Commuter-Style Interurban Railways and Modern Regional Transit: Rise, Fall and Reuse

The electric interurban railway was a fast, heavy-duty adaptation of street railway technology for suburban, rural, and intercity travel. Achieving its greatest prosperity in the early 20th century, it almost died out by the early 1960s. Some of the longer-lasting interurbans, particularly in Chicago, Ill. and Los Angeles, Calif., were largely comparable in their rights-of-way and rolling stock with conventional electrified commuter railroads. Despite considerable differences, these commuter-carrying interurbans shared an overall history of growth, consolidation, decline, and abandonment. One of these, the Norristown High-Speed Line in suburban Philadelphia, Penna., continues as a suburban rapid transit line. A second, the South Shore Line in northern Indiana, survives as an electrified commuter railroad. Portions of several others have been reused for rapid transit or light rail. Even though these interurbans were largely business failures, the revival of many segments suggests that their underlying transportation bases were sound.