My Top 10 Metro Systems of the World

one of the greatest Traditions here on this channel is ranking various elements of transit systems and sometimes transit systems themselves and so I figured that after having made detailed Metro explainer videos about so many different cities as well as visiting a couple major metros this year as well as further developing and refining my opinions about various systems that it was a reasonable time to create the top 10 Metro systems in the world Redux there aren't too many Rules to This ranking and it is just my opinion albeit informed by years of research and in many cases a lot of first-hand experience actually using the systems the ranking isn't solely based on size or track length because I don't think that actually represents what makes a system good it is potentially related or correlated to it but it isn't the only factor that being said I'm also adding a little bit to each of the rankings that mentions whether I think the system would be better or worse if you were to include its entire Urban Transportation Network since some cities really heavily rely on their metros While others do not now with that out of the way let's get started with our big number 10. in 10th place today is Delhi the Delhi Metro is a large system both in terms of track length and number of stations and it effectively has 12 different lines the system is fully accessible and has lots of the modern features you'd expect from large spacious stations to platform screen doors and automated trains Delhi is also one of the fastest growing systems on today's list and it would probably rank even higher if it weren't for certain planning issues like poor connections between some Lions and the lack of integration with existing modes of Transport that being said it should still be considered a significant achievement that A system that didn't even exist 20 years ago can make it onto this list at all that also being said if you take into account the other Transportation Systems in Delhi I actually think the system might rank lower and that's largely because Delhi hasn't given nearly enough attention to enhancing the existing bus and Suburban rail systems and at the same time the Metro just isn't accessible to a large portion of the population that being said if you're curious about the deli Metro I have a video on it that explains it in detail so you can check that out in the link Down Below in ninth place we have the Mexico City metro like Delhi Mexico City is a large system that rarely gets enough attention the system has nearly 200 stations over 200 kilometers of track and 12 different lines just like Delhi and the network also has quite a unique topology among Metro systems around the world with a strong grid Network that being said I don't like the tendency to create entirely separate Suburban Rail lines that force you to transfer to get into and out of the city center Mexico City does do a really good job being multimodal with Gondola Lions multiple brt networks the Metro Bus in particular being incredibly impressive as well as trolley bus Light Rail and bike sharing networks all integrated with a common Mobility card and so if this ranking wasn't only about the Metro System Mexico City would probably be even higher in eighth place we have Madrid which also in my opinion goes painfully underappreciated at least in the English-speaking world it's the first system in this list that actually has a proper Loop line though Delhi should be getting one pretty soon and it arguably has two if you count the wacky line 12. what I think makes Madrid so good is that it is both incredibly extensive but also incredibly high quality largely thanks to a lot of construction in the 2000s and 2010s in particular a ton of effort in the past decade has been going into making the existing system more accessible and higher quality with better wayfinding and other amenities now the trains on this system are incredibly small but I don't actually see this as a negative as I've discussed before this epitomizes the idea of providing more transit to more places and more people first and worrying about expanding capacity later when lots of people are riding Transit and support the idea of building even more of it now given the high quality Suburban rail and Suburban light rail systems in particular I think Madrid would also rank higher if we were to include its entire Transportation Network rather than just the Metro System we do also have an explainer on Madrid so you can check that out in the top right corner in seventh place is New York City and some people will argue with this placement since New York lacks so many of the modern amenities that are seen as kind of standard on other systems like fully walk through trains from end to end but I think the case is still there that New York has the most impressive Metro infrastructure in the entire world even if it's not nearly well maintained enough from the many quad track lions running through Manhattan arguably one of the densest places in the world to the plethora of river Crossings and the incredibly complex underground flyovers that are all over the place in the city New York has incredible infrastructure and a large part of it was built nearly a hundred years ago at the same time despite all of its issues the New York City subway still manages to move a ton of people and so the issues can't be all that big to its actual core functioning with all of that kept in mind I don't actually think New York would rank much higher if the other systems in the region like the Long Island Railroad Metro North New Jersey Transit and the path were included and that's largely because in my opinion they suffer from a lot of the same problems as the subway generally impressive bones but poor operations maintenance and enhancements over the years number six is London which as you probably know from my recent London Underground versus New York City subway battle just barely edges out the New York City subway in my personal opinion ultimately I think London deserves this spot on the list because it's one of the few old systems that still moves a ton of people and yet has managed to maintain its system quite well at the same time the London Underground like the New York City subway has a certain degree of cultural cachet you see it in movies and books and all over the place in media that almost any other system in the world can't match of course we also do have a dedicated explainer video for London and in this case if you were to include all of the other transport in the UK's capital I think London would rank close to the top of the list the Suburban Railways are incredible the DLR is really very impressive and the overground is a great case study in how to enhance existing rail infrastructure so that's London in fifth place we have the Paris Metro paris's system is incredibly dense and there are definitely cases to be made that it shouldn't Edge out London as it often doesn't feel particularly well maintained and it's even worse for accessibility which is a big part of why London New York and Paris don't rank higher on this list but keeping that in mind Paris is almost done more important enhancement work to its Metro System than London or New York have done to their respective