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 .
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 Unit s. 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 Locomotive s, or in some cases use self-contained Multiple Unit s. 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.
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) ElectrifiedNortheast 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:
