Subway (mass transit) systems
 

There are many threads about subway systems and stations in various FT destination forums, but think a universal thread could be potentially useful. I say "potentially useful" because this topic is admittedly quite broad. In order to slightly offset this, I suggest that we attempt to use city names (instead of 3-letter airport codes) in our posts.

I'm using a template with specific points to get the ball rolling. Others are free to either use it if they like.

What is your favorite subway system, and why?
Washington DC is my favorite because it's usually possible to get seats, the stations are convenient (apart from no Georgetown), and transfers are well designed. Hong Kong is a close second.

What are some of the most enormous subway stations that you know of? How do you deal with them.
People's Square here in Shanghai is the largest (~20 exits) subway station I've ever experienced. And, when I was in Nanning two weeks ago, I learned that they have underground malls that bridge multiple stations. After knowing about such places, I typically put them on the "don't transfer there" list. That having been said, some transfers work better than others, even at big stations.

What is your favorite airport for subway access to the downtown area it serves?
PDX gets my vote on this point. Sure, the Max isn't super fast, but it is cheap, and actually goes through the heart of the city. I also like the Silver Line in Boston because it is free, and provides access to the entire T network

Do you have any general tips to offer on the systems you know best?
In Shanghai, avoid Line 2 during anytime close to rush hour. The same goes for Lines 10 and 1 in Beijing.

What's your protocol for identifying optimal station exits?
Google Maps is typically my initial weapon of choice for this mission, but when I'm hauling luggage, I take 2 minutes to do more research (often on the transit company websites themselves). After I experience a station, I simply take a picture of the station map, and save it to my phone.

Whenever I visit somewhere with a metro/subway that I haven’t yet boarded, that becomes a priority.

Sadly, China has been leading the way for a while now; I say sadly because they are truly unpleasant and often asinine constructions.

Example 1- most of the Chinese systems require a plastic token (which theoretically should be able to used at any station, no matter where you buy them. Alas, it’s not the case.). Plus, they expire after a few hours of not having been used.

Example 2- sometimes, you have to queue up just get change, in order to then queue up to buy the token. And queues in China are a lot like portion control in the US.

Example 3- have fun entering a Chinese metro with luggage, and going through the rigmarole of security theater, and escalators where no one moves.

Example 4- mobile phone service is allowed, and equally irritating, tvs with loud ads.

Example 5- because even China has trouble controlling its own people, many stations corral passengers with serpentine gates, which IMO slows things down, also insert brick in the wall reference here.

Example 6- pay when you leave. The NYer in me hates this, and backlogs seem worst in East Asia, where people are staring at their phones more than anywhere else...and it’s not because they all use wechat pay/alipay/octopus on their watches/whatever to exit.

Example 7- China is very lipstick on a pig. From afar, buildings and infrastructure look good...until you approach them. Not to mention, cigarette butts.

—-

As for my metro strategy, download a map pdf to FoxIt pdf (offline, of course), and voilá.

what are some of the metro systems that have the best coverage? I liked paris and tokyo where I didn't have to ever take the bus.

This is my go to website for subways and metros. I use it whenever I plan to visit a city. Its great to understand the overview in each city, but not so convenient when you are actually needing a map while you are trying to find the subway. But this website is amazingly comprehensive:

urbanrail.net > metro - subway - light rail

You can get lost in the web site. Just pick a continent, and then find just about any city with mass transit.

I think Berlin has an amazingly comprehensive transit system of S Bahn, U Bahn, Trams, etc,

Tokyo was intimidating to figure out at first, but I found it a wonderful system. But I needed something like Google Maps to figure it out.

Its a puzzle to me, and I have to try to get around by subway/tram no matter the city. Amsterdam has my favorite tram system. Vienna has fun trams, Budapest has some of the steepest deepest escalators I have ever been on. They make me dizzy.

What is wrong with you?! Clearly you have never been stuck on the red line due to single tracking while packed into a sardine can with 60 other human beings in the middle of July heat. :p

61 (you + 60) in a car isn’t bad at all, considering that they actually seat 64
;)

I didn't consider Polytonic's point about the single track issue when I extolled the Washington Metro in my OP, but this definitely comprises a chink in the armor.

Moving on, following is a comparison between the DC Red Line and Shanghai Line 2:
-3 minute intervals (Shanghai) are preferable to 15 minute intervals (DC during non peak times)
-forward facing seats (DC) are luxurious; this will never happen in China
-Metro Center is leaps and bounds better than People's Square or Nanjing West Road for transfers; the latter actually requires people to walk as much as 1000 meters above ground!
-Shanghai Line 2 has stations at both PVG and SHA; this is a pretty big carrot for HBO people who don't mind being VERY close to strangers

Red line train intervals actually get worse than 15 minutes (closer to every half hour on weekends, depending on whether you are going to a terminus station).

Forward facing seats are great if you're a tourist. Not so great for commuters. I think the new cars being used on the silver line are much better, with the seating parallel to the train car (more standing/suitcase capacity).

I actually don't know anyone that transfers through Metro Center -- if you're going Red <-> Orange/Blue coming from NW, most people I know end up taking the hike between Farragut North/Farragut West. So you end up walking a couple blocks above ground in that case as well.

Anyway, I digress. I did not mean to derail this thread discussing the numerous faults I have with WMATA. :D

Can't say I'm super well versed in metro systems across the globe, but I loved the train system in Japan, including the Tokyo metro.

The trains go everywhere. They're frequent, on time, and clean. And!! Suica / Pasmo / whatever cards. Amazingness. They work on the subway. They work on above-ground trains. They work all over the country in different metro areas. They work at vending machines. They work at convenience stores. Even some restaurants in the train stations. Don't have to worry about carrying around change or credit card acceptance or anything like that. Super practical.

I enjoy seeing the mass transit in different locations I visit and will take the train/metro/subway whenever possible as I usually pack very light and have no troubles navigating the stations. I have quite the collection of contactless transit payment cards, hopefully contactless credit cards will become more accepted.

As OP mentioned the light rail at PDX is cheap and convenient. I also like the train to/from SEA as it can be faster than driving when traffic is heavy thought the hike across the parking structure is longer than I'd like.

Stockholm gets my vote for most impressive stations, Berlin for efficiency and connectivity to inter-city rail.

Metro systems that have stood out in my experience:

Moscow- I could explore that system for days, marveling at the Socialist Realism and uniqueness of some of the older stations. Quite efficient system, too, though not terribly welcoming for non-Cyrillic readers. I picked up basic Cyrillic specifically for this metro system...ok, and for menus.

Pyongyang- stations are named after ideals, and also have beautiful artwork.

Mexico City- at every other station, it seems a new vendor/busker boards...not that I like it, but watching people's reactions can be entertaining. Practical icons representing individual stations, too (also in Guadalajara).

Hong Kong- the most overrated system. Rude locals, unnecessary tvs, always a logjam at the narrow gates, can't add just any amount to Octopus cards (at least with cash), ridiculous eating/drinking policy, etc.

I like:
New York. They have express trains that bypass stations. Most subway systems don't have this. On the other hand, New York's subway looks very old.

Santiago de Chile. Very smooth ride on rubber tires but not the only subway with rubber tires (Paris, Montreal, Mexico City, and others have it, too)

I don't know how anything can beat Paris (when they're not on strike, that is). The Paris Metro covers the city like a spiderweb. Inside the Blvd. Peripherique, you're never more than 10 minutes walk from a stop, at most. A lot of other cities have big holes in their rail coverage (e.g., London, DC, many other places). I also love their labyrinthine stations.

Regarding tools, Citymapper is often the best if you’re in a city that they cover and you have internet (it works offline during the trip, but not otherwise). They actually send people to scout the walking distance between platforms, exits etc and take that into account when suggesting routes, as well as telling you which part of the train to board in order to be closest to your transfer/exit at the other end. As a result of the work involved in that level of detail, they only cover certain cities. Google Maps (or Apple Maps in China!) sorts out the rest.

For fully-offline I’ve found maps.me to be quite good, again, where it has public transit coverage.