systems things like retroactively automating line one adding platform screen doors to a number of places across the system and doing a major expansion of the Metro itself which is something you basically don't see anywhere on a major Legacy system right now London New York Madrid Berlin Tokyo even aren't doing major expansions of what are pretty old Metro systems and that's a big part of what makes Paris so impressive of course just like with London and to a similar extent Paris would rank even higher if you could consider the trams and rer which provide great local and Regional connectivity respectively and of course we do have an explainer on the Metro up here in fourth place we have the Hong Kong MTR Hong Kong system isn't actually nearly as large as a lot of systems on this list and it has far less stations but thanks to the incredibly tight land use and Transit integration in Hong Kong it really doesn't need to be that gigantic because the places you want to go are placed where stations exist and so in many ways the city of Hong Kong developed with the transit system rather than the transit system trying to match the city of Hong Kong and at the same time the MTR feels like one of the last systems to benefit from truly Visionary planning such as having various lines connect together with cross-platform transfers all over the city sometimes even done as retrofits of course the system was designed for very high capacity higher capacity than most other systems on this list and it has all the modern touches you would expect at the same time though I haven't always appreciated that Hong Kong has great Transit that isn't just the MTR including its excellent bus Network which uses lovely double decker buses and even informal Transit networks which are quite an interesting topic potentially for a future video of course I also do have an explainer of the MTR so if you're interested check it out up here in third place we have the Shanghai Metro shanghai's system is incredibly extensive and by some measures it is the largest in the world and as you would expect for systems mostly constructed in the last few decades it's incredibly modern with platform screen doors and automated trains not even being all that unusual here and it really does have it all from a network planning perspective as well with a dense core of Rail lines and tons of different Suburban extensions albeit with a bit too much of a tendency to like Mexico City build separate Suburban lines forcing you to transfer at the same time the Dual issue of suburban-oriented lions running out in the suburbs only is that there isn't a great Express Network that lets you cross one of the largest and densest cities in the world quickly something which even other Chinese cities do better in second place is the Seoul subway which does not have an explainer yet but which we'll probably get one next year the sole Subway is impressive for a number of reasons of course it's extensive and modern like the MTR and the Shanghai Metro but it also leads the way on a lot of important things like connectivity with cellular data and Wi-Fi across the system as well as little touches that you so often see in great Transit cities like heated seats for those cold winter days of course Seoul also benefits from Regional Rail through running where trains on Suburban lines can run through some of the Metro lines and that's incredibly useful for providing that cross Regional high-speed connectivity as well as convenient Suburban trips and Seoul is building an entire new Express Metro Network known as the GTX deep below it so things are going to get even better in the coming years and I even think a city like Shanghai could learn a lot from Seoul now before we get to our number one pick I'd like to give a few honorable mentions these are systems that aren't necessarily leading in every single category but do do some unique things well some of these include Santiago for its really nice planning but also its incredible modernity especially with all of its new automated lines that feature platform screen doors which is quite unique for the Americas I also want to mention Stockholm for its excellent land use planning design and its iconic cave stations which are a great example of letting people appreciate the engineering that goes into a transit system I also think it's important to recognize Berlin and other german-speaking Metro systems for their use of proof of payment which makes stations simpler and using the systems even more convenient than a typical Metro Singapore is a system I really appreciate for its modern touches and Innovation something which you don't see all that much these years with the standard Subway being pretty much locked down I also think it's really important to highlight shangdu Shenzhen and Guangzhou who have all done a really good job creating the new category of high-speed Express metros which cities like Seoul and Delhi are stirring to construct and which cities like Shanghai would benefit massively from the final cities I want to mention in this video including a Canadian city are Washington DC and Montreal these systems both have their issues Washington DC isn't necessarily all that great operationally and Montreal system just isn't all that big or that modern but with both of these systems have in Spades is excellent architecture some of the best in the world in my personal opinion which is why I'm mentioning them here just the incorporation of brutalism into Metro systems is just genius so what is the number one system well you probably guessed it it's Tokyo which you can learn about in my dedicated explainer of course Tokyo arguably has several different Metro systems which integrate and connect incredibly well despite the fact that they are separate the system is also filled with touches that make it comfortable and frankly Pleasant to use at the same time while many people associate the idea of metros with some degree of unsafety or dirtiness both of these couldn't be further from descriptions of any of Tokyo's rail systems which are incredibly clean and are just incredibly safe at the same time and with that said there's an argument to be made that almost no City can match the incredible convenience and extensiveness of Tokyo's Suburban rail through running where you can get on a train in the Metro and it will pop out onto a Suburban rail line to take you to your final destination in one trip and so with that we have the top 10 Metro systems in the world in my opinion now what Transit top 10 should I do next and what do you think the top 10 Metro systems in the world are leave a comment down below with your personal opinion and as always thanks for watching [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: RMTransit

Views: 395,034

Keywords: transit, transportation, rail, railway, railfan, public transit, public transport, public transportation, train, subway, metro, underground, urban planning, tokyo, seoul, new york, london, mexico city, madrid, shanghai, hong kong, singapore

Id: 0X69dUt16BI

Length: 13min 12sec (792 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 13 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/canadatrasher]

I don't watch such videos unless they provide a table contents I can click through