My Top 10 Metro Systems of the World 

It is quite strange that Moscow metro wasn't even mentioned. It is one of the biggest metro systems in Europe and one of the fastest too, with beautiful architecture.

I really think Moscow should have been included on this list. It is one of the most used metro systems in the world and has incredible architecture.

Moscow Metro has an interval of 90 seconds in rush hour and trains are never late. Tickets to the metro are also the same as for another transport and the system very well integrated with other transport. Thus, it functions super efficient. The metro is also super clean (dirty or drunk people are not allowed), has free Wi-Fi, full 4G coverage and cellular network and really good new trains with climate system, chargers, etc. And yep, the cost of a trip is about 1$. Why is it not in the top? It's so much better than the New York City subway, for example. Not objective, as for me.

As someone who has just visited Montreal for the first time and lived in Moscow 10 years ago, its weird that Montreal is mentioned for it’s architecture on this list, while Moscow is not mentioned at all

I really wonder why Moscow wasn't even mentioned. It's one of the largest most complex systems that's still being expanded, it's got some of the most impressive architecture and station designs and modern amenities such as USB plugs, wifi and "library coaches" with free e-books.

Possible top 10’s: 1. Top 10 small city subway systems 2. Top 10 Subway trains (the trains themselves!) 3. Top 10 light rail / tram systems 4. Top 10 regional rail systems

I would like to nominate Moscow for being the easiest large subway system to navigate. It is laid out in a very logical way and has excellent connectivity between lines. No line salad, no redundant stations, no weird roundabout interchanges to get from A to B, just radiuses and soon to be three circles. It is so well laid out that overground navigation for most people in Moscow is also tied to the subway layout, with station names being more recognisable than districts they serve even for people who never step foot underground anymore.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Moscow! It's one of the largest systems on earth as well as one of the busiest. It uses a broad guage track, and its stations are world famous for their beauty (to be fair, that can be said of all the Soviet metros, especially in St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Tashkent). In additional to having undergone very large expansion in recent years, Moscow is also building a regional express system, what they refer to as Diameters, a few lines of which are already in operation. Hell, its trains are even known for coming every 90 seconds! There's a hell of a lot to recommend it.

honorable mentions are: Canadian metros for excellent architecture Moscow metro: 🤨

I believe Sao Paulo metro system should be at the honorable mentions. I mean it might have it's problems, but I can confirm it's bigger than Santiago's system, and also kinda efficient, sometimes crouwded, but it happens in London too.

As a Delhite, happy to see Delhi made it to the top 10. I hope it makes to the top spot someday in future.

Also an honorable mention for me would be Moscow. Incredible architecture and also arguably the fastest way to move around the city. Those features just make it a really really good system

You cannot make suck kind of a list without mentioning Moscow! 12 lines, 2 circles (2nd circle longest in the world) and two more lines coming. Historical architecture mixed with new architectural styles and movements. Moscow has it all

Cannot believe Moscow wasn’t number one. You didn’t even mention Moscow. Wow!

Since you entered on the topic, I like to highlight that the São Paulo Metro is also a good example of the usage of brutalism. I recommend checking out the stations of Ana Rosa on Line 1, and Sumaré on Line 2

Really heartwarming to see everyone calling him out on Moscow's metro

In my opinion, that’s literally a crime not to include Moscow metro at this top. But anyway that’s a great video

Seriously... Not even mentioning Moscow, my favourite after visiting about 170 countries, is really undermining your ranking. You mention architecture... Moscow metro stations is a series of art galleries you can spend days exploring and the new stations are state of the art. Much of the lines have departures like every second minute or even more frequent. Yes, Tokyo etc are good, but they can't compare to Moscow.

Honorable mention would have been Vienna (Austria) too in my opinion. There is a reason why Vienna has been named the "most liveable city in the world" numerous times, and the near perfect transport system is definitely one of them.

Odd that there's no Moscow in here. It has a massive metro and huge ridership and ridership per capita levels.

I do still think that the Santiago Metro is a lot better than the Mexico Metro. But more strongly, I think the Sao Paulo Metro deserved an honorable mention at the very least.

