Measuring the most extensive metro system in the world isn’t as cut and dry as it seems. First off, what exactly constitutes a metro? Does it have to be underground? And do we count the number of stations or the length of the track? Generally the two follow one another closely but not always. For the purposes of this list we decided to go with length of track but we are by no means claiming that this is the best or only way. So keeping all of this in mind we bring you the 25 most extensive metro systems in the world.
The second city in China to open a metro system after Beijing, Tianjin has 80 miles of track that service 76 stations.The subway system of Busan in South Korea, this underground network has 128 stations along 81 miles of track.An integral part of the extensive mass transit system of Greater Osaka, the Osaka Municipal Subway runs for 86 miles and stops at 101 stations.This rail network in the German city of Hamburg makes stops at 68 stations along 86 miles of track.Spanning the entire city-state of Singapore, the MRT services 89 stations along its 91 miles of track.Serving the San Francisco metropolitan area, BART operates five lines on 104 miles of track with 44 stations.Commonly referred to as the Metrorail, Washington’s rapid transit system is the second busiest in the United States after the New York Subway.Short for “elevated”, the L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. It’s the second longest rapid transit system in the United States after New York and third busiest (after New York and Washington D.C.)The official rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, MTR covers 108 miles of track and stops at 82 stations.This large suburban network crosses the city of Valencia, with all trains continuing out to far-flung suburbs. It has 109 miles of track and 169 stations.This combined urban rapid transit and suburban rail network serves the Copenhagen metropolitan area and connects the city center with the suburbs.A relatively new metro system, Shenzhen is the sixth city in China to open an underground. It has 111 miles of track and 137 stations.Possibly one of the most dangerous modern metros to construct in terms of life lost, over 100 people have died in the last decade working on various expansions to the network.One of two separate metro systems used by the citizens of Tokyo, the Tokyo Metro gets so full during peak hours that specially trained individuals known as Oshiya or “pushers” are used to cram people into crowded trains before they depart the station.The fourth metro system to be constructed in China after Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, the Guangzhou underground is the sixth busiest in the world and has 120 stations lining 134 miles of track.1 2
Sorry, but the “S” in “S-Bahn” stands for “Stadt”, i.e. “City” Railway.