Home > Railways > Countries > Operators > United States

Passenger Rail Operators - United States of America

Information on this page is subject to the disclaimer.

Quick links

national
regional: Baltimore & Washington, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis
states etc.: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
other

The following states have no known local rail operators: Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming.

National

Amtrak (National Rail Passenger Corporation) - heavy rail

Regional

Baltimore and Washington area (MD, DC, VA)

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) - includes:
- MARC - heavy rail
- Baltimore Metro Subway - metro
- Baltimore Light Rail - light rail
- Purple Line - light rail in Washington suburbs, under construction
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) - metro
DC Streetcar - light rail
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) - heavy rail

Boston area (MA, RI)

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) - heavy rail, metro, light rail; also operates:
- Cape Flyer - heavy rail, summer weekend service Boston – Hyannis

Chicago area (IL, IN, WI)

Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) - regional planning and funding (site includes maps and journey planner)
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) - metro, light rail
Metra (Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation) - heavy rail
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) - owns:
- Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad ("South Shore Line") - heavy rail

New York area (CT, NJ, NY)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority - NYC transit authority; owns:
- NYC Transit - metro (NYC subways, Staten Island Railway)
- Long Island Rail Road - heavy rail
- Metro-North Railroad - heavy rail
Shore Line East - heavy rail (New Haven, CT – New London, CT)
Hartford Line - heavy rail (New Haven, CT – Springfield, MA)
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - (jointly owned by NY and NJ states), owns:
- PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) - metro ("Hudson Tubes")
- AirTrain JFK - light rail
- AirTrain Newark - light rail
New Jersey Transit - heavy rail, light rail

Philadelphia area (DE, NJ, PA)

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) - heavy rail, metro, light rail
Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) - metro (Philadelphia – Lindenwold, NJ)
New Jersey Transit - heavy rail (Atlantic City Line), light rail (River Line)

St. Louis area (IL, MO)

Metro (Bi-State Development Agency) - light rail (MetroLink)

Alabama (AL)

No local rail operators

Alaska (AK)

Alaska Railroad - heavy rail
White Pass & Yukon - international tourist heavy rail

Arizona (AZ)

Grand Canyon Railway - tourist heavy rail: Williams – Grand Canyon

Phoenix

Valley Metro - light rail

Tucson

Sun Link Streetcar - light rail

Arkansas (AR)

Little Rock

River Rail Streetcar - heritage light rail

California (CA)

Los Angeles and San Diego area

Metro (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority) - metro, light rail
Metrolink (Southern California Regional Rail Authority) - heavy rail (Los Angeles area)
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) - light rail
North County Transit District (NCTD) - heavy rail (San Diego area: Coaster, Sprinter)

San Francisco Bay area, including Sacramento and San Jose

Metropolitan Transportation Commission's 511.org Transit (portal site)
Caltrain - heavy rail
Sonoma Marin Area Rapid Transit (SMART) - heavy rail
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) - operates:
- San Francisco Municipal Railroad (Muni) - light rail
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) - metro
Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority (VTA) - light rail (San Jose area)
Altamont Commuter Express - heavy rail
Sacramento Regional Transit District (SRTD) - light rail

Colorado (CO)

Denver

Regional Transportation District (RTD) - heavy rail, light rail

Connecticut (CT)

see New York area

Delaware (DE)

Wilmington

local rail service provided by SEPTA - see Philadelphia area

District of Columbia (DC)

see Washington area

Florida (FL)

Brightline - heavy rail: Miami – Orlando

Jacksonville

Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) - automated guideway (Skyway)

Miami / Fort Lauderdale / Palm Beach

Tri-Rail (South Florida Regional Transportation Authority) - heavy rail
Miami-Dade County Transit - metro (Metrorail), automated guideway (Metromover)

Orlando

SunRail - heavy rail

Tampa

TECO Line Streetcar - heritage light rail

Georgia (GA)

Atlanta

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) - metro
Atlanta Streetcar - light rail

Savannah

dot: River Street Streetcar - heritage light rail: suspended from early 2016

Hawaii (HI)

Honolulu

Honolulu Rail Transit - metro, under construction

Idaho (ID)

No local rail operators

Illinois (IL)

Chicago

see Chicago area

East St. Louis

see St. Louis area

Indiana (IN)

see Chicago area

Iowa (IA)

No local rail operators

Kansas (KS)

No local rail operators

Kentucky (KY)

No local rail operators

Louisiana (LA)

New Orleans

Regional Transit Authority (RTA) - heritage light rail

Maine (ME)

No local rail operators

Maryland (MD)

Baltimore

see Baltimore area

Massachusetts (MA)

Boston

see Boston area

Michigan (MI)

Detroit

Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC) - automated light rail (People Mover)

Minnesota (MN)

Minneapolis and St. Paul ("Twin Cities")

Metro Transit - heavy rail (Northstar), light rail

Mississippi (MS)

No local rail operators

Missouri (MO)

Kansas City

Kansas City Streetcar - light rail under construction

St. Louis

see St. Louis area

Montana (MT)

No local rail operators

Nebraska (NE)

No local rail operators

Nevada (NV)

Las Vegas

Las Vegas Monorail - automated monorail

New Hampshire (NH)

No local rail operators

New Jersey (NJ)

New Jersey Transit - heavy rail, light rail; see also New York area and Philadelphia area

New Mexico (NM)

Albuquerque

New Mexico Rail Runner - heavy rail

New York (NY)

Buffalo

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority - light rail

New York city

see New York area

North Carolina (NC)

Charlotte

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) - light rail (LYNX); heavy rail in planning

North Dakota (ND)

No local rail operators

Ohio (OH)

Cincinnati

Cincinnati Streetcar - light rail under construction

Cleveland

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority - metro, light rail

Oklahoma (OK)

No local rail operators

Oregon (OR)

Portland

Tri-Met (Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon) - light rail (MAX Light Rail), heavy rail (Westside Express Service)
Portland Streetcar - light rail

Pennsylvania (PA)

Philadelphia

see Philadelphia area

Pittsburgh

Port Authority of Allegheny County - light rail ("The T")

Rhode Island (RI)

Providence

local rail service provided by MBTA - see Boston area

South Carolina (SC)

No local rail operators

South Dakota (SD)

No local rail operators

Tennessee (TN)

Memphis

Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) - heritage light rail

Nashville

Music City Star - heavy rail

Texas (TX)

Austin

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) - heavy rail

Dallas / Fort Worth area

Trinity Railway Express (TRE) - heavy rail
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) - light rail
McKinney Avenue Transit Authority - heritage light rail
Denton County Transportation Authority - heavy rail ("A-train")

Galveston

Island Transit - heritage light rail (out of service indefinitely)

Houston

METRO (Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County) - light rail (METRORail)

Utah (UT)

Salt Lake City

Utah Transit Authority (UTA) - light rail (TRAX, streetcar); heavy rail (FrontRunner)

Vermont (VT)

No local rail operators

Virginia (VA)

Norfolk

Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) - light rail ("The Tide")

Washington DC area

see Washington area

Washington (WA)

Seattle and Tacoma area

Sound Transit (Central Puget Sound Regional Transportation Authority) - heavy rail (Sounder), light rail (Central Link [Seattle], Tacoma Link)
Seattle Streetcar - light rail
Seattle Monorail - monorail

West Virginia (WV)

No local rail operators

Wisconsin (WI)

Kenosha

City of Kenosha Transportation Department - heritage light rail
local rail service provided by Metra - see Chicago area

Wyoming (WY)

No local rail operators