Analysis on Improving the Utilisation Rate of Commuter Railways in Mature Metropolitan Areas in China in the Context of High-quality Development

China’s six mature metropolitan areas are facing a shortage of land resources. Commuter railways are a solution to this problem in the context of high-quality development. Nevertheless, the current commuter rail utilisation rate in these metropolitan areas is significantly lower than those in developed countries. Therefore, on the basis of analyses through the literature survey method, this paper collects the latest data on commuter railway services in the six metropolitan areas to discuss the reasons for the current low utilisation of commuter railways in terms of coverage, efficiency and operation, and to propose corresponding practicable solutions. The study found that the number of routes currently in operation is too small. In addition, there are issues including irrational station distribution, sparse train frequency and short operating hours and slow interchange in the services, all of which make the commuter railways fail to achieve the idealised time-saving effect, and serve as a reason for commuters to rely on private cars. In the foreseeable future, with the imposition of the concepts of sustainable development, transportation integration and service orientation, there is possibility that the utilisation rate of commuter railways in these metropolitan areas will be elevated.