There are probably blogs or websites dedicated to show photos from all the subways and metro systems from around the world. There should be at least a few dozens of them and each has its own unique look. Over the years I had a chance to use metro systems in the following cities – Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Beijing, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York City and Almaty. All of them are very different. Each has its unique features and style of operation and definitely different architectural details. Some are more industrial looking (like NYC Subway), some are almost can be considered like art galleries (most of the Moscow and Saint Petersburg station built during 40th and 50th are full of art, at least I hope they still are, I haven’t been back there in 20 years).
The newest out of all of them is one in Almaty Kazakhstan. It opened doors about 12 month ago and only has a few stations on one line at the moment. They started building it about 30 years ago while I was still in middle and high school, then with Soviet collapse they stopped that project for many years. I was glad to see it opening doors this year and I was able to get a ride in it this summer while visiting Almaty.
Out of all metro systems, to me, the NYC Subway was the most confusing. It took me a few rides to understand how it works. Different color lanes operate on the same trucks and not all stop at every station, so getting a grasp on what train to take was a bit confusing. Fortunately there were some nice folks who provided a quick advice and then it was all making sense, well, at least at that time. Next time I visit NYC, I’ll probably have to figure it out all over again.
What’s your favorite metro system?
London? My daughter also found her way in Japan, & Paris is fine with me – its also the people that matter, i.e., how helpful they are.
The only subway system I have ever ridden on (thus far) is the London underground. I thought that system of transportation was totally cool. No matter how much Londoners might whinge about their transit, I found the underground to be clean, efficient (at the time I was there) and rather amazing, with so many different routes in operation.
I have ridden NYC, London, and the Paris subway. So far, Im stil enamoured with NYC. Though I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the “tube” and Paris’s subway. I’ve been wanting to do a trip around the world to ride all of the subways/light rails/heavy rails/HSR’s…(trian fanatic here). Btw, have you considered the Metro in Dominican Republic? They started operations in 2009, with one line and now they have a second line as of oct 2012.
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I’ve never been on any type of subway or metro system, so they all look completely wonderful and intriguing to me. I really like the picture you posted and the information you gave on other subway systems. Now I want to go through subway pictures and write down which ones I must visit. 🙂
Tokyo is my favorite.
Tyneside Metro in the North-east of England. Not a big or complicated system, but reliable, clean and CCTV on trains plus driver training means any problems get picked up quickly. Vienna’s system is excellent too.
Tyneside Metro in the North-east of England. Not a big or complicated system, but it’s reliable, clean and CCTV in trains plus driver training mean any problems get picked up quickly. Vienna’s system is excellent too.
The London Underground is excellent (when it is excellent ;)) and Athens Metro was very good, even for an English-only speaker, but my favorite has to be the DC Metro; it’s easy, generally well run, and feels like home. Great photo, by the way!
Nice shot…:0)
nice photo … London underground is not bad all .. but I find the system in Berlin is very easy and simple to use… the underground in Rome, Paris and Barcelona and in New york are all good but not as easy I would say …