbs with lines mostly independent of each other, although there are several branches. TheWatford DC line, partly shared with underground trains, uses third rail, but parallels a main line using overhead wires. TheEast London line andNorth London line run at metro-like frequencies in inner London, which make them nearly indistinguishable from metro systems apart from the fact that the tracks are shared with freight trains.
• TheMetropolitan line, despite being part of theLondon Underground, is a commuter rail route as it links theCity of London to commuter towns outsideGreater London such asRickmansworth,Amersham andChesham, where it runs to a timetable, being the onlyLondon Underground line with a public timetable published. It also shares tracks withChiltern Railways main line services between London andAylesbury.

TheMerseyrail network inLiverpool consists of two commuter rail routes powered by third rail, both of which branch out at one end. At the other, theNorthern line continues out of the city centre to a mainline rail interchange, while theWirral line has a city-centre loop.

Birmingham has four suburban routes which operate out ofBirmingham New Street &Birmingham Moor Street stations, one of which is operated using diesel trains.

TheTyneside Electrics system inNewcastle upon Tyne existed from 1904 to 1967 using DC third rail.British Rail did not have the budget to maintain the ageing electrification system. TheRiverside Branch was closed, while the remaining lines were de-electrified. 13 years later, they were re-electrified using DC overhead wires, and now form theTyne & Wear Metro Yellow Line.

Many of the rail services aroundGlasgow are branded asStrathclyde Partnership for Transport. The network includes most electrified Scottish rail routes.

TheWest Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive run eleven services which feed into Leeds, connecting the city with commuter areas and neighbouring urban centres in theWest Yorkshire Built-up Area.

MetroWest is a proposed network inBristol, northernSomerset & southernGloucestershire. The four-tracking of the line betweenBristol Temple Meads andBristol Parkway stations will enable local rail services to be separated from long-distance trains.

TheRéseau express régional d'Île-de-France (RER) is a commuter rail network in the agglomeration ofParis. In the centre the RER has high frequency underground corridors where several suburban branches feed similar to arapid transit system.

Commuter rail systems inGerman-speaking regions are calledS-Bahn. While in some major cities S-Bahn services run on separate lines exclusively other systems use the existing regional rail tracks.

In Italy fifteen cities have commuter rail systems:

• Bari (Bari metropolitan railway service, 3 lines)
• Bologna (Bologna metropolitan railway service, 8 lines)
• Cagliari, 1 line
• Catanzaro, 2 lines
• Genoa (Genoa urban railway service, 3 lines)
• Messina, 1 line
• Milan (Milan suburban railway service, 12 lines)
• Naples, 8 lines
• Palermo (Palermo metropolitan railway service, 2 lines)
• Perugia, 1 line
• Potenza, 1 line
• Reggio Calabria, 1 line
• Rome (FL lines, 8 lines)
• Salerno (Salerno metropolitan railway service, 1 line)
• Turin (Turin metropolitan railway service, 8 lines)

Randstadspoor is a network ofSprinter train services in and around the city ofUtrecht in the Netherlands. For the realisation of this network, new stations were opened. Separate tracks have been built for these trains, so they can call frequently without disturbing high-frequent Intercity services parallel to these routes.^[18] Similar systems are planned forThe Hague andRotterdam.

In Sweden, electrified commuter rail systems known asPendeltåg are present in the cities ofStockholm andGothenburg. TheStockholm commuter rail system, which began in 1968, shares railway tracks with inter-city trains and freight trains, but for the most part runs on its own dedicated tracks. It is primarily used to transport passengers from nearby towns and other suburban areas into the city centre, not for transportation inside the city centre. TheGothenburg commuter rail system, which began in 1960, is similar to the Stockholm system, but does fully share tracks with long-distance trains.

In Norway, theOslo commuter rail system is from 2022 more limited but the remaining commuter lines go on tracks mostly not much used by other trains. From 2022 several lines with hourly frequency and travel times to endpoints of over one hour are redefined as regional trains. Before 2022 Oslo had the largest commuter rail system in the Nordic countries in terms of line lengths and number of stations. AlsoBergen,Stavanger andTrondheim have commuter rail systems. These have only one or two lines each and they share tracks with other trains.

InFinland, theHelsinki commuter rail network runs on dedicated tracks fromHelsinki Central railway station toLeppävaara andKerava. TheRing Rail Line servesHelsinki Airport and northern suburbs ofVantaa and is exclusively used by the commuter rail network. On 15 December 2019, theTampere region got its own commuter rail service, with trains running from Tampere toNokia,Lempäälä andOrivesi.