I think you've severely underrated the German speaking metros. As someone from India who has used the Delhi metro numerous times, it is insanely useless relative to Vienna's (where I now live), and Berlin and so on. And the Delhi metro is very useful, so this isn't a knock on Delhi's system, but rather, a statement on how incredible these other systems are. Delhi's system is not at all dense, and the area around the metro systems is not easy to navigate, which means the walkshed along these lines is extrenely limited. Stations are far apart, and it's hard to get from a station to where you really want to go without having to rely on taxis or autos/e-rickshaws. it's far too expensive for most people, and headways are not that great. In Vienna, not only is the metro relatively affordable and can take you wherever you need to go, once you get to a station, you can actually get to your real destination from the station by walking, biking, or even better, the trams. the metro runs all night on weekends, has very short headways, is never too crowded, is extremely easy to navigate, very comfortable, and affordable, in addition to the very convenient proof-of-payment system. I think this list favours large systems or those with a lot of innovation or history or gimmicks rather than those that simply function perfect, or near perfectly. If you rank metro systems in terms of utility, cities like vienna, berlin, prague, paris, new york, london, and shanghai would dominate the list. Tokyo's system is complicated, difficult to navigate, expensive due to the many diff. owners. Seoul's is not that dense and has limited late night service, delhi's has the issues i mentioned above, hong kong is fine i suppose, but always quite crowded and has limited late night service. I think in terms of pure functionality, smaller systems like prague are actually a lot more effectivee and far better than a lot of very large megacity systems.

How could you not to mention Moscow metro? One of the biggest and high-developed metro in the world with each unique station, dedicated to a separate theme. Just look at its scheme! Will not be disappointed unless I do after watching this video.

The Delhi metro has been a game changer for the entire country. It is helping in planning and executing new metro projects in rest of the country as well. There are now 15 cities having metro systems, and cities like Mumbai will have huge systems by the end of the decade.

6:52 Moscow metro has been expanding like crazy in the last few years and is expected to expand, and it's almost a hundred years old at this point.

Surprised Taipei wasn't mentioned. Albeit it small, it is extensive and constructed in an earthquake hotspot, therefore being incredibly expensive, which makes the land use even more important. Yet still manages to construct a lot of cross platform transfers.

Great video, two comments: 1. As someone who rode the Shanghai metro extensively, I have to disagree about its high ranking. The system is modern and comfortable, with the main bonus being that each station has a crazy number of exits, which great directions, even for non-Chinese-speakers. However, one huge issue that the system suffers from is poor interconnectivity between lines. Transfers are extremely difficult at every station, but the worst case is the main/central metro station, People's Square. You can be expected to walk several hundred meters in some cases, depending on your connection. I can't imagine what it's like for people with mobility problems. Looking at Mainland China, I found Beijing Metro to be more practical, and Shenzhen was great too, though I visited when the system was very small. 2. As others have said, Moscow is a glaring omission from the video. Despite the political situation right now, for the sake of fairness it should be mentioned. It's incredibly well planned and organic, making it very efficient for actually getting around the giant city. It's already very big, and being expanded a lot, all the time.

Copenhagen is a rather small city in comparison to some of these heavy hitters, but I think there is real beauty in just how much its simplistic metro lines grant access to. One of the most annoying things with public transport and metro/train lines, is when you are completely overwhelmed with tons of lines intertwining left and right - the Copenhagen metro system deals with this in very methodical planning and execution of its stations and directness to connecting key locations in the city. On top of this, it's one of the only metro lines in the world that is fully automated and functions 24/7 365 days a year even during maintenance, due to the dual track system. The metro is also very clean and is one of the only metro lines in the world that caters best to different passenger types (cyclists, people with strollers, people in wheelchair, etc). To top it off, the Metro lines are well integrated with the light train overground network to greatly expand its reach, and the fact that all the public transport options run off of the same ticket system makes hotswapping incredibly convenient. Definitely in my opinion deserves an honorable mention, as despite its smaller size, it's one of the most innovative metro systems in the world. Basically it offers the best of every other metro system in the world, except raw size.

