The metro is one of the world’s most popular forms of public transport, used by billions of people every year.
As of 2023, there are subways in 195 cities in 62 countries. The metro is often the main public transport in the city.
We invite you to briefly familiarize yourself with the topic of what the metro looks like in large cities and what interesting solutions are used in other countries.
Content:
🇺🇸 New York Subway (424 station)
🇨🇳 Shanghai metro station (403 station)
🇨🇳 Beijing Subway (370 units)
🇫🇷 Paris Metro (308 devices)
🇰🇷 Seoul Metropolitan (Station 279)
🇬🇧 London Underground (station 272)
🇷🇺 Moskovskoye metro station (263 station)
🇪🇸 Madrid Metro (station 242)
🇮🇳 Delhi Metro (231 stations)
🇩🇪 Berlin Metro (175 surveys)
🇺🇸 New York Subway
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 424
📏 Length: 399 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 1.793 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1863
The New York subway is the largest in the world in terms of quality. At the same time, 40% of the methods are not underground – they spend on the ground and on artificial heights.
The New York subway operates 24 hours a day. Another consideration is the routes – some stop at all stations, but most stop only at major stops.
Interestingly, the first metro line was launched in 1863, and it was an above-ground part. The first underground line was launched just 39 years later – in 1904.
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🇨🇳 Shanghai metro station
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 403
📏 Length: 802 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 3.8 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1993
Shanghai became the third city in China to have a metro. Moreover, this happened in 1993. Over the past 30 years, the Shanghai metro has become the world’s longest metro in terms of route length – their total length is 802 km.
In addition, the Shanghai metro ranks first in the world in terms of annual passenger traffic. The record for daily passenger traffic was set at 13.29 million on March 8, 2019.
By 2025, the city authorities want to increase the length of routes to 1000 km.
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🇨🇳 Beijing metro station
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 370
📏 Length: 800 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 3.8 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1971
The Beijing metro became the first in China and East Asia. Now it is one of the largest metro stations in the world in terms of track length.
Until 2002, the Beijing metro consisted of two lines, but then the city authorities began to actively expand it.
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🇫🇷 Parizhskoye metro station
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 308
📏 Length: 226 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 1.3 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1900
The Paris metro is one of the oldest not only in Europe, but also in the world. Known for its high coverage, 226 devices are observed over an area of 105.4 km².
By the beginning of World War II, the Paris metro consisted of 14 lines. During the war, many stations were destroyed, restoration took many years, and some stations remained closed forever.
The metro is still under regulation. Now there are 16 branches in the city, all the old branches have been extended in different parts of Paris. Four more are under construction.
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🇰🇷 Seoul Metropolitan
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 279
📏 Length: 561 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 2.1 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1974
The Seoul Metro not only serves Seoul, but also surrounding cities.
All stations have sliding doors near the tracks to prevent people from falling onto the tracks. Most stoppage announcements are made in Korean and English, but Japanese and Chinese are also used in large enterprises.
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🇷🇧 London Underground
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 272
📏 Length: 402 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 1 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1863
It is the very first metro in the world, and one of the most famous in the world, thanks to its stations, trains, tunnels and logo.
The first tunnels were marked, but later smaller, deeper, rounder tunnels were added. This gave rise to a new nickname for the metro – “pipe”.
Only 45% of the London Underground is underground. Most of it is located on the surface.
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🇷🇺 Moscow metro
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 263
📏 Length: 460 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 2.5 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 1935
Moscow was the first city in the USSR to have its own metro. It is the busiest metro system in Europe and the world, relative to Asia.
The Moscow metro is the world leader in train frequency – peak traffic in hours does not exceed 90 seconds. It is also the third metro system in the world (after Madrid and Beijing) to have two circular lines.
Most of the metro is underground. The deepest station, “Victory Park,” is located at an altitude of 84 meters.
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🇪🇸 Madrid Metro
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 242
📏 Length: 293 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 571 million people per year
📆 Opening date: 1919
The Madrid metro ranks 14th in the world in terms of track length. Despite the long history, active development of the metro took place from 1995 to 2007.
It is interesting that in the Madrid metro the traffic is on the left, although in Spain the traffic is on the right. This happened because the metro began to be built when Spain had left-hand traffic. In 1924, 5 years after the launch of the metro, traffic in the country changed to right-hand traffic, but, for obvious reasons, no one began to redo the metro.
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🇮🇳 Delhi Metro
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 231
📏 Length: 345 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 1.7 billion people per year
📆 Opening date: 2002
It is the largest and busiest metro in India. Its construction began in 1998, and the official opening took place in 2002.
City authorities initially expected to build the network in 20 years, so construction was divided into several stages. The third stage will be completed in 2023. The fourth stage of the transition is in 2019, construction is expected to be completed by 2025.
After this, the length of the route will exceed 450 km, which will make the Delhi Metro the seventh longest in the world.
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🇩🇪 Berlin Metro
Ⓜ️ Number of works: 175
📏 Length: 155 km
👥 Passenger traffic: 492 million people per year
📆 Opening date: 1902
The Berlin metro was actively built during the Second World War, but after its end, most of the equipment and tracks were destroyed.
By 1950, the reconstruction was completed. However, differences between Berlin and Germany have made their own adjustments to the operation of the metro.
Only residents of West Berlin used the metro. The metro was closed to East Berlin. The train traveled along all lines without stopping in the eastern part of Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, all restrictions were lifted.
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Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
