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Virginia Railway Express (VRE) set a record on-time performance, while Phoenix’s Valley Metro posted its highest-ever light-rail ridership last month.

During October, VRE’s on-time performance was 98 percent, a first-time achievement in the rail service’s 19-year history, VRE Chief Executive Officer Dale Zehner said in a prepared statement.

The commuter-rail agency operated 600 trains with 11 total delays. Overall performance during October for the Manassas line was 98.44 percent and for the Fredericksburg line, 97.86 percent.

Several recent initiatives undertaken by VRE’s Operations Board helped the agency achieve the performance record, according to Board Chairwoman Sharon Bulova.

Those initiatives included the procurement of a new fleet of rail cars and locomotives, which helped reduce mechanical issues on the line; investments in railroad infrastructure by Virginia and host railroads CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway, which helped to improve capacity; and customer service improvements made by Keolis, VRE’s new operator, she said.

Meanwhile, Valley Metro’s ridership rose 8 percent to a record 1.3 million boardings during October, compared with the same month a year ago.

“The increase can be attributed to a number of different factors, including a large number of conventions, the Arizona Diamondbacks reaching the playoffs and Arizona State University football drawing a crowd,” said Valley Metro Chief Executive Officer Steve Banta.