I always love debates about which city has the world’s best rail system (one could extend that debate to the world’s best public transport system, but for simplicity’s sake let’s keep it to rail for the moment). A number of possible candidates come to mind – some of which are cities that I have visited, most are cities that I have not.
A few criteria:
- Must provide well for a variety of trips – both long-distance suburban and inner-city. Inter-city links are also a factor.
- Must be an efficient and effective solution for its size.
- Integration, connectivity, ease of use.
- Operating hours.
- Other aspects (cleanliness etc.)
From what I know, three cities probably stand out above the rest: Paris, New York and Tokyo. I haven’t been to Hong Kong or Madrid, which might be other cities with a chance here, and while I have been to Singapore I haven’t left the airport. London is a possible candidate although its current lack of an “RER-type” system probably works against it in my opinion (once CrossRail is completed this will be different).
So let’s look at what I think makes Paris, New York and Tokyo stand out above the rest – each in turn:
Paris:
What impresses me most about Paris’s rail system is that it has all the bases covered. You have trams in some parts of the city, an incredibly intensive Metro system that serves the inner area probably more comprehensively than any other Metro in the entire world. Then you have the amazingly effective RER which is both a commuter rail system and a larger scale cross-town system. Plus there are the more traditional commuter rail Transilien lines. And finally, Paris is the European hub for high-speed rail. Here’s a map of the intensive Metro and then the extensive RER, which work together brilliantly.
To give you an idea of the scale of the RER, most of the first map is contained within the grey shaded area in the centre of the second map.
New York:
There are two things that make New York’s system stand out as far as I am concerned. The first is the fact that it runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Subway is always operating, which as far as I know is pretty much unique anywhere around the world (a couple of lines in Chicago and Philadelphia do the same, but most of New York’s system is always running. The second is that most of New York’s main subway lines are four-tracked, allowing both express services and local services to operate all the time. Generally the express services only stop at one in every 5 stations within the central part of their run – which means that you end up having the subway system effectively being both the Paris Metro and the Paris RER system in one. New York also has an incredibly extensive commuter rail system – including the Long Island Railroad, the MetroNorth system and the New Jersey Transit system. And there’s also the less well known second Subway system known as the PATH. Here’s a map of just the Subway system:
Of course New York’s system has some weaknesses – in that it would benefit greatly from more lines that didn’t have to go via Manhatten, or an RER type system that gave you a one-seat ride from east to west across the whole city. But all up it is pretty damn good, and I look forward to experiencing it first hand when I visit there in September this year.
Tokyo:
If we’re honest about things, nothing comes close to matching Tokyo’s system. It’s all in the numbers:
There are 30 operators running 121 passenger rail lines (102 serving Tokyo and 19 more serving Greater Tokyo but not Tokyo proper), not including some 12 cable cars. Despite this vastness, the network is still being expanded…
…It is estimated some 20 million people use rail as their primary means of transport (not trips) in the metropolitan area daily. In comparison, the entire country of Germany, with the highest per-capita railway use in Europe, has 10 million daily train riders.
If we look at trips per year on Tokyo’s system, you get the following data on their various networks:
That’s 14 billion trips per year on the system as a whole, or nearly 40 million trips per day. Auckland has about 60 million trips on our whole public transport system in a year, by way of comparison. I don’t know the Tokyo system particularly well, and to be honest whenever I look at a map of it I just go dizzy, but it would seem as though everything is covered. There are two subway systems, (Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway), the JR East commuter and inter-city system and a myriad of smaller privately operated railway systems.
A couple of criticisms of Tokyo’s network are that perhaps even its huge extent is not enough, as the trains can get awfully crowded. Another is that late-night services are generally pretty poor, with the trains finishing around midnight and apparently replacement buses being surprisingly thin on the ground for a city its size.
But still it would seem that Tokyo surely has the world’s best railway system. What do others think? And, bringing things back to Auckland, while it must be recognised that these cities are far far bigger than what we have here, what would be some things that we can learn from them about improving things here?
Copenhagen is pretty good with: a brand new metro system; a well established commuter rail system (S-Tog); a highly effective inter-city service covering the four major separate parts of the country (Sjælland, Lolland/Falster, Fyn and Jylland); a reasonably good feeder bus service (private operator, usually integrated); sensible hours; rigorous adherence to timetables; really good stations with all sort of facilities such as news kiosks; highly efficient communication systems; modern rolling stock; spotlessly clean facilities; and helpful staff. Just to experience it makes you realise how little we get from our PT providers and how low our expectations are.
Good point Christopher. Copenhagen could be considered to have the best transport system in the world in terms of its economic efficiency (only 4% of the ciy’s wealth is spent on transport compared to 16% of Auckland’s wealth) and in terms of sustainability as so many people cycle.
I’ve used the New York, Singapore, Berlin, Rome, and Chicago urban rail/subway systems. I think that probably the best was New York.
However, what impressed me about all of them was how incredibly easy it is to use them. New York was the first such system that I had used, and I remember that it took me a day or so to really realize how to understand the map and how to find subway stations when walking around. But, after that it was incredibly easy and intuitive to learn to use all the others when I needed to.
