URBAN RAIL IN 21ST CENTURY AMERICA

More than 20 U.S. cities now have some form of urban rail service, with more in the planning or design phases. Traditional rail rapid transit and commuter rail lines long established in many metropolitan areas have been joined in the last 40 years by new regional rapid transit, light rail, and commuter rail systems. Rail transit systems (especially rapid transit and commuter railroads) are the main means of traveling to or from the downtown areas in most large cities. Although bus transit service is ubiquitous in American cities, rail transit accounts for a disproportionately large share of total American transit usage. The commuter rail markets could continue to grow, provided that issues involving freight traffic can be resolved and effective distribution in the city center can be provided. Commuter rail trains typically use freight railroad tracks, and growing freight traffic is congesting lines; to make commuter rail reliable and acceptable to the host railroads, capital investment of some significance may be required. If rail transit is to expand significantly into the next century, it will have to adapt itself to trends in decentralization.