PDX's MAX light rail station is about 150 feet from one of the AS carousels; about the easiest public transit system in the USA for a traveler to access. On the other hand, the light rail station that serves SEA is probably 1/4 mile from the terminal and requires walking through a parking structure.

I think my favorite transit system in North America is Vancouver, BC, which features the driverless SkyTrain. If you have the time you can take public transit to Victoria via the wonderful BC Ferries and connecting buses at Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay or as far east as Chilliwack and nearby Harrison Hot Springs by bus.

I loved the MTR system in Hong Kong and still have my Octopus Card.

Tokyo has probably the most extensive rapid transit rail system, even over London, Paris and New York.

I am always amazed at the public transit networks in German speaking cities such as Munich, Frankfurt and Vienna. I was in Basel earlier this week and loved the trams there; Bern has both trams and electric buses (overhead catenary, like San Francisco and Seattle) which seemingly go everywhere in the Bern region. Budapest is another place with a great tram network and a number of subway lines.

AFIK, Georgetown was excluded because the local residents didn't want subway service. The same goes for JHU in Baltimore.

My DC v Shanghai comparison was a bit unfair, now that I think about it; while Beltway traffic might suggest otherwise, Shanghai's commuter population is an order of magnitude greater than DC's --> 3 minute intervals make sense.

Switching subtopics, I would have rated HK #1 if we started this thread 20 years ago. BUT, the HK Station to Island Line (Central) transfer is really bad (i.e. making people tote their luggage 500 meters should be out of bounds).

It's not the walk that kills (replace your luggage if yes).

It's getting into suburban trains with checked baggage.

Think the idea is to can from airport express

Paris RER banlieu system.
Was stuck on a TGV train who stopped for 30 minutes unknown reason in the middle of nowhere underway to Paris Nord.
I had to catch a plane at CDG.
First RER available was a direct train to CDG, took some 15 minutes, then needed a transit bus to the correct CDG terminal.
Check in rows were empty, I was last to check in.
No problem they said at check in, we know about the TGV system down and waited for you, lucky me...
I like Paris Metro most, love Montreal and hate Bangkok with is incompatible overloaded two lines, ordering more carriages 5 years too late....
Montreal you can ride the whole system at a single price.

I probably sound insane but I love Tokyo's subway/private train system.

Suica cards now can be loaded to Apple Pay and loaded with a credit card.

Google Maps has perfect directions and everyone is so polite and orderly.

If you're a tourist, you almost never travel in morning peak so you frequently get a seat.

People are used to luggage and they have Express trains.

I also like Vancouver's Skytrain system

I sort of collect top up cards for metro/mass transit systems in cities I have been to. I always try the metro in cities I go to that have one.
My favorites:
- Tokyo: absolutely insane in the level of precision, user friendliness, timing and coverage of the city. I could ride it for days
- Seoul: covers so much of the city, you are always near a station and there is always a station where you want to go
- Paris: same as Seoul
- Hong Kong: very practical, works wells, clean, efficient
- Singapore: same
- Lisbon: I like the line name scheming and logo, find it somewhat relaxing

The worst:
- Shanghai: very disappointing for an Asia subway: not clean, not very user friendly, rude locals
- Xi'an: same as Shanghai
- Lyon: very uncomfortable seats

Agree about New York's express system. Brilliant innovation that, despite its age, doesn't seem to have been replicated anywhere.

I am happy to play as urban transit is a passion of mine.

What is your favorite subway system, and why?
Common answer, but it's mine: London, for the wayfinding / navigation / mapping aspects. No other system on earth did as much trailblazing wayfinding work, starting with the Beck map in 1933. Beck's amazing orienteering insight was that it did not matter where the stations and lines were in real life -- only in relation to one another. This led ironically to both distortions (stations are sometimes much closer to / farther from one another than they seem on the map, etc.) and clarity, but much more clarity. For nearly 100 years people have been navigating London with the Tube map, not the street map, as primary mental reference -- visitors and natives alike. I don't think there is another city on earth where this is true. The Beck-originated map is one of the 20th century's major works of influential information design. Today's version is close to saturated with data, but I can still look at it for hours.

