Making Connections: Intermodal Links Available at 70 Percent of All Stations Served by Commuter Rail, 2010

Intermodal connections with other scheduled public transportation modes are available at 70 percent of all stations served by commuter rail trains. Commuter rail passengers are able to connect to other transportation modes at 8121 of the 1,160 stations served by commuter trains that operate over the tracks of the national rail network.2 The percentage of commuter rail stations with intermodal connectivity exceeds that of the other modes (airline, intercity rail, and ferries) included thus far in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Intermodal Passenger Connectivity Database (IPCD). The commuter rail network covers 34 metropolitan areas across the country and provides regional rail service within a single or two adjacent metropolitan areas. Commuter trains, which may be either diesel or electrically powered, operate over tracks of the national rail system, frequently sharing the same right-of-way with freight trains or intercity passenger trains. They generally operate from outlying stations within a metropolitan area to the predominant city in that area.3 However, a few commuter rail systems operate between adjacent metropolitan areas.