Singapore has a relatively poor timetable at nighttime. Late trains (past 11pm) are few, and they seem to cease entirely past midnight.
Rome was a bit the same — few late trains, although I think that they went all night.
I can’t recall having any problems with the other systems.
The system in New York also has the flaw that it is pretty grotty — the stations are generally dingy, the trains and stations can get extremely hot (you should be ok in september), passenger information patchy and the lines can be incredibly noisy (squealing brakes, wheels, clickety-clacking…). But as you say, it goes most places, goes all the time and is pretty cheap.
The biggest problem I found with New York’s is getting across town above 59th Street. They really need a line that goes from the west side of Harlem through to Queens and La Guardia (which for some reason has no subway service).
NYMTA is doing some good work upgrading stations and has been for 30 years, the system was in such a state of disrepair when the city almost declared backrupt in ’77 and is so large it has taken this long to get it back to an acceptable standard… Reliability has gone up something like 600% in that time… I also think NY cannot be number 1 due to it’s lack of a single subway station at it’s airports…
I also think integration with a bus service is something that can “make” a rail system… Just look at Perth…
In 2020 Beijing will be number one in the world without question I believe…
As for smaller cities I think Zurich is pretty good… Melbourne and Sydney have so much potential given the number of lines they have but have almost as poor politicians and planners as we have…
American cities have masses of rail lines, they just seem to be used for freight… This should serve them well if peak oil is bad, the corridors and rail already exist…
Berlin should be up there in the list. Since reunification the S and U Bahn networks have been developed into a really great system.
24 hour operation – Yes (on U Bahn lines, also other S Bahn lines on Friday/Saturday)
Must provide well for a variety of trips – Yes
Between the fully integrated U Bahn, S Bahn, Regio Bahn and Inter City networks travel within Berlin, and to surrounding towns and cities is very well provided for. Ticketing integrated between the different rail networks.
The “Ringbahn” provides an orbital suburban route bypassing the inner city completely.
A further circle of regional train routes around the outer perimeter of the city make further cross suburban connections possible.
Other aspects (cleanliness etc.) Yes – Modern fleet and generally well kept stations. Major investment since the 90′s.
When I have visited I always found it a very easy system to get around. The S Bahn system is also a fast way of covering a lot of distance.
Paris has beautiful maps. But the metro seems slow as a way to get around and the RER doesn’t have the coverage and fast cross suburban connections. May well have changes since I was last there but Paris system seemed a little grottier, felt less safe at night and services cut out at midnight.
Paris stations are every 500m or so, great for walkability but it must slow up services a bit… Not sure on the trade off…
Jeremy, that’s why the RER is so useful. The Metro probably works like a bit of a feeder to the RER, plus geographically it’s quite constrained in the central area. I doubt many Metro lines would take an hour to ride end to end.
In my experience the Paris Metro is really quick. The density of stations isn’t an issue because the trains only pause there for a few tens of seconds. In fact the station density is one of the biggest advantages that Paris has over, for example, NYC. I’d love to see the Paris Metro become an aspirational model for Auckland.
I don’t think it’s accurate to say that the Metro acts as a feeder to the RER network, though, given that the Metro attracts more riders by a factor of two.
I think what’s amazing about Paris is how much there is within the area covered by the Metro. Central Paris is seriously dense, even though very little is above six floors in height. I also found the Metro fairly quick – maybe the longest ride I took would have been from Bastille Station out to La Defence along line 1, but even that would have been barely 20 minutes.
A problem with Paris is that some journeys that should be very simple, are actually very complicated. Major destinations like Gare de Lyon are difficult to get to from the south side of the river Seine.
Also some stations are huge and a bit like rabbit warrens, but that is inevitable with systems that have grown up over a period of 100 years. Apart from that I found it easy to use and convenient, and within a couple of days could get away around without looking at the map.
New York is disqualified by not linking JFK or La Guardia airports to the subway. Inexcusable!
I don’t recall anything special about Paris’s railways. Except a bag snatcher running along the platform pursued by the bag’s previous owner while no one else lifted a muscle to help.
Sydney’s system is a mess. They can’t even label the lines properly in the stations, indicate destinations properly, or indicate when a service is not running. I hate it with a vengeance.
I’m partial to Singapore’s metro. Like just about everything else in Singapore it is clean, cheap, and super reliable.
There’s the Air-Train to JFK, but I agree it’s pretty disappointing that the subway doesn’t extend to there.
No mention of Moscow?
I think Zurich’s and Switzerland’s PT system is one of the best in the world – where else can you buy a single integrated ticket that covers travel on every single means of transport in the country including ski lifts, gondolas…
What’s more 2000CHF, around NZD3000, gets you an unlimited travel pass across the entire country for a year.