What are some of the most enormous subway stations that you know of? How do you deal with them.
Times Square and 14th Street in New York are incredible. So are Chatelet-Les Halles in Paris and, obviously, Shibuya in Tokyo, where I got lost. I deal with them via trial and error, and the exploring-deciphering part pleases me as long as I am not running for a plane. Note I have never gotten lost in London!

What is your favorite airport for subway access to the downtown area it serves?
It is hard to beat DCA. A two-minute walk to the Metro station, then a < 10 minute ride across the river, and you're there in record time for $2 or $3. Spoils you for anything else. (Note that the Washington Metro system is sort of falling apart owing to neglected maintenance and falling ridership, and last trains depart DCA before 1100p some nights, but the airport link is a bright spot.)

Do you have any general tips to offer on the systems you know best?
Stand right, walk left. And stay away from Covent Garden station -- it is lifts-only and always mobbed by tourists, and you can walk there from Leicester Square in four minutes.

What's your protocol for identifying optimal station exits?
Follow the brisk-walking locals -- they know where they're going.

That's why it's one of the only, if not the only, subway system that runs 24/7.

I'm sure I have many more systems to try but out of the below systems I've been on, Istanbul, Lisbon , Paris, Singapore, HK, Chicago, Copenhagen I think have an ease of access between the international airport and the main tourist areas . The other are convenient mostly for traveling in the main tourist/central areas, I think.

Istanbul, Paris, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Chicago, Washington D.C., Montreal, Copenhagen, Sydney, Bucharest, Lisbon

I love the U1 line in Berlin. Uhlandstrasse Station is old and the cars are old but the entire thing has so much personality. The seats have little brandenburg gate patterns on them.

My favorite Sbahn station in Berlin is Hackescher Markt. The wooden ceiling, the light fixtures are industrial retro, the filigreed iron posts are beautiful. I have just stared at that station's architecture.

The M1 line in Budapest is one of the oldest existing lines in Europe. It is still very useful, but the stations are charming, with wooden cabinets, scroll work, etc. The trains themselves are throwbacks with interesting lighting inside and manual doors that are fun to open.

The Strassenbahn in Vienna has beautiful signage and some retro trams that wind around the old town.

The Yurikamome Line in Tokyo that goes over the Rainbow Bridge and onto Odaiba. I sat in the front car and the view is amazing as you do a loop and then over the bridge and through the Odaiba modern buildings.

The Metro signs in Paris are in a league of their own. Same with London for the Tube signs and logos.

Some of DC's stations are wonderful architecture. I have only seen pictures of some of the wonderful stations in Russia and former Soviet states.

Miami's Metrorail when you zoom over Miami River at night and all the buildings are lit up for Christmas.

I might be a little obsessed with metros.

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I too loved the London and paris subways but I almost always was Zone 1 equivalent - only a handful of times did I go zone 2 when in London. But I also love the buses in both cities just to see the city. I used to use London Underground with luggage in the 90s until I switched to the heathrow express!
fun read about the becks map - I just didn’t know!

cool thread
 

I (too) am a big pubic transit rider while I am travelling - so I am happy to contribute my two cents worth:
What is your favorite subway system, and why?
I agree that DC has a good subway system - but - what are the key criteria? IMO, airport access and reach are essential. From this perspective, IAD is weak. My personal favourites:
- Lisbon;
- Singapore;
- Kuala Lumpur.
While I agree that PVG has subway access, I found it very difficult to reach my destination in Shanghai, due to connections and short turns.
What are some of the most enormous subway stations that you know of? How do you deal with them.
Obviousy, this is reason to avoid Shanghai's. Also, London. Is there a workaround? IMO, not really.
There is a workaround @ JFK esp if you want to go to The Bronx or Metro North.
What is your favorite airport for subway access to the downtown area it serves?
San Diego
Do you have any general tips to offer on the systems you know best?
I know Toronto & Montreal the best. My tip is to familiarize yourself with the pubic transit buses in both cities as they are the key to cheap transit to the CBD & beyond.
What's your protocol for identifying optimal station exits?
Google Maps is good. I also use the Trip Planner feature.

I want to defend Shanghai a little bit because they have managed to create the world's largest subway network during the span of the last 20 years:
-Line 10 offers you a chance of getting a seat
-try to focus on single line trips
-I can only endorse SHA if Line 10 works for you; Line 2 is not cool

I actually used Maglev, then line 2 and finally line 9 to get between the airport and my hotel and found this OK

Funnily enough, I just got off a Lyon metro five minutes ago. Can't say I found the seat uncomfortable. :-)

My three favourites, in alphabetical order, are Hong Kong, London and Paris. My particular dislikes are New York (efficient but dirty and horrible) and San Francisco (badly maintained and filthy).

Obviously a subway system has to get the basics right (speed, connectivity, adequate comfort, convenience etc.) but increasingly I find ease of payment really becomes important. Here London is streets ahead (completely contactless throughout the system, including bus with fare breaks and caps fully integrated), Hong Kong is good but you have to rely on Octopus and busses are different. Paris has fallen behind with the Metro, bus and RER all on different systems.

I'd say the largest subway station in the world is the one that is also a train station, the busiest train station in the world. Of course it's Shinjuku station in Tokyo. The underground passages extend from the Shinjuku Washington Hotel on the west side to Shinjuku san=chome station on the east side, a distance that surely approaches 4 km. The station includes 3 different rail companies (4, if you include the nearby Seibu Shinjuku station) and 3 subway lines (also 4 if you include walking underground to access the Fukutoshin line). There's also a long distance bus station that is part of the structure.

St. Petersburg
 

Cool thread. For deep metro stations, a shout-out to St. Petersburg (passing under the Neva).

For large metro station I usually manage well enough with the signage. I usually study a bit before to know which exit to take. I of course got lost a couple of times in Shinjuku (never People Square or Ch telet though).
Based on how my travel companions behave in subway, it seems I have good skills at navigating unknown subway and stations by very quickly looking at maps and signage.

fact checking Santiago, Chile
 

While I am generally loathe to debate others FT, this comment requires a reply. 80 of the 136 metro stations in Santiago were damaged in the riots last month. The videos show the destruction as horrible and senseless. I have no idea how many are operational but its not business as usual for the metro in the Chilean capital.

I find the London Underground and Chicago's EL very easy to understand and great coverage. I wish the tube cars were cooler in the summer.

I find thy NYC subway difficult to understand and intimidating (not unlike my ex).

The Lyon tram, on the other hand, definitely has uncomfortable seats. I'm sitting in one now. (It's worth the discomfort.)

No debate or arguments at all. I haven't seen Santiago after the riots. Too bad so many stations were damaged.

1. Personal favorites would have to be either Hong Kong or Tokyo. While I like them and are equally comfortable with either, I'd have to say HK's, if only because I have a much easier time with speaking and reading the local language.

2. I recall being stunned how how large Shinjuku station and the area it encompasses. The first time, I thought it was just where I had been used to getting on and off, but slowly realized it stretched out several blocks. Even now, I marvel at its sheer size and how efficiently it runs for something that large.

3. While there are many, PDX is a pretty good choice. It's clean, comfortable, a short distance from the Gate and very scenic. I also like the HK Express, but not sure if it qualifies as getting one directly into "downtown."

Honorable mentions are London's and New York's, both which I had known quite well when I had worked in those respective cities for a period of time. But, once about 6 months passes, I tend to forget and get lost all over again. When it comes to exits, I just sort of use the force, because I've never been able to read maps, have no sense of direction and no idea how to use a compass. I must waste at least 30 minutes getting lost at every new station I get off of and any familiar ones where I haven't visited in 6 months.

I find Shanghai's the easiest to learn with my deficiencies, and have, amazingly enough, never gotten lost there. I just like the those bright Arrows pointing the way to routes and transfer trains that are idiot proof, in my view. Generally, I don't like to devote any effort to reading or critical thinking on subways, and really find those bright green arrows comforting.

Paris is pretty good, but I just prefer to take taxis or hire a private car in that city. After an unfortunate incident, I will never take public transportation in that city, ever again.