My favourite metros I've been on are Hong Kong, Moscow, Seoul, London and Paris! I think Moscow definitely takes the cake with the WiFi and gorgeous stations but I really enjoyed trying to learn all the different lines in Paris (although ngl the lack of mobile service on the trains kinda sucks). Seoul was a favourite purely due to the station jingles 😂

Maybe just me being selfish, but I'd love to see my hometown's Taipei MRT being an honorable mention.😁

Great video, thanks! Sao Paulo also has a really great metro system which surprisingly didn't make the list.

I visited Moscow a decade ago and noticed the beautiful and opulent metro stations. If you haven't already visited it in the past, I guess we'll have to wait for a more appropriate time in the future.

Reece, you really sholdn't ignore Moscow, don't play along with mainstream politics

I'm not trying to be in any way disrespectful towards mexico city, but, both São Paulo and Santiago have a much greater/newer metro/train/bus sistem than the latter. São Paulo for instances transports more than 1.3 billion passangers a year (2021) over 371km of tracks in 13 different lines with other 4 on construction. All of that while being considered the cleanest metro sistem in the world. São Paulo deserves a dedicated video in my opinion.

Reece, your videos do such a great job of getting people engaged in transit, sharing how unique engineering could be used elsewhere, and just elevating transit's relevance to people. I think that last part is so important as people my age grow up into voters with a general amenability to transit due to exposure, unlike transit skeptics before us. Plus they're always fun to watch. Keep it up!

Yes, the Tokyo subway is very well integrated with the railway. They often share the same lines. The one disadvantage is that transport in general in so much more expensive than say China, including HK. In Japan, the buses are even more expensive than the trains. I wish that the East Asian metros would have a bit more character, although they are very clean and safe compared to the west. I really like the cave feature in the Stockholm metro. And although I've never been there, I hear that the Moscow metro has beautiful architecture.

Really surpised Taipei isnt included here. Ive been on almost all of these systems and Taipei is definitely top 5, if not top 3. At this point, I think it clearly outshines Hong Kong. Its so clean and efficient. Its cheap, with easy transfers and goes everwhere.

Why Moscow metro was not mentioned, it's one of the most beautiful far better than newyork subway.

I have been in the Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka and Singapore metros. Tokyo is simply the best. Especially the cross connectivity with the other lines is so seamless. For me its Tokyo first, followed by Singapore and Taipei.

Hey RM. What about Moscow? The system looks pretty extensive and efficient. Awesome architecture as well.

The one thing I love about Tokyo is the fare adjustment machines. I don't know if many other systems have that but it removes so much anxiety as a visitor. It has always bothered me that you couldn't do that with Paris's RER.

Why isn’t São Paulo’s metro included in the list? It’s huge, provides connectivity to the entire city, it is modern and moves millions of people every day. Compared to some metros in the list, São Paulo’s metro could be placed as the 5th. I just dont get it

seoul was quicker and easier to navigate than tokyo in my experience, i like that you don’t have to walk long distances for transfers.

Writing to echo confusion at the lack of Taipei. It's robust, punctual, and covers a huge amount of area. Each line is unique and it's well connected to an incredible bus network. Taipei Main has like 3 underground malls, there's an express line to the airport, and there's even a gondola at the end of the brown line! In an hour's time you can go from seaside to the mountains for about 3 USD. Frankly, the whole island is well connected from a transit standpoint. Really would love to see an exploration of Taipei's system!

Expected to see Moscow Metro at least at 5th place, still another example of how politics gets into every non political field :)

For me, the Shanghai metro feels like pre-elizabeth line London with a much larger urban core. traveling within the city center is honestly super convenient. But once you need to venture further out, it usually takes at least 40-60mins on the same trains that run in the city with frequent stops that will drive you mad. The new airport connector line would alleviate some of the cross town traffic, but it mostly just bypass the city all together. A crossrail/ RER solution would be much appreciated in Shanghai. Also, for a city the size of Shanghai, train service ends incredibly early, usually around 11 pm.

