Urban Rail Success Stories:
New York

The 7.0 million residents of the New York boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens take nearly five million trips a day on the city's subway system. This high density of public transport ridership is made possible by a residential population density of nearly 30,000 per square mile and one of the world's largest central business districts, with between 1.8 and 2.3 million jobs (depending on area definition). The central business district employment density is approximately 300,000 per square mile. In addition, nearly one million daily trips are taken on commuter rail systems and the PATH subway system from the suburbs. These largely suburban to central business district commutes would overwhelm the roadway system, which is limited to river crossings (since Manhattan is an island). Virtually all rail service is grade separated metro or commuter rail (little or no light rail).

See Keys to Rail Success