EU and US States by Length of Subway Track

Feb 27, 2019
Miles of Subway Track in EU and US States

The chart above shows the miles of heavy rail subway track within each EU and US state.  The EU dominates over the US in this metric.  Not only do EU states have more track laid, but more EU states have subway systems than US states even though there are far more US states.

Findings

  • The difference between the state with the most miles of track, the United Kingdom, and the state with the least (that has a subway system), Denmark, is 313 miles (503.5 kilometers).
  • The United Kingdom has 25.65 times the miles of track that Denmark does.
  • Italy has seven subway systems, France has six, the United Kingdom and Germany each have four, Spain and New York each have three, and the Netherlands, Pennsylvania, and California each have two, all other states have one.

Caveats

  • Data is from 2017.
  • Greece and Hawaii are currently working on building a subway system for Thessaloniki and Honolulu respectively.
  • All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Details

The United Kingdom accounts for just over one-tenth of all subway rail in the EU and US at 13.33%.  It, with Spain and New York make up over one-third the subway rail in the EU and US at 35.68%.  Adding Germany and France into the mix accounts for over half the subway rail in the EU and US at 54.45%.

The London Underground is the largest system by track length in the EU and US.  It alone has more miles of track than all the subway systems in every other state save for the United Kingdom, Spain, and New York.  The New York City Subway, the second largest system in the two superstates, has more mile of track than all the subway systems in every other state excluding the United Kingdom, Spain, New York, and Germany.

There are only six subway systems that are smaller than the entirety of Denmark's subway network (in decreasing length of track): The Brescia and Turin Metros in Italy, the Glasgow Subway in the United Kingdom, the Rennes Metro in France, and the Catania and Genoa Metros in Italy.

This article focuses exclusively on heavy rail systems as defined by the International Association of Public Transport, the American Public Transportation Association, and the Federal Transit Administration.  A more extensive look into urban/suburban rail systems that encompasses commuter and light rail systems will be posted soon.

Only three cities have more than one heavy rail system as defined by the above institutions (even though the system's name may suggest otherwise): New York with three, and London and Philadelphia with two.

Data

StateCityNameMilesKilometers
BelgiumBrusselsBