This is a list of rapid transit systems around the world. Such systems are commonly called metros, subways, elevated railways, rapid rail, or underground railways. The list is ordered by continent, country and city, and the systems are listed along with their opening year, system length and number of stations.
There is no single and unambiguous definition of a rapid transit system, but the term often refers to systems that are called metro, subway or underground. Whereas the words subway and underground indicate that the system is sub-surface, the terms metro and rapid transit typically also include systems that are elevated or at surface level. A popular definition of metro is urban, electric passenger transportation system with high capacity and high frequency of service, which is totally independent from other traffic, road or pedestrians. The terms heavy rail (mainly in North America) and heavy urban rail have similar definitions.
The dividing line between rapid transit and other modes of public transport, such as light rail and commuter rail, is not always clear. A common way to distinguish rapid transit systems from light rail is by their separation from other traffic. While light rail systems may share roads or have level crossings, a rapid transit system runs on a grade-separated exclusive right-of-way, with no access for pedestrians and other traffic. And in contrast to commuter rail, rapid transit systems are primarily used for transport within a city, and have higher service frequency, typically not more than 10 minutes between trains during normal daytime service. Furthermore, rapid transit systems do not share tracks with freight trains or inter-city rail services. It is however not relevant whether the system runs on steel wheels or rubber tyres, or if the power supply is from a third rail or overhead lines.
The name of the system is not a criterion for inclusion. Some cities use rapid transit or metro as a brand name for a transit line with no component of rapid transit whatsoever. Similarly, there are systems branded light rail that meet every criteria for being a rapid transit system. Some systems also incorporate light metro or light rail lines as part of the larger system under a common name. These are listed, but the light rail lines are not counted for in the provided network data. Certain transit networks match the technical level and service standards of rapid transit, but reach far out of the city and are commonly known or better described as regional or commuter rail. These are not included. Neither are monorail and funicular systems, nor people movers, such as amusement park, ski resort and airport transportation systems.
- ↑ Paris Metro network had 297 stations and was 211.3 km long in 2004. In 2007, the network was extended with 1 station and 1.6 kilometers.
Paris: new section of Metro Line 14 opened. Infrasite.net (2007-07-02). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ↑ In addition to the U-Bahn, Berlin has an extensive network of urban railway lines, S-Bahn, which may be considered a metro in its own right.
Schwandl, Robert. Berlin S-Bahn. UrbanRail.net. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
The Berlin metro (U-Bahn). Means of Transport & Routes. BVG. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ↑ Currently, line 1, 2 and 6 are rapid transit. Additional suburban lines will be upgraded to rapid transit standard.
Schwandl, Robert. Napoli. UrbanRail.net. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ↑ Line 50, 53, and 54 are rapid transit. Numbers exclude light rail line 51. World Metro List. metro bits (2008-01-10). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ↑ The official Moscow Metro site provides pages with network data in Russian and English. The Russian page seems to be the more accurate and updated page.
Moscow Metro. Moscow Metro. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
Moscow Metro numbers Template:Ru icon. Moscow Metro. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ↑ TMB lines L1-L5+L11, and FCG lines L6-L8.
Rohde, Mike. Barcelona. Metro Bits. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ↑ According to the Community of Madrid, the Madrid Metro network, including Metro Ligero (light rail), has a total of 318 stations and 322 kilometers. Light rail lines spans along 28 kilometers; thus the metro network is 294 kilometers. There are 231 metro stations, counting interchange stations only once.
90 new kilometers, the biggest expansion of Metro in history is already a reality Template:Es icon. Community of Madrid. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
Rohde, Mike. Madrid. Metro Bits. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
- ↑ Central parts of line 1, 3 and 5 can be considered full metro. Outer parts are served less frequently and have level crossings. Line 2 and 4 are light rail.
Rohde, Mike. Valencia. Metro Bits. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
Schwandl, Robert. Valencia. UrbanRail.net. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
- ↑ SL Annual Report 2006 p. 17. Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (2007-06-21). Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ↑ Key facts. London Underground. Transport for London. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ↑ The red, orange, and blue lines of the subway is rapid transit. The elevated orange line opened in 1901, sharing Tremont street subway that opened in 1897 as an underground tram tunnel for the green line.
Schwandl, Robert. Boston T. UrbanRail.net. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
About the T - Financials - Appendix: Statistical Profile. MBTA (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
- ↑ Red and purple lines.
Facts at a Glance. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ↑ First regular elevated railway service began in 1870. The first section of subway opened in 1904.
New York City Transit - History and Chronology. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
MTA New York City Transit - 2006 Preliminary Budget. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
Jeremy Olshan (2006-08-21). Lone riders of the Rockaways. New York Post. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
- ↑ BART System Facts. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- Rohde, Mike. World Metro List. Metro Bits.
- Schwandl, Robert. UrbanRail.Net.
- Taplin, Michael. World System List of LRT, Tramways and Metros. Light Rail Transit Association.