World's best metro rail systems

London

The Underground system is also colloquially called the Tube. As commonly used today both by Londoners and in most official publicity, this term embraces the entire system

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Moscow

As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 185 stations and its route length is 305.7 kilometres (190.0 mi). The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 84 metres (276 ft) below ground at the Park Pobedy station. The Moscow Metro is the world's second most heavily used rapid transit system after Tokyo's twin subway

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Tokyo

Tokyo Metro trains are severely crowded during peak periods. During the morning peak period, platform attendants (oshiya) are sometimes needed to push riders and their belongings into train cars so that the doors can close.

On some Tokyo Metro lines, the first or last car of a train is reserved for women during peak hours.

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Seoul

With more than 8 million passengers per day, Seoul has one of the busiest subway systems in the world.

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Mexico

Each station within the Mexico City subway is identified by a minimalist logo related to the name of the station or the area around it. This is because, at the time of the first line's opening, the illiteracy rate was extremely high, so people found it easier to guide themselves with a system based on colors and visual signs. The design of the icons and the typography are a creation of Lance Wyman, who also designed the logotype for the 1968 Summer Olympic Games at Mexico City. The logos are not assigned at random; rather, they are designated by considering the surrounding area

By Tjeerd Wiersma from Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

New York City

Many stations are decorated with intricate ceramic tile work, some of it dating back to 1904 when the subway first opened. The subway tile artwork tradition continues today.

The "Arts for Transit" program oversees art in the subway system. Permanent installations, such as sculpture, mosaics, and murals; photographs displayed in lightboxes encourage people to use mass transit.

By Grendelkhan via Wikimedia Commons

Paris

Since the Métro was built to comprehensively serve the city inside its walls the stations are very close: 548 metres apart on average, ranging down to 424 m on line 4] and up to one kilometre on the newer line 14, meaning Paris is heavily pockmarked with stations.

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Osaka

Osaka Municipal Subway is the metro network in the city of Osaka, Japan, forming an integral part of the extensive mass transit system of Greater Osaka (Kansai region), having 125 out of the 1,108 rail stations (2007) in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto region. In 2010 the greater Osaka region had 13 million rail passengers daily (see Transport in Keihanshin) of which the Osaka subway accounts for 2.29 million.

Photo by Masayuki (Yuki) Kawagishi from Tokyo, Japan (Osaka subway Imazatosuji line) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

HongKong

Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 11.6 km (131.5 mi) of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops. The MTR system is currently operated by MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL).

By WiNG (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

St. Petersburg

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Barcelona

The Barcelona Metro, part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since September 20, 2011, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 166 stations and 125 km in total. In 2002 ATM announced that two additional lines would built in the near future, L12 and L13. There have been 3 driverless lines since 2009: Line 11, Line 9 and Line 10, in chronological order.

Photo by Ralf Roletschek [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Boston T

The subway system has three rapid transit lines—the Red, Orange and Blue Lines, and two light rail lines—the Green Line and the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line (designated as part of the Red Line). The system operates according to a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, with the lines running between central Boston and its environs. All four colored lines meet downtown at a square configuration, and the Orange and Green Lines (which run parallel) meet directly at two stations.

Photo by Jessica Reeder (P1080054) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Common

Singapore

The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system forming the major component of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987, making it the second-oldest metro system in Southeast Asia, after Manila's LRT System. The network has since grown rapidly in accordance with Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the backbone of the public transport system in Singapore, with an average daily ridership of 2.406 million in 2011, approximately 71% of the bus network's 3.385 million in the same period. The MRT network has 141 stations with 199.4 kilometres of lines and operates on standard gauge.

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Madrid

The Madrid Metro (Spanish: Metro de Madrid) is a metro system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the sixth longest metro in the world though Madrid is approximately the fiftieth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Unlike normal Spanish road and rail traffic, Madrid Metro trains use left-hand running on all lines due to historical reasons. The Madrid Metro operates every day from 6 am-1:30 am.

Photo by Valyag at es.wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons

Chicago L

'L' is one of four heavy-rail systems in the United States (the 'L', New York City Subway, PATH and the PATCO Speedline) that provides 24-hour service on at least some portions of their systems. The oldest sections of the 'L' started operating in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City. On average 703,326 people ride the 'L' each weekday, 447,605 each Saturday, and 326,956 each Sunday. Annual ridership for 2011 was 221.6 million.

Photo by Rene Schwietzke from Jena, Germany (Chicago 'L') [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Shanghai

The Shanghai Metro is the urban rapid transit system of China's largest city, Shanghai. The system incorporates both subway and light rail lines. It opened in 1995, making Shanghai the third city in Mainland China, after Beijing and Tianjin, to have a rapid transit system. Since then, the Shanghai Metro has become one of the fastest-growing rapid transit systems in the world. As of 2011, there are eleven metro lines (excluding the Shanghai Maglev Train), 278 stations[note 1] and over 434 kilometres (270 mi) of tracks in operation, the longest network in the world. The Shanghai Metro delivered 2.101 billion rides in 2011,[6] the fifth busiest in the world. It set a daily ridership record of 7.548 million on October 22, 2010.