Before I even watch the video I must comment that my favorite public transport system is Budapest, which integrates state railways, suburban lines, metro, tram and bus/trolleybus network (+ships on Danube) into a harmonious system that, with the help of digitalization and common pricing schema, is extremely reliable and easy to use. Taking public transportation in Budapest is one of the many awesome experiences that the city provides. Of course, the city is small compared to some other metropols, but the transportation network makes it seem even smaller. Spend a day going with public transport from tourist attraction to tourist attraction and you end up doing 50-100 km (30-60 miles), without even noticing it

I found the Japanese train systems to be incredibly confusing, you had to choose which company to use when making a trip as different lines were owned by different businesses. Transferring was very hard

Author, has the Moscow Metro really become a victim of the cancellation culture? Good job! )))

Top ten suggestions: - Top 10 small city metros - Top 10 fastest metros - Top 10 slowest metros - Bottom 10 worst metros - Bottom 10 metros that have regressed over time (slower speeds/frequency/close stations/closed lines/etc) - Top/Bottom 10 metros for operating costs - Top/Bottom 10 metros for bike access - Top/bottom 10 metros for station walk times - Top/bottom 10 metros for neighborhood walk times

My top 10 (that I've actually ridden): Shanghai, Beijing Tokyo, Seoul, New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid. Ones I haven't: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Delhi, Singapore, Chengdu, Chongqing, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Mexico City.

I would love to hear what you think about Moscow's or Saint Petersburg's metro system. They have the most beautiful stations I have ever seen with trains coming every minute.

Singapore not in the Top 10, oh my. And Seoul definitely #1 for me!

I really really think you forgot to include Taipei Taiwan MRT, its incredible and accesible

In Warsaw the metro is also incredibly clean, especially the newer M2 line :) We also just started receiving new trains from Skoda, called Varsovia, or how some people also like to call it instead: "Krecik", which means mole and is also the name of a czech cartoon character :D

8:23 Proud to work in one of the transit companies in Hong Kong once and contributed some efforts to the system's development. Actually, Hong Kong has a well-established bus network, and many of the express routes are frequent enough and take even much less travel time than trains. Bus services in Hong Kong also provide customers with a more comfortable, D2D and free-from-transfer journey, that's why bus rides are very competitive when facing rivals from MTR, different from Toronto. It will be amazing if there are a video explaining Hong Kong's bus/minibus network and operations.

It would be interesting to have 3 different categories: 10 big networks for big cities (Paris, London, NY, Delhi) 10 intermediate networks for mid-sized cities (Lyon, Rome, Milan, Prague, Budapest, Montréal) 10 small networks for small cities (Lausanne, Rennes, Catania, Genova)

But where is the Moscow Metro??? I thought it's the best in the world ...

Moscow also has a loopline and is very easy to use. I think it should rank better!

Appreciate the shoutout for the Shenzhen Metro. As a former resident, It's truly remarkable how fast that system has grown and how high quality it is.

Not even an honorable mention of Moscow :( Yes the "SMO" sucks but the subway is amazing

Moscow metro deserves to be somewhere on the top. Its only downside is lack of wheelchair accessibility at older stations, especially the deeper ones. In all other respects, I believe, it tops all other cities. Aesthetically, it’s marvellous. Operationally, it’s super-efficient, with trains running every minute or even more frequently during peak. It’s consistently expanding. And, over the past few years, regional rail in Moscow also got significantly restructured and improved. It’s also worth noting that the Metro alone wouldn’t be fully usable if not for the robust bus and tram networks. Unlike in New York, Paris or even London, the distance between metro stations in Moscow is rather huge, and the system is double-track only. In other words, Moscow Metro is an express-only transit system, which can only be fully beneficial with adequate surface transit for local connectivity , which Moscow is lucky to have as well. Unfortunately, the trolleybuses were recently discontinued, but buses and trams are as efficient as they had always been.

The Tokyo subway is convenient because it connects directly to suburban lines, but it is very complicated because there are trains that go to places far away from Tokyo. The station is also complicated, and sometimes you can't get out of the station.

Would love to see a London suburban railways explainer, and potentially another top 10 for cities as a whole, ranking all of their transit overall, not just one system

Love to hear that the Top 4 are all from Asia. Really shows how well we could take the bar higher in terms of railway innovation. Well not all cities/countries in Asia are on par with Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo, but we are slowly trying to be better. The Philippines have finally started construction on numerous new lines and extensions that will finally make mass transit better. All planned in the 20th century and undergone numerous delays and scandals but atleast it's now on its way.

One of the amazing facts about Tokyo's subway system (both Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway) is the through-service system to other railway lines. One of the newest to establish, the Fukutoshin line onto the Tokyu Toyoko line is probably one of the most significant since even before, the line was one of the busiest lines in Tokyo. However, one of the cons of through services is that if you accidentally sleep on the train, you are screwed. One of the jokes that I made is that if you sleep on the southbound Fukutoshin line, you end up in Chinatown.

I'm surprised that the Singapore MRT wasn't included, much less given an honourary mention. Almost all stations have platform-screened doors, air conditioning, has great connectivity, is fairly large, and has many connection stations.

I think Moscow can be included in this list, there are some problems in its system, in the form of a deep location and one idiotic branch, but it is perfectly included in the infrastructure of the city and suburbs, the network of commuter trains is quite closely intertwined with metro stations

Berlin has a small Underground for the size of the city, as in it doesn’t service all areas, a throw back from their history. When including the other networks, it catapults itself much higher than an honourable mention. I agree with your judgement (best Underground), as a city to live in and use - Berlin is amazing, especially in comparison to cities like London and New York where I have also lived

Very nice video. I think the Moscow metro stations architecture is worth mentioning too.

Having ridden Paris, NYC, DC, and Tokyo, (and commuter rail in Orlando,) I agree with this list pretty well. * Tokyo simply cannot be beat, especially with the very well integrated regional and metro systems, and extremely clean and safe environments. Plus, the station melodies, colored railcars, etc. So much to love. * D.C. was surprisingly clean, and the beautiful station architecture makes it shine. Large stations are very comfortable (less loud). Changing platforms in stations with side platforms was made incredibly easy. Also, the fact that it is one regional plus metro system is interesting - in both good and bad ways. * NYC had a lot of maintenance issues that made wayfinding very difficult when I was there, resulting in some very inefficient trips and transfers. Compared to Tokyo (and even D.C.), it was far less clean and felt far less safe. The trains themselves are also extremely loud in the smaller stations (many). But very extensive system. An impressive feat to serve such a large and dense metro area well nonetheless. * I don't remember much about Paris xD Long time ago.

Mexico City should be a lot higher. And Moscow it’s missing.

What about Moscow Metro? It's really impressive. I'm a moscovite, but most of my groupmates are from suburban towns and they were taken back when they first visited the metro. Please come to Moscow some day, I'm sure you'll like it! We have both old wonderful stations with beautiful architecture and also modern lines with cyberpunk-looking stations. And recently some railway lines (MCC, MCD) were also integrated into the metro system, so it became much more convenient.

Tokyos subway is way too complicated. Seouls subway system is better organized and just as clean, safe and w more modern features.

You should make a top 10 that includes the rail system as a whole, for example here in São Paulo Brazil we have a train and metro system that only serves the city

10:26 two lines of the metrô São Paulo in Brazil have these platform doors as well and the line 5 yellow is fully driverless like the lines in U2 and U3 in Nuremberg. And SP has a very clean metro with a very high frequency and a very decent suburban train with metro quality. And it is still in expansion. Greetings from Munich!

Really disappointed with the lack of moscow on this list, as a russian who used to live there and is very anti-government and anti-war, I still think that scale and the effectiveness of the metro is really impressive and deserves to be talked about (especially since I haven't found any other channels who share info about transit in as much detail as you do). Also moscow has extensive tram, regional rail, and bus network as well. Also just seems a bit weird to not mention Moscow while mentioning Shanghai because both governments aren't great.

to be honest, i was disappointed at every metro i tried abroad. I live in Seoul.

I genuinely think Lisbon’s metro is very underrated, despite not being a huge system. 4 subway lines, several trolley/light rail lines, a commuter line that essentially acts as a coastal subway line, and good buses, all for 40 euros a month (at least when I went)

How about a video for transit in "ancient" cities like Athens, Rome and Thessaloniki?

