Commuter train

This article should be merged with Regional rail - see page

A commuter train is a train designed to carry large numbers of people (commuters) over short to medium distances, generally on their way to and from work.

Commuter trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort and luggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. The general range of commuter trains varies between 15 and 100 miles (24 to 160 km), with operating speeds from 60 to 110 mph (95 - 175 km/h).

Average speeds vary, but most can be expected to average 33 - 60 mph (55 - 95 km/h).

Passenger coaches are either single- or double-level cars, with a capacity of between 80 and 110 passengers for single-level cars and 145 - 170 for double-level cars.

Coaches are often equipped with a control cab allowing "push-pull" operation, which means that at the end of the train's run the engineer/driver can walk from the locomotive to the other end of the train, where the cab control car is located, enter the cab, and operate the driving controls from there, so that the locomotive pushes the train the other way for the return trip.

In this way it is unnecessary for the locomotive to uncouple, "run round" the train, and recouple in order to be able to pull the train from the front. In the absence of push-pull capability, and of a "run-round" track, another locomotive has to be available or else the whole train has to make a three-point turn on a triangular track layout (has to be "wyed", in U.S. parlance) before the return run can be made. (See also the section on termini in the article on railway stationss.)

Electric and diesel-powered multiple units (EMUs and DMUs) are almost invariably equipped with control cabs at both ends, which is why such units are so frequently used to provide commuter services.

The motive power for locomotive-hauled commuter trains may be either electric or diesel-electric, although some countries, such as Germany and some of the former Soviet-bloc countries, also use diesel-hydraulic locomotives.

Commuter trains differ from metros, in general, by

being larger;
having (in most cases) a lower frequency of service;
having scheduled services (i.e. trains run at specific hours rather than at specific intervals); and
serving lower-density areas, typically by connecting suburbs to the city centre.

They run on standard-gauge track - 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in) in most parts of the world) - although there are narrow- and broad-gauge commuter trains. Narrow-gauge trains generally run on either 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) track or on the metre gauge (39.37 inches). Examples of countries using narrow gauge are Japan, Switzerland and India. Broader gauges include 1520/1524 mm (Russia and countries of the former Russian Empire), 1600 mm (Ireland, Brazil, and parts of Australia), 1668 mm (Spain and Portugal), 1676 mm (Pakistan, India, and Argentina).

In some cases, hybrids between a train and a metro have been created. They run underground in the dense city centres and on ordinary outdoor tracks in lower-density areas. Examples include the Madrid Cercanías network, the Paris RER, lines 6-8 of the Barcelona Metro, and the S-Bahn systems of Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, and Zürich

The development of commuter train services has become popular today, with the increased public awareness of congestion, dependence on fossil fuels, and other environmental issues, as well as rising automobile costs.

In some European countries the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance / intercity trains is very hard to make, because of the relatively short distances involved. For example, so called "intercity" trains in Belgium and the Netherlands carry many commuters and their equipment, range and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries.