Talk:Commuter rail in North America

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[edit] Requested move

The term "Commuter rail" seems to be primarly used in North America, and be different from short-distance train service elsewhere. I propose that this page be renamed to it (instead of having the term redirect to Regional rail) and the info moved.

If so, the following list of links should be directed to the proper article:

Regional rail
Commuter rail
Commuter rail in North America --Jason McHuff 00:21, 4 October 2005 (UTC)

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- Oppose - this is a regional treatment of the concept of commuter rail. We have one article for concepts like subway/metro and gasoline/petrol. --SPUI (talk) 16:18, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

It was requested that this article be renamed but there was no consensus for it be moved. Dragons flight 00:28, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Discussion

Any?

I eliminated a number of rail systems that were listed on this page because they were not commuter railroads, as follows:

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) [1] -- BART is a metro system
Hiawatha Line -- this is a light rail line
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority -- operates a system comprising one metro line and three light rail lines
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) [2] -- operates a metro system
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) [3] Atlanta -- MARTA is a metro system
Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) [4] New York, New Jersey -- PATH is a metro system
Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) [5] Philadelphia -- PATCO is a metro system
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) [6] Washington DC -- WMATA runs the Washington Metro, which is, predictably, a metro system

Some systems have been left on the list that are better known for their metros (i.e., the MBTA) but they do operate commuter rail as wel.

--Jfruh 23:54, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Regional rail/commuter rail

Commuter rail redirects to the article Regional rail; since that article is more detailed and less geographically-specific, perhaps some sort of merging is in order?David Arthur 21:59, Feb 6, 2005 (UTC)

The regional rail article seems to be directed at systems and equipment we generally do not have in North America. For example, "Commonly they are based on diesel multiple units (DMUs), which are self-propelled, bidirectional, articulated passenger rail cars with diesel engines, electric generators and electric motors located below the passenger compartment (strictly speaking, these are diesel-electric multiple units, or DEMUs). In some areas with electrified rail, electric multiple units (EMUs) are used. Electric and diesel-powered 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." Vaoverland 23:14, Feb 6, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Overgeneralizing about 'Northeast' vs. rest of U.S.

"Passenger rail outside of the Northeast is infrequent and rarely used relative to networks in Europe and Japan." Not to quibble, but this common over-generalization ignores the huge commuter rail system in the Chicago area.