As for Zurich:
“Within Zürich and throughout the canton of Zürich, the ZVV network of public transport has traffic density ratings among the highest worldwide. If you add frequency, which in Zürich can be as often as 7 minutes, it does become the densest across all dimensions. Three means of mass-transit exist: the S-Bahn (local trains), trams, and buses (both diesel and electric, also called trolley buses). In addition, the public transport network includes boats on the lake and river, funicular railways and even the Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg (LAF), a cable car between Adliswil and Felsenegg. Tickets purchased for a trip are valid on all means of public transportation (train, tram, bus, boat). The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (commonly abbreviated to ZSG) operates passenger vessels on the Limmat river and the Lake Zürich, connecting surrounding towns between Zürich and Rapperswil.”
Seoul also has a subway with several intersecting lines and interchange points. Although the subway itself doesn’t service Incheon airport, there is a “commuter train” (A’Rex) every 12 minutes until 10 pm, soon to have its frequency doubled.
Good points everyone. In particular I agree about Moscow, for many reasons but in particular how spectacular the stations are.
I’ve used both, New York’s, Tokyo’s systems, I would say tokyo’s system is one of the most extensively used I’ve seen and really does feel safe, I mean there are kids who travel at midnight by themselves, something you will never find in New York. However Aucklands New Stations on our rail lines are truely international quaility, so we still have the ability to be one of the best, so lets get to work joycey and let us take the international stage for quaility. Lets improve our image.
Hope he’s listning
With regard to passenger safety on the New York system. I think it is (apart from in movies) actually pretty safe. Certainly, that was the impression that I got using it (a couple of years ago); and I would often use it late night / early morning. Maybe 20 years ago it was a bit dangerous, but it seems fairly safe now.
Beijing, it benefits from a rigid grid layout above ground and concentric ring roads with the odd line built beneath them. Very cheap fares. Its not there yet, but they’re building new lines pretty quickly.
I enjoyed using the Madrid metro, and the Barcelona one wasn’t too bad either.
The Stockholm metro has some spectacular stations hewn out of the rock.
The Paris metro is a bit messy as mentioned before because it’s an old system and is actually less user-friendly than London (i.e. no Circle Line to anchor your bearings on the system)
Brussels, Antwerpen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Cologne have all well-functioning PT systems, a mixture of a few metro lines with extensive tram and bus links.
My favourite has to be Hong Kong. Simple and elegant to use (not to mention cheap! Long live the Octopus card). The Airport Line allowed me to spend a few hours on Hong Kong Island in between flights on the same day. Try doing that in Auckland!
All these systems give a great demonstration of why through routing is so effective… It looks like in Paris on the RER you can ride a line from one satellite town through the Paris CBD to another and transfer to another RER line that does the same meaning anyone can live on any one of these lines and work on any other and get to work with one transfer… The good connectivity and similiar setup means you could potentially do the same with a RER transfer to the Metro… Try getting that integration via the private sector..!
Some of those lines in NY run from Brooklyn to the Bronx via Manhattan…
Tokyo’s system map makes me want to crawl up in the corner of the room and cry… I can’t imagine what a map with all 102 rail lines would look like overlayed on the Metro Map…
@Richard, I think that perception is a carry over from the 70s when the city (and in particular the subway system) was a disgrace and very unsafe…
I have used the Seoul,Tokyo,Berlin,London,Singapore,Thailand,Hong Kong,Shanghai,Paris trains systems.
I found Hong kong was the easiest to use (interchange,maps,serivce,fare system),the cleanest,while providing good intervals.
i found paris trains were slow, old, and the fare system was slow and this created delays.
Berlin would be 2nd favorite, having no ticket/fare gates speeds things up and most of the trains have been upgraded.
Singapore system was nice, but has too many stops which slows down your trip anywhere around the island.
Tokyo has too many service providers creating a confusing system that requires alot of interchanges (maybe better if you lived there for a long time
This is where it’s at:
http://www.zvv.ch/export/sites/default/common-images/content-image-gallery/linien-zonen-pdfs/Stadt_Zuerich_09.pdf
I’d like to see the inverse – The world’s worst rail system. In terms of performance Auckland rail must be up there. Just take the Western line stats for March. 50% of the time trains were delayed and 1 out of 10 times the trains didn’t even arrive…and yet they ticket prices keep rising.
I’ll vote for moscow being up there, massive coverage, well laid out network, and 2 minute frequencies meaning on average you wait 1 minute. And it’s well connected with all the main line regional stations, so you can take one train all the way to the pacific or beijing, and if you don’t mind a couple of transfers carry on down to saigon/HCMC.
As mentioned the ‘peoples palace’ approach to station design is a nice touch, long live communism eh! oh wait…
As for the worst, auckland isn’t even close. Being stuck on a broken down nairobi to mombasa train in the outer slums where the tracks are used as a public sewer ain’t fun. How about the tazara line connecting zambia with dar es salaam where trains are regularly stranded because the tain operating company can’t afford enough fuel? We were glad we couldn’t get tickets for the dar es salaam to mwanza and took the bus to rwanda instead after meeting others who had and said they spent every waking moment with a jandal in hand to squash the constantly encroaching cockroaches… but this is getting a bit off topic from inner city trains – i’d have to agree those punctuality figure for auckland are atrocious, in the UK people complain that with-in 5 minutes shouldn’t count as ‘on time’ and that 90% is too low. -> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1187849/Annual-train-punctuality-reaches-90–time-records-began.html