InSpain,Cercanías networks exist inMadrid,Sevilla,Murcia/Alicante,San Sebastián,Cádiz,Valencia,Asturias, Santander,Zaragoza,Bilbao andMálaga. All these systems include underground sections in the city centre. There is also a network ofnarrow-gaugecommuter systems in North Spain and Murcia.

Cercanías Madrid is one of the most important train services in the country, more than 900,000 passengers move in the system. It has underground stations in Madrid likeRecoletos,Sol orNuevos Ministerios and in themetropolitan area in cities likeParla orGetafe.

In theautonomous community ofCatalonia, and unlike the rest of Spain, the commuter service is not managed byRenfe Operadora.^[19] Since 2010, theGovernment of Catalonia has managed all the regular commuter services with the "transfer ofRodalies".^[20] There are two companies that manage the Catalan commuter network:

• Rodalies de Catalunya, which after the transfer at the beginning of 2010 when, due to the "Catalan rail chaos" of 2007,^[21][22] theSpanish government promised to transfer the Renfe commuter service to theGeneralitat,^[23] although it does not deal with the entire service; After the transfer, responsibilities for the commuter trains were divided into three parts: theGeneralitat (management, regulation, planning, coordination and inspection of services and activities and power to charge),Renfe (train operator and its maintenance), andAdif (owner of the railway infrastructure).^[24] Lines R1, R2, R2 Nord, R2 Sud, R3 (toSant Quirze de Besora, from there toPuigcerdà orLa Tor de Querol it is considered a regional route), R4, R7 and R8 run through Rodalies de Catalunya, all onIberian gauge (1668 mm).

• Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (or FGC) is the railway company responsible for theVallès,Llobregat-Anoia andLleida-La Pobla de Segur lines.^[25] This company is mainly in charge of metro and suburban lines, although it also has five commuter lines spread over two lines, four on the Llobregat-Anoia line (R5, R50, R6, R60) onmetre-gauge (1000 mm)^[26] and a single line on the Lleida-La Pobla de Segur line (RL1) onIberian gauge (1668 mm).^[27] FGC is in charge of the entire service, unlike Rodalies de Catalunya, which is not in charge of either the trains or the infrastructure.

TheGovernment of Catalonia will assume full control of the currentR12 regional line in 2024 and it will be owned by theFGC.^[28] It will eliminate the current line and replace it with the new commuter lines RL3 and RL4, towardsCervera andManresa fromLleida respectively.

In Italy there are several commuter rail networks:

• RomanFL lines cover most of theLatiumregional railways.
• Milan suburban railway service, operated byTrenord, has numerous services funneling into the undergroundMilan Passante railway.^[29]
• Turin metropolitan railway service, operated byTrenitalia andGTT, with an underground railway line running through the city used by most services.^[30]
• Naples Metro Line 2 is an underground corridor where commuter rail services operated byTrenitalia traverse and service the urban center.
• Genoa urban railway service consists in three lines passing through the Giovi railway line and the Tyrrhenian railway linesGenoa–Ventimiglia andGenoa–Pisa.
• Bologna metropolitan railway service. The system comprises 8 lines.^[31]
• Bari metropolitan railway service
• Canton Tessin suburban railway reachesItalian cities likeComo andVarese and theMalpensa Airport.

In Poland, commuter rail systems exist inTricity,Warsaw,Kraków (SKA) andKatowice (SKR). There is also a similar system planned inWrocław andSzczecin.^[32] The terms used are "Szybka Kolej Miejska" (fast urban rail) and "kolej aglomeracyjna" (agglomeration rail). These systems are:

• Szybka Kolej Miejska w Warszawie in theWarsaw urban area, with 4 lines and 46 stations.^{[33][circular reference]}
• Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna is located in the center of Poland connecting satellite towns in and aroundŁódź. It also operates some trains between Łódź and Warsaw.
• Szybka Kolej Miejska w Trójmieście is located in theTricity/Trójmiasto urban area, the three cities ofGdańsk,Gdynia andSopot.

TheProastiakos (Greek:Προαστιακός; "suburban") isGreece'ssuburban railway (commuter rail) services, which are run byTrainOSE, on infrastructure owned by theHellenic Railways Organisation (OSE). There are three Proastiakos networks, servicing the country's three largest cities:Athens,Thessaloniki andPatras. In particular, theAthenian network is undergoing modifications to completely separate it from mainline traffic, by re-routing the tracks via a tunnel underneath the city center. A similar project is planned for thePatras network, whereas a new line is due to be constructed for theThessalonian network.

In Romania, the first commuter trains were introduced in December 2019. They operate betweenBucharest and Funduea orBuftea.

BG Voz is an urban rail system that serves Belgrade. It currently has only two routes, with plans for further expansion. Between the early 1990s and mid-2010s, there was another system, known asBeovoz, that was used to providemass-transit service within the Belgrademetropolitan area, as well as to nearby towns, similarly toRER in Paris. Beovoz had more lines and far more stops than the current system. However, it was abandoned in favor of more accurate BG Voz, mostly due to inefficiency. While current services rely mostly on the existing infrastructure, any further development means furthering capacities (railways expansion and new trains). Plans for further extension of system include another two lines, one of which should reachBelgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.

In Russia, Ukraine and some other countries of the formerSoviet Union, electrical multiple unit passenger suburban trains calledElektrichka are widespread. The first such system in Russia is the Oranienbaum Electric Line inSt. Petersburg. In Moscow the Beskudnikovskaya railway branch existed between the 1940s and 1980s. The trains that shuttled along it did not go to the main lines, so it was a city transport. Today there are theMoscow Central Circle and theMoscow Central Diameters.

In Turkey,Marmaray line stations fromSirkeci toHalkalı are located at the European side.

In the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Mexico regional passenger rail services are provided by governmental or quasi-governmental agencies, with the busiest and most expansive rail networks located in the Northeastern US, California, and Eastern Canada. Most North American commuter railways utilizediesel locomotive propulsion, with the exception of services in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, and Mexico City; New York's commuter rail lines use a combination of third rail and overhead wire power generation, while Chicago only has two out of twelve services that are electrified. Many newer and proposed systems in Canada and the United States are often are geared to serving peak-hour commutes as opposed to the all-day systems of Europe, East Asia, and Australia.

Eight commuter rail systems in the United States carried over ten million trips each in 2018, those being in descending order:

• Metropolitan Transportation Authority'sLong Island Rail Road, servingNew York City andLong Island
• NJ Transit Rail Operations, serving New York City, New Jersey (Newark,Trenton) andPhiladelphia
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority'sMetro-North Railroad, serving New York (Yonkers and New York City) and Southwest Connecticut (New Haven)
• Metra, serving northeast Illinois (Chicago) andKenosha, Wisconsin. The network consists of 11 services, of which only theElectric District service runs on tracks exclusively used for passenger traffic.
  • TheSouth Shore Line is a commuter line that serves theSouth Side andnorthern Indiana. Although the line is operated by NICTD, an agency separate from Metra, the line runs along the Metra Electric Line north ofKensington/115th Street station.
• SEPTA Regional Rail, serving southeast Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), as well asWilmington, Delaware, andTrenton, New Jersey. The network features atunneled corridor through the city center and through-routed services from several commuter lines. The arrangement of services through the corridor was originally proposed byVukan Vuchic and Shinya Kikuchi in 1984 and 1985.^[34][35]
• MBTA Commuter Rail, serving Massachusetts (Boston,Worcester,Lowell) andProvidence,Rhode Island
• Caltrain, servingBay Area California (San Francisco,San Jose, and theSan Francisco Peninsula)
• Metrolink, servingSouthern California (Los Angeles,Burbank,Anaheim,San Bernardino, andSouthern California)

Other commuter rail systems in the United States (not in ridership order) are:

• CTRail, servingConnecticut (Hartford,New Haven andNew London)
• Utah Transit AuthorityFrontRunner, serving Utah (Wasatch Front)
• North County Transit DistrictCoaster, servingSouthern California (San Diego County)
• Maryland Area Regional Commuter, serving westernMaryland (Baltimore,Frederick),Washington, D.C., andWest Virginia (Harpers Ferry)
• Virginia Railway Express, serving suburbs ofNorthern Virginia andWashington, D.C.
• Sounder commuter rail, servingWashington (Seattle /Tacoma)
• Tri-Rail, serving southeasternFlorida (Miami /Fort Lauderdale /West Palm Beach)
• Trinity Railway Express, servingTexas (Dallas /Fort Worth)
• Westside Express Service, serving northwesternOregon (Beaverton /Wilsonville)
• Altamont Corridor Express, serving northernCalifornia (San Jose /Stockton)
• SunRail, serving centralFlorida (Orlando/Poinciana)
• New Mexico Rail Runner Express, servingNew Mexico (Albuquerque)
• Northstar Line, serving centralMinnesota (Big Lake and downtownMinneapolis)
• Capital MetroRail, servingTexas (Austin)
• A-train, servingTexas (Denton County)
• SMART, serving northernCalifornia (Sonoma andMarin counties)
• WeGo Star, servingNashville andLebanon, Tennessee.
• Denver'sRTD four electrified commuter rail lines – theA,B,G andN Lines, run on segregated tracks. In its entirety the system combines elements oftram-train and commuter rail.

• Exo commuter rail inMontreal
• GO Transit inToronto
• West Coast Express inVancouver
• UP Express in Toronto

• Suburban Railway of the Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area servingMexico City
• Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail servingToluca andMexico City

• Rail Transport in Costa Rica servingSan Jose

Examples include an 899 km (559 mi) commuter system in theBuenos Aires metropolitan area, the 225 km (140 mi) longSupervia inRio de Janeiro, theMetrotrén inSantiago,Chile, and theValparaíso Metro inValparaíso, Chile.

Another example isCompanhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) inGreater São Paulo,Brazil. CPTM has 94 stations with seven lines, numbered starting on 7 (the lines 1 to 6 and the line 15 belong to theSão Paulo Metro), with a total length of 273 kilometres (170 mi). Trains operates at high frequencies on tracks used exclusively for commuter traffic. InRio de JaneiroSuperVia provides electrified commuter rail services.

The five major cities in Australia have suburban railway systems in their metropolitan areas. These networks have frequent services, with frequencies varying from every 10 to every 30 minutes on most suburban lines, and up to 3–5 minutes in peak on bundled underground lines in the city centres of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. The networks in each state developed from mainline railways and have never been completely operationally separate from long distance and freight traffic, unlikemetro systems. The suburban networks are almost completely electrified.

The main suburban rail networks in Australia are:

• TheSydney Trains suburban rail network consists of nine lines converging in the undergroundCity Circle with frequencies as high as three minutes in this section, 5–10 minutes at most major stations all day and 15 minutes at most minor stations all day.
• TheSydney rail network operated bySydney Trains inSydney (with connected suburban services inNewcastle andWollongong run by its counterpart intercity operator,NSW TrainLink).

• Melbourne's rail network features sixteen electrified commuter rail lines traversing the city centre in the undergroundCity Loop providing a metro-like service in the central core. A second underground core is under construction, as theMetro Tunnel project.V/Line operates some commuter services between Melbourne and surrounding towns, as well as between Melbourne and some locations within the Melbourne metropolitan area.

• Commuter rail services inBrisbane are provided under theQueensland Rail City network brand, featuring twelve electrified lines converging in the city centre.Cross River Rail is an under construction underground cross-city tunnel to relieve pressure on this network.

• Railways in Perth fall under theTransperth network, which are operated by thePublic Transport Authority

• TheAdelaide rail network operated byAdelaide Metro inAdelaide.

New Zealand has two frequent suburban rail services comparable to those in Australia: theAuckland rail network is operated byAuckland One Rail and theWellington rail network is operated byTransdev Wellington.

Hybridurban-suburban rail systems exhibiting characteristics of both rapid transit and commuter rail serving ametropolitan region are common in German-speaking countries, where they are known asS-Bahn. Other examples include:Lazio regional railways inRome, theRER in France and theElizabeth line,London UndergroundMetropolitan line,London Overground andMerseyrail in the UK. Comparable systems can be found in Australia such asSydney Trains andMetro Trains Melbourne, and in Japan with many urban and suburban lines operated by JR East/West and third-party companies running at metro-style frequencies. In contrast, comparable systems of this type are generally rare in the United States and Canada, where peak hour frequencies are more common.

In Asia, the construction of higher speed urban-suburban rail links has gained traction in various countries, such as in India, with theDelhi RRTS, in China, with thePearl River Delta Metropolitan Region intercity railway, and in South Korea, with theGreat Train eXpress system. These systems usually run on dedicated elevated or underground tracks for most of their route and have features comparable toHigher-speed rail.

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