Passenger Trains > A Cutback in Commuter Rail Service Coming Up?

This doomsday law could stop trains across America in a matter of weeks (is the headline):

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/05/04/this-doomsday-law-could-stop-trains-across-america-in-a-matter-of-weeks

Craig

I was curious about SCRRA/Metrolink and the service cuts that were announced months ago,which,at the time they blamed equipment problems.
Now I see the truth is coming out.
Metrolink has financial troubles.
What a surprise, NOT!
Will SCRRA shut down as Northstar did in Minnesota?
Not likely,but deep service cuts are coming.

Metrolink Service Reduction Extension | March 2026 Update https://share.google/qwQODSbuf0gJSOuaP

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I read somewhere on Facebook. Bright line is having similar issues

Jerry Martin
Los Angeles, CA
Central Coast Railroad Festival

The world changed with Covid.
The whole commuter market of suburban residential-to-urban workplace shrank drastically so ridership shrank and has been slow to make a gradual recovery.
This has come when the conservative political forces are trying to stop government spending of all types.
Maybe a couple of years of war on Iran and much higher fuel prices could put some pressure on polititians to continue subsidies for commuter and public transit services.
I think it could be grim in several ways.
I rode a wonderful wave at Metrolink in Los Angeles, building out the network from existing SP, Santa Fe, and UP routes, but this was during the times of heavy highway congestion and strong political support.

railstiesballast Wrote:
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> The world changed with Covid.
> The whole commuter market of suburban
> residential-to-urban workplace shrank drastically
> so ridership shrank and has been slow to make a
> gradual recovery.

Not just commuter rail. Foothill Transit in the San Gabriel Valley (east of LA) is considering
consolidating or eliminating some of their commuter bus services.

One thing that happened with Metrolink is that, as things opened back up after covid, the traditional commuters weren't 
coming back, as they were (mostly) still working from home. However, midday and weekend ridership increased, as people
"celebrated" the end of lockdown with recreational travel.

Metrolink took notice and reduced the commuter trips, while adding more midday service. Thus, on the San Bernardino Line, where
peak-hour trains used to run every 20 minutes, the peak-hour trains were cut back to hourly, while trains between LA and West Covina
(later extended to Montclair) ran every 30 minutes.

The San Bernardino Line may be Metrolink's busiest line, but it is not Caltrain. That is, Metrolink neither has the ridership nor the trackage
(too much single track) to support that level of service. So, eventually some of this new midday service was removed...

Did anyone read the article as to why the OP put this up? The cutback is related to a national legal insurance requirement commuter railroads are to accept and it would be crippling in cost.......hence the national shutdown and cutback of rail service........

Here's the headline to the article - "This Doomsday Law Could Stop Trains Across America In A Matter of Weeks - Arbitrary insurance requirements set by Congress could easily kill commuter rail in the United States."

"An industry-wide insurance crisis would be a disaster for commuter rail passengers. But Gallagher said it would be a particular tragedy given the mode’s recent gains in service and ridership. Commuter rail largely recovered its pre-pandemic ridership by 2024, and some systems, like Caltrain, even doubled weekend passenger counts. Railroads have made massive investments in safety since the cap was last raised, too, and they’re just starting to record the long-term benefits of innovations like â€œpositive train control” systems, which advocates said make trains safer every year they operate."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/26 02:42 by jp1822.

MTA and NJT are largely back to where they were in 2019, and on weekends, exceed it.

The feds should insure the commuter railroads like they do with Amtrak.

AmtrakMidwest Wrote:
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> The feds should insure the commuter railroads like
> they do with Amtrak.

The feds also are the backstop behind the nuclear power industry. First the plant operators / owners, then the industry fund, then the feds as I recall it.

Isn't there a fairly low cap on how much damages can be collected from Amtrak? Congress had to waive it for the Amtrak 188 (?) Philadelphia case.

The current fuel prices will droive peoplee back to commuter rail...trust me 

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> AmtrakMidwest Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The feds should insure the commuter railroads
> like
> > they do with Amtrak.
>
> The feds also are the backstop behind the nuclear
> power industry. First the plant operators /
> owners, then the industry fund, then the feds as I
> recall it.
>
> Isn't there a fairly low cap on how much damages
> can be collected from Amtrak? Congress had to
> waive it for the Amtrak 188 (?) Philadelphia case.

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/05/04/this-doomsday-law-could-stop-trains-across-america-in-a-matter-of-weeks

bnsf6606 Wrote:
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> The current fuel prices will droive peoplee back
> to commuter rail...trust me 

Don't count on it. I've been observing commute behavior in recent weeks. Too early for a conclusion. Let's see what happens by the end of the year.

bnsf6606 Wrote:
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> The current fuel prices will droive peoplee back
> to commuter rail...trust me 
>

The backup plan to high fuel prices is remote work. Considering Metrolink ridership is down 42% from just before the pandemic, the outlook is not looking good.  Ridership is not coming back and train frequency cuts and fare increases will further drag down ridership. Metrolink could be looking at 50% ridership off its high by the end of the year. A substantial insurance cost increases will certainly result in further cuts. 

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

East coast commuter rail systems have recovered far better from Covid than west coast. On MTA and NJT, you would never know today there ever was a pandemic and just about all service is back.. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/26 06:09 by joemvcnj.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> East coast commuter rail systems have recovered
> far better from Covid than west coast. On MTA and
> NJT, you would never know today there ever was a
> pandemic and just about all service is back.. 

According to NJ Transit their passenger numbers are still down:

As of December 2025, ridership by mode was 72 percent of pre-pandemic levels for Rail, 82 percent for Bus and 81 percent for Light Rail. 

Metro-North is 83% of prepandemic and Long Island is 90%. Subway is about 75%.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

webmaster Wrote:

> As of December 2025, ridership by mode was 72
> percent of pre-pandemic levels for Rail, 82
> percent for Bus and 81 percent for Light Rail. 
>
> Metro-North is 83% of prepandemic and Long Island
> is 90%. Subway is about 75%.

Noticeably lighter Friday, and to some extent Mondays, from Tues-Thurs. 
LIRR says their weekend ridership exceeds 2019. 

LIRR service to Grand Central Terminal may have helped boost ridership

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