5 Largest Metro Systems In The World

Before you is a list of the largest metro systems in the world. There are over 165 distinct systems that can be referred as metro system, subway systems or underground systems, and their size can be measured by a number of factors – number of users, total length of rails or number of stations. Here we decided to list the metro systems by the number of stations, and mention the other factors as well
1. New York City Subway, NYC, United States – 421 stations – The famous subway of NYC has the largest number of stations in the world. Opened in 1904, it’s also one of the oldest (8th oldest to be exact). The NYC subway has a total length of 373 km (232 mi) – that’s 4th in the world, and a whooping 1.7 billion riders as to 2013!

Largest Metro Systems In The World: NYC subway

2. Paris Métro, Paris, France – 303 stations – The Paris Métro opened in 1900 – the 5th oldest metro system in the world. It has 303 stations spread over 214 km (133 mi) and over 1.5 billion riders enjoying fast and reliable transportation every year

Largest Metro Systems In The World: Paris Métro (source: Fabio Venni @ flickr)

3. Madrid Metro, Madrid, Spain – 300 stations – With almost the same number of stations as Paris and even a larger total length – 293 km (182 mi), the Madrid Metro was first opened in 1919. It has “only” 500 million riders every year – the least number of riders between all the metro systems on this list

Largest Metro Systems In The World: Madrid Metro

4. Seoul Subway, Seoul, South Korea – 296 stations – The Seoul Subway opened much later than the previous systems – in 1974. It has a total length of 327.0 km (203.2 mi) and has the second largest number of riders – over 2.5 billion every year!!

Largest Metro Systems In The World: Seoul Subway

5. London Underground (“The Tube”), London, England – 270 stations – The famous London Tube first opened as an “underground railway” in 1863, but the first electric line opened in 1890 making it the world’s very first metro system. It’s also the third longest system with 402 km (250 mi) and more than 1.2 billion users each year

Largest Metro Systems In The World: London Underground (“The Tube”)