Contracting Commuter Rail Services – An Industry Overview

Over the past 40 years, there has been considerable change in the way commuter rail services are provided in the major metropolitan areas of the United States and Canada. Up until the early 1960’s commuter rail services in these two countries were owned, operated and paid for by the privately owned freight railroads. Starting around that time, public agencies began to subsidize the continued operation of the trains that, without the promise of public funding, would have soon disappeared. By 1969, service existed in only a handful of metropolitan areas. By contrast, the commuter rail industry in North America today has grown to 27 systems, serving 22 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and Canada. More than half of these systems are “New Starts”, having commenced operations since January 9, 1989. A majority of the “New Starts” services as well as several of the legacy systems, contract for all or part of their essential operating and maintenance services. In fact, only six systems “do it all themselves”. This rapid expansion and evolution of commuter rail has led to a wide variety of strategies and approaches for obtaining and managing the operation and maintenance of these services. A growing number of non-railroad entities are managing and providing these services due in a large part to the growing disinterest on the part of the traditional railroads in being involved in any type of passenger service. The result has been two basic approaches to service delivery: bundled services where one entity provides all the essential components to operate the service; and unbundled services where the provision of the service is broken down into separate contracts for each essential component.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/papers/Papers/WilcockD_StoetzelJ-Contracting-Commuter-Rail-Services%E2%80%93A-%20Industry-Overview.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract used with permission from American Public Transportation Association.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Public Transportation Association

  1666 K Street, NW, Suite 1100
  Washington, DC  United States  20006
• Authors:
  • Wilcock, David C
  • Stoetzel, James R
• Conference:
  • 2013 Rail Conference
  • Location: Philadelphia PA, United States
  • Date: 2013-6-2 to 2013-6-5
• Publication Date: 2013

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: 11p
• Monograph Title: 2013 Rail Conference

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Contracting; History; Management; Operations; Railroad commuter service
• Geographic Terms: Canada; United States
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; History; Passenger Transportation; Railroads; I10: Economics and Administration; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01502488
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 24 2013 1:09PM