First Class For Everyone: Transforming Commuter Rail into Regional Rail

For a long time, North America’s commuter rail systems followed a tried and true model: provide reliable, high-quality, amenity-rich service to the legions of white-collar commuters heading to office jobs. Even before the pandemic and work from home trends took a bite out of the 9-5 commute, some commuter systems were envisioning a different model. And now, more systems are taking similar steps, figuring out everything involved in making a switch to a regional rail framework. The goal is to use much of the same infrastructure to serve a wider cohort of riders, to see the rail system as part of a more equitable regional connectivity solution for all kinds of trips during the day and on weekends. That’s a huge but exciting pivot. It requires rethinking a lot, from capital investment plans to service plans, and fare structures to the basic understanding of potential riders and their needs. Hear from three systems at different stages of making the pivot. The shift from first class for commuters to service for everyone is on-going story.

Moderator: James “Abe” Zumwalt, Economist & Planner, David Evans and Associates, Inc, Seattle, WA
Isaac Greenfelder, Rail & Transit Operations & Planning Leader, Sound Transit, Seattle, WA
Melissa Flores Saxe, PMP, Sounder South Project Development Director, Sound Transit, Seattle, WA
Jody Holton, AICP, Chief Planning & Strategy Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia, PA
Michael Muller, Executive Director of Commuter Rail, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston, MA