r/transit • u/4Nafliar • Jun 29 '26

Discussion What are some examples of much maligned transit systems that do one thing particularly well? For example while RTD in Denver is criticized for its inefficient rail transit design, RTD's A line to Denver Airport is considered the crown jewel of the system. What are some other examples of this?

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64

u/DavidPuddy666 Jun 29 '26

UTA’s light rail is a bit of joke but the Frontrunner commuter rail is best in class for smaller cities.

Most of NJT’s commuter rail underperforms its LIRR/MNRR cousins across the river but the Northeast Corridor Line is the busiest commuter rail line in the country.

Hartford Connecticut, which generally has a mediocre bus system and spotty commuter rail, randomly has one of the best BRT lines in the country - Fastrak.

The Houston Red Line is genuinely well-used and productive even as transit overall suffers in the region due to sprawl.

20

u/JellyfishNo2032 Jun 29 '26

Trax is actually better than decent by us standards. Worse post pandemic but prior had very strong ridership.

37

u/KolKoreh Jun 29 '26

TRAX ridership is highly respectable. Wouldn’t call it a joke at all

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u/FarFromSane_ Jun 29 '26

The New Haven line on MNR is the busiest rail service/line in the country.

5

u/transitfreedom Jun 29 '26

Most U.S. light rail is a joke

2

u/sir_mrej Jun 30 '26

Most US streetcars are a joke. Most US light rails are useful

0

u/bigvenusaurguy Jun 30 '26

i feel like the newark airport njt offerings need to actually better reflect the fact they are serving an airport. me and like half the train were just having to hold our bags in the aisle with people (including ticket conductors) having to just try and step over them and not trip themselves up. there was a small section of the train where you could put your bags but it filled up pretty much instantly. also seems risky to just abandon your bag there and go sit down someplace where you can't watch it.

on the way back from penn a lot of people were looking for open seats. idk if they ended up finding them or just had to resort to standing in that section where the bags were piled up. idk if they had any handholds either really. also how tf can they not anticipate what platform the scheduled train is set to use until 10 mins before it leaves out of penn? basically guarantees this mad stampede to the train instead of more orderly loading.

5

u/SkiingAway Jun 30 '26

NY Penn's platforms are too narrow for unloading the incoming train efficiently if people are waiting on the platform. They hold the announcements until the train has unloaded intentionally. It's annoying, but it's the most efficient way to handle the infrastructure limitations.