Editing Commuter rail (section)

{{short description|Passenger rail transport services primarily within metropolitan areas}}
{{redirect|Suburban train|the Tiësto song of the same name|Suburban Train/Urban Train}}
{{or1|date=April 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2019}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Metra loco 180 West Chicago (cropped).jpg
| image2            = RER NG porte maillot.jpg
| image3            = Keikyu-Main-Line Type1000-355 445.jpg 
| image4            = Trem Linha Coral CPTM (cropped).jpg
| image5            = AMA 103 at Puhinui (cropped).jpg
| image6            = Treno TSR livrea Trenord.JPG
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| footer            = Clockwise from top left:
*A [[Metra]] service of double-decker cars hauled by an [[F40PH]] in [[Chicago]]
*A [[RER NG]] train on [[RER E|line E]] of the [[Réseau Express Régional]] in [[Paris]]
*A [[Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos|CPTM]] train on the [[Line 11 (CPTM)|Coral Line]] in [[São Paulo]]
*A [[Treno Servizio Regionale]] train in [[Milan]]
*An [[New Zealand AM class electric multiple unit|AM class]] electric multiple unit used in [[Auckland]]
*Two [[Keikyu N1000 series|N1000 series]] EMUs of the [[Keikyu]] railway pass each other in [[Tokyo]]
}}

'''Commuter rail''' or '''suburban rail''' is a [[Passenger train|passenger rail]] service that primarily operates within a [[metropolitan area]], connecting [[Commuting|commuters]] to a [[Central business district|central city]] from adjacent [[suburb]]s or [[commuter town]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/glossary/001.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012074110/http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/glossary/001.pdf |archive-date=2019-10-12 |url-status=live|title=Urban Public Transportation Glossary|last=Transportation Research Board|date=1989}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/Resources/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/Transit_Glossary_1994.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012074109/https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/Resources/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/Transit_Glossary_1994.pdf |archive-date=2019-10-12 |url-status=live|title=Glossary of Transit Terminology|last=American Public Transit Association|date=1994}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/Glossary.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113002142/http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/Glossary.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-11-13|title=National Transit Database Glossary|date=2013-11-13|access-date=2019-10-12}}</ref> Commuter rail systems can use locomotive-hauled trains or multiple units, using electric or diesel propulsion.<ref name=":0" /> Distance charges or zone pricing may be used.

The term can refer to systems with a wide variety of different features and service frequencies, but is often used in contrast to [[rapid transit]] or [[light rail]].

Some services share similarities with both commuter rail and high-frequency [[rapid transit]]; examples include German [[S-Bahn]] in some cities, the [[Réseau Express Régional]] (RER) in Paris, the [[Milan S Lines|S Lines]] in Milan, many Japanese commuter systems, the [[East Rail line]] in Hong Kong, and some Australasian suburban networks, such as [[Sydney Trains]]. Many commuter rail systems share tracks with other passenger services and [[Cargo|freight]].

In North America, commuter rail sometimes refers only to systems that primarily operate during [[rush hour]] and offer little to no service for the rest of the day, with [[regional rail]] being used to refer to systems that offer all-day service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/02/13/what-american-commuter-rail-can-learn-from-paris/|title=What American Commuter Rail Can Learn From Paris|date=2017-02-13|website=Streetsblog USA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Blumgart |first1=Jake |title=Taking the 'Commuter' Out of America's Rail Systems |url=https://www.governing.com/now/taking-the-commuter-out-of-americas-rail-systems |website=Governing |date=23 April 2021 |publisher=e.Republic LLC |access-date=11 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Spieler |first1=Christof |title=Trains, Buses, People, Second Edition: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit |date=24 Aug 2021 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=9781642832136 |page=54}}</ref>