Rank the subway systems
 

Living in Chicago, I have decided that our subway/el is garbage. I have never been on such a poor system. How I would rank the systems that I have been on.

1.Tokyo-Very fast. always on time. pretty nice trains and stations. great network.

2. DC-Super nice trains. Good coverage. Runs often and quick. does not run late.

3. Toronto. Didn't seem like it covered much ground, but it was super quick and trains came right away. Train was very nice.

4. Munich- Excellent coverage. quick trains, very nice ones too.

5. London. Excellent coverage. Trains came quick. Decent speed. Expensive. Some stops were nice, some were not. Trains were not that nice.

6. Paris. Same as London.

7. Milan. Didn't cover much ground. But it was OK otherwise.

8. Rome. Same as Milan.

9. NYC. Trains run frequesntly. They sometimes move quick, but often super slow. The new trains are nice, but the old ones are not. Coverage is great in manhattan, but poor elsewhere. Not a very good system, but better than Chicago.

10. Chicago. The worst I have ever been on. Useless unless you are going to or from downtown, or within the north side. I have never been on anything as slow as the red line. The worst smelling trains in the world. Stations are antiques. The only city in the world, where I resort to bus travel over trains.

Ooh, I don't know if I'd put the London tube in any top-10 list. While it does invoke a nice feeling of nostalgia, some of the older lines are shockingly dangerous (mind the gap!) and totally inaccessible to people with disabilities. I do not normally suffer from claustrophobia, but found myself to be very uncomfortable in those low-ceilinged cars. The DLR is quite nice, if a bit shaky, though.

I like the Paris metro system much more.

At the present, Tokyo holds #1 in my list for having an extremely efficient subway system for moving the majority of its 35 million people! ;)

We'll see what other countries have in store when I go to Europe this summer.

Sanosuke!

I live in NYC, and I don't find the coverage to be "poor" outside of Manhattan. There are parts of the other boroughs that are not covered, and those areas are served by the LIRR or express buses. But for the most part I can get almost anywhere I need to go by subway without dealing with a bus.

I used to live in Chicago, and I know conditions are getting more and more miserable as the Ravenswood corridor gets busier every year (and it doesn't help that the reconstruction has started, leading to fewer trains). I was always shocked that only the Red and Blue were 24 hours, but I guess cabs are fairly cheap there....

The Sydney City Circle Rail Line is fantastic!!

The system in Vienna is very nice.

Take the modern subway in Shanghai for only 4 RMB (50 cents). Signs are in English as well as Mandarin.

Shanghai and Hong Kong are both very good.

Hong Kong and Singapore are excellent. BUT my first love will always be the magnificent Tube in London - horrendous and magnificent in equal quantities - Baker St, my favourite station (yes, I'm sad - i have one) is wonderful - others, yes, less so. Buy a day long travelcard and its not too expensive!

Seem to remember Prague was pretty good too!

Singapore's subway is one of my favorites. The antique line in Buenos Aires (Linea 1 IIRC) is interesting to ride.

In the USA I actually like Chicago's system of busses and subways. Yeah, the subways are garbage pits and the elevators are full of urine (Chicago Street station, Red Line, 2 days ago), but the system gets me where I want to go without having to rent a car.

Chicago used to be pretty good, but, the battle between downstate and Cook County in the Legislature has let the system run way down. Plus, the revival of the central city in the last 15-20 years has increased L using population while funding has gone away. Riding the Ravenswood line or the Evanston Southside line on the L portions gives a great view of the city neighborhoods.

As to good systems:

USA

1. L.A.--bad coverage, but fancy stations and very nice cars.

2. D.C.--same as L.A. with somewhat better coverage.

3. NYC--love the view as you cross the East River on the bridge. And, now you can actually get a decently fast trip out to JFK!

Abroad

1. Paris metro and RER--too crowded, but excellent coverage, and cheap weely and monthly passes.

2. Kyoto metro-very tough to figure out for non Japanese speakers, although it is a very simple system. But, nice Kyotians are very helpful. And I loved the little Kintetsu railway which gives you a special street level view of the city.

For sheer ease of use and ride enjoyment: Hong Kong and believe it or not Bangkok.

But as NYer, I'd have to rate the dirty, overcrowded dysfunctional NYC system as #1. Here's why:

1. It is 24 hour system.
2. It is a 24 hour system.
3. You can ride the entire subway system on one fare
4. Can can transfer between lines fairly easily and at multiple transfer points
5. It is pretty extensive- if you know the network.
6. There is great artwork( tiling, sculpture, paintings) in the most unexpected places.

Did I mention, it is a 24 hour system?

Never realized LA actually had a system. I thought it was cars and cars alone with buses being Z grade.

Another one that is worth seeing is the Moscow one. The old part (1930s vintage) is actually quite beautiful - lots of artwork, mosaics, etc... Communist art, but still well done. The "newer" part (1960s) is New York industrial style without the quality. :) Definitely an easy way to get around, and they have coloured lines as well as numbers/letter, making it easy for tourists to figure out where they are going. Main advice would be try to get a small grasp of cyrillic writing so you can at least recognize what station you are at.

Lyon France .. nice but only French signs

London .. my FAVORITE in the world tho lots of walking

NYC .. filthy, scary, not a place I want to be

Chicago .. decent but some routes are a bit scary

Minneapolis has a Light Rail (not true subway) that is very nice clean and fast. AND it goes from the MSP airport to MOA (Mall of America!)

Dallas also has a Light Rail .. have not used it since it opened as I was departing my secondment in DFW.

Amsterdam Tram system is fabulous

Montreal
 

I like Montreal. The trains run on rubber tires and are quite. The stations are clean and each station was designed by a different architect.