Commuter-rail (also known as suburban rail or regional rail) systems offer rail passenger service between metropolitan and suburban areas, whether within a state or across its geographical boundaries, usually characterised by reduced fares for multiple rides and commutation tickets for regular riders. The table excludes commuter-type services operated independently by inter-city passenger rail operators Amtrak.

Heavy-rail (also known as metro, subway, elevated or rapid transit rail) systems have high-speed passenger railcars operating singly or in trains of two or more cars on fixed rails in separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular traffic and pedestrians are excluded.

Light-rail (also known as tramway, streetcar, or trolley-car) systems have lightweight passenger railcars powered from an overhead electric line via a trolley or pantograph, operating singly or in short, usually two-car, trains on fixed rails in right-of-way that is not separated from other traffic for much of the way. Many light-rail vehicles stop in the middle of the street and do not have ‘stations’ as such. San Francisco’s heritage cable-cars are streetcars hauled by an endless moving cable beneath the road surface.

Principal source: American Public Transportation Association, January 2000,
using data drawn from the US Federal Transit Administration’s National Transit Database, plus other sources.

City	State	Transit agency	Type	Stations
Seattle	WA	City of Seattle	monorail	2
Seattle	WA	King County Department of Transportation	light-rail	14
Seattle	WA	King County Department of Transportation	trolleybus
Portland	OR	Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District; operators = "Tri-Met"; light-rail system = "MAX"	light-rail	27
Sacramento	CA	Sacramento Regional Transit District	light-rail	28
San Francisco	CA	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board; "Caltrain"	commuter-rail	34
San Francisco	CA	San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; "BART"	heavy-rail	36
San Francisco	CA	San Francisco Municipal Railway; "Muni"	light-rail	11
San Francisco	CA	San Francisco Municipal Railway; "Muni"	heritage cable-car
San Francisco	CA	San Francisco Municipal Railway; "Muni"	trolleybus
San Jose	CA	Altamont Commuter Express	commuter-rail	9
San Jose	CA	Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority	light-rail	34
Los Angeles	CA	Southern California Regional Rail Authority; "Metrolink"	commuter-rail	45
Los Angeles	CA	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority	heavy-rail	8
Los Angeles	CA	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority	light-rail	36
Los Angeles	CA	Angels Flight Railway	funicular	2
San Diego	CA	North San Diego County Transit District; "Coaster"	commuter-rail	8
San Diego	CA	San Diego Trolley	light-rail	41
Las Vegas	NV	Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County	monorail	2
Salt Lake City	UT	Utah Transit Authority; "Trax"	light-rail
Denver	CO	Regional Transportation District	light-rail	15
Fort Worth	TX	Tandy Center Subway	light-rail	2
Dallas	TX	Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority; "Trinity Rail Express"	commuter-rail	3
Dallas	TX	Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority	light-rail	20
Dallas	TX	McKinney Avenue Transit Authority	light-rail
Galveston	TX	Island Transit	light-rail	3
Las Colinas	TX	Las Colinas Area Rapid Transit	guideway	4
New Orleans	LA	Regional Transit Authority of Orleans & Jefferson	light-rail	9
Dubuque	IA	Fenelon Place Elevator	funicular	2
St.Louis	MO	Bi-State Development Agency	light-rail	18
Chicago	IL	Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Rail Corporation; "Metra"	commuter-rail	226
Chicago	IL	Chicago Transit Authority	heavy-rail	141
Chicago metropolitan area	IN	Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District; "South Shore"	commuter-rail	18
Detroit	MI	Detroit Citizens Railway	light-rail
Detroit	MI	Detroit Transportation Corporation	guideway	13
Cleveland	OH	Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority	heavy-rail	18
Cleveland	OH	Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority	light-rail	33
Dayton	OH	Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority	trolleybus
Memphis	TN	Memphis Area Transit Authority	light-rail	20
Chattanooga	TN	Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority	funicular	2
Boston	MA	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority	commuter-rail	102
Boston	MA	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority	heavy-rail	53
Boston	MA	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority	light-rail	95
Boston	MA	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority	trolleybus
New Haven	CT	Connecticut Department of Transportation	commuter-rail	8
Buffalo	NY	Niagara Frontier Transit Metro System	light-rail	14
Syracuse	NY	ON TRACK	commuter-rail	3
New York	NY	Metropolitan Transportation Authority Long Island Rail Road	commuter-rail	134
New York	NY	Metropolitan Transportation Authority Metro-North Railroad	commuter-rail	106
New York	NY	Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit	heavy-rail	468
New York	NY	Metropolitan Transportation Authority Staten Island Railway	heavy-rail	22
New York	NY	Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation	aerial cable-car	2
New York metropolitan area	NJ	Port Authority of New York & New Jersey	heavy-rail	13
New York metropolitan area	NJ	New Jersey Transit Corporation	commuter-rail	158
New York metropolitan area	NJ	New Jersey Transit Corporation	light-rail	11
Pittsburgh	PA	Port Authority of Allegheny County	light-rail	13
Pittsburgh	PA	Port Authority of Allegheny County	funicular	4
Johnstown	PA	Cambria County Transit Authority	funicular	2
Philadelphia	PA	Pennsylvania Department of Transportation	commuter-rail	14
Philadelphia	PA	Port Authority Transit Corporation of Pennsylvania & New Jersey	heavy-rail	13
Philadelphia	PA	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority	commuter-rail	177
Philadelphia	PA	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority	heavy-rail	76
Philadelphia	PA	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority	light-rail	64
Philadelphia	PA	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority	trolleybus
Morgantown	WV	West Virginia University	guideway	5
Baltimore	MD	Mass Transit Administration, Maryland Department of Transportation; "MAryland Rail Commuter = MARC"	commuter-rail	40
Baltimore	MD	Mass Transit Administration, Maryland Dept of Transportation	heavy-rail	14
Baltimore	MD	Mass Transit Administration, Maryland Dept of Transportation	light-rail	24
Washington	DC	Virginia Railway Express	commuter-rail	18
Washington	DC	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority	heavy-rail	75
Atlanta	GA	Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority	heavy-rail	36
Jacksonville	FL	Jacksonville Transportation Authority	guideway	3
Tampa	FL	Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority	guideway	2
Miami	FL	Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority; "Tri-Rail"	commuter-rail	18
Miami	FL	Metro-Dade Transit Agency	heavy-rail	21
Miami	FL	Metro-Dade Transit Agency	guideway	21