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Taipei

The Taipei Metro, more commonly known as the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit or Metro Rail Transit) or formally as the Taipei Rapid Transit System, is a rapid transit system serving metropolitan Taipei in Taiwan. The system is built and operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) and consists of 96 stations and 110.1 km (68.4 mi) of revenue track. The system carried an average of over 1.66 million passengers per day in December 2011.

Photo by Yulu at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

Copenhagen

The S-train network is a combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network serving Metropolitan Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the city center with the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, and has close to half of the stations within the urban city. The first line was opened in 1934. Today the network forms the heart of the public transportation infrastructure in the city, serving more than 357,000 passengers a day.

Photo by Stig Nygaard from Copenhagen, Denmark [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Prague

The Prague Metro comprises three lines, each of which is represented by its own colour on the maps and signs: Line A (green), Line B (yellow) and Line C (red). There are 57 stations in total (three of which are transfer stations) connected by nearly 60 kilometres of mostly underground railways. The metro service operates between 4-5 am till midnight from Sunday till Thursday (on Friday and Saturday the last trains journey start at 1am), with about two- to three-minute intervals between trains during rush hours. Over 500 million passengers use the Prague Metro every year.

Vancouver Sky Train

SkyTrain is a light rapid transit system in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SkyTrain has 68.7 km (42.7 mi) of track and uses fully automated trains on grade-separated tracks, running mostly on elevated guideways, which gives passengers views across the city and helps SkyTrain to hold consistently high (over 95%) on-time reliability.

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Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened in 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London. It reaches north to Stratford, south to Lewisham, west to Tower Gateway and Bank in the City of London financial district, and east to Beckton, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal. This was the first automated regular train service in London. The system is not entirely unmanned, though it uses minimal staffing on board trains and at major interchange stations. This has led to proposals to fully automate the Tube, which also would increase service capacity.

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Miami

The Miami Metrorail, officially Metrorail and commonly called the Metro, is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami, Florida, United States, serving the Greater Miami area. The Metro is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only rapid transit metro system, and is currently composed of 22.4 miles (36.0 km) of line with 22 stations.

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Sao Paulo Brazil

The São Paulo Metro is the principal rapid-transit system in the city of São Paulo and the largest in Brazil. It is also the second largest system in South America and the third largest in Latin America, behind Mexico City and Santiago. The Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo - Metro was founded on 24 April 1968. Eight months later, work on North-South line was initiated. Today, São Paulo Metro is considered the best rail transportation system in the Americas. The Metro has a length of 74.3 kilometres (46.2 mi), distributed into five lines with 64 stations.

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Montreal

The metro system is Canada's busiest subway system in total daily passenger usage, serving an average of 1,111,700 daily passengers on an average weekday (as of Q1 2011). In 2011, 308.7 million riders (transfers not included) used the Metro. According to the STM website the metro system has transported over 7 billion passengers as of 2010, roughly equivalent to the world's population.

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Guangzhou Metro

Daily service hours start at 6:00 am and end at midnight, and ridership averages 5 million. Having delivered 1.64 billion rides in 2011, Guangzhou Metro is the sixth busiest metro system in the world. Guangzhou Metro operates 144 stations, including 14 interchange stations, and 236 km of tracks.

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Cairo Metro The Cairo Metro in Egypt is the first of only two full-fledged metro systems in Africa, and the Arab World. The system consists of three operational lines. On all Cairo metro trains, the middle two cars (4th and 5th) of each train are reserved for women (the 5th car becomes a mixed use after 21:00). These cars are used as an option for women who do not wish to ride with men in the same car; however, women can still ride other cars freely. As of 2011, the metro carried nearly 4 million passengers per day.

Metro de Santiago is South America's most extensive metro system with 5 lines, 108 stations and 103 kilometres of track making it the second longest in Latin America after that of Mexico City. The metro system serves the city of Santiago, Chile.

[By Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) (Own work) [By Julián Ortega Martínez [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

Delhi

The Delhi Metro network consists of six lines with a total length of 189.63 kilometres (117.83 mi) with 142 stations of which 35 are underground. It has a combination of elevated, at-grade and underground lines and uses both broad gauge and standard gauge rolling stock. Delhi Metro is being built and operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC). The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been certified by the United Nations as the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to get “carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions” and helping in reducing pollution levels in the city by 630,000 tons (630 Gg) every year.

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In a major breather for the five million people of Pune, the Maharashtra government has given the green signal for the state's second Metro rail project after Mumbai here, a top official said. Here are some of India's other metro systems:

Bangalore has Namma Metro, which is being built in phases. Phase I of Namma Metro covers a total of 42.30 km and will be completed by the end of 2014. Phase II spans a length of 72.1km.

Photo by Ramnath Bhat [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Kolkota

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line (Line 1) and five lines currently under construction. It was the first such form of transportation in India, opening commercial services in 1984.

Which one is better between Delhi Metro, Kolkata Metro and Bangalore Metro? You tell us by posting a comment below.

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