The top favourite of mine that I have ridden would be 1. Tokyo Metro and the Osaka metro for how far these systems reach out, cleanliness, excellent way finding information on both trains and at stations. 2. London - sure the trains are narrow, but it’s reach is great as well the interchanges with other rail options. 3. NYC - it’s old and stations are aging but it’s just fun to ride and you get almost anywhere (accept directly to airports)- it just has a unique character to it. 4. Paris - great network coverage and the newer trains and expansion projects are exciting. 5. Having ridden Singapores MRT - I fell in love with the variety of rolling stock. Perhaps I am approaching this as an enthusiast rather than an urban planner……

New York City Subway has less derailments, which it has less delays, heavy rains are extremely bad and delaying the trains

Moscow metro is the best in the world. Incredible architecture, structure and cleanliness. Extremely easy to navigate with tons a stop pretty much every half kilometer, payment system is not bad but not great. And trains run way more smoothly faster and often as on average wait time for the city is 2 minutes for a train.

I am Japanese. Thank you for choosing Tokyo as number one. The Tokyo subway runs on time. In addition, we think that it is convenient as we are connected with other railroads running in the suburbs. Japan has many wonderful railways. Please come to Japan and enjoy a wonderful train trip.😊

No Moscow? Lunatic list, maybe it is not the best in the world but after recent improvments it is at top 3 for sure and by far better than NY or Madrid subways...

Interesting list, I'm surprised New York City scored as high as it did. More importantly, I am glad that Tokyo was at the top of the list as it deserves to be. Japanese rail stations are the busiest in the world, of 25 busiest train stations in the world, I believe that 24 are Japanese. That sort of intense mass transit/ train utilization is indicative of what an amazing train system/ Metro system Japan in general in, Tokyo specifically, has.

The culture of "cancellation" in all its glory. I was in more than half of the list, the Moscow metro definitely had to get on the list.

The Japanese subway is very uncomfortable. There are times when you have to buy a ticket again when you transfer to another line or leave the station and go back in.

Do a video about the post-soviet countries (without Moscow, it deserves a separate video). Most of their capitals have metros. And their stations look gorgeuos

A possible future idea - Top 10 upcoming metro systems

No love for Taipei? Their metro is awesome

As a Shanghainese who is currently studying in Richmond, B.C., Canada, I am very proud that you rank Shanghai metro as number 3 among all the subway systems in the world.

he should have mentioned Moscow and Istanbul metro systems as well.

Being from London, I was so impressed by Montréal’s scale, cleanliness, architecture and efficiency (the easiest transfer I’ve ever done was at Lionel-Groulx). It is also built for the city’s harsh climate, which London and New York certainly can’t keep up with, being without basic AC. I’m just happy the TTC isn’t mentioned…

I lived in Seoul and only visited Tokyo less than I'd like so maybe I'm biased, but when I went to Tokyo I was sort of expecting a metro a tier above. But it wasn't. In fact, I gained greater appreciation for Seoul's. The fact Seoul's IS just one system is easy to undervalue. There are countless transfers where you don't have to walk far, when you do have to walk there are large tunnels connecting two separate stations so you don't have to leave the system, it's incredibly easy to make sense of, there's romanization for tourists everywhere but more importantly the yellow panels outside stations for blind people act as a way for anyone to find a station, and tons of the stations are placed right where you want to be. Much of this is also true of Tokyo, but I often found it less so, and specifically transferring between systems was always way more involved. I loved Tokyo but I did feel Seoul has caught up and surpassed at least the subway system.

Moscow system is by far the best in the world. It's so obvious for everyone who ever took the Moscow subway. At least once. It's clear this guy has never been to Moscow and never taken the Moscow subway

I think moscow metro and st petersburg metro its one of best metro systems in the world

Having London / NYC and not mentioning Moscow is a goddamn joke. It's like making the rating of top 10 best cars in the world and putting Kia first and not mentioning Rolls-Royce.

Sad to see that São Paulo didn't make it into the Top 10 or even into the honorable mentions. But still a great video and I loved seeing all the metros around the world.

The Bilbao, Paris, London, Lisbon and Barcelona metro/underground are my favourite metro systems around the world (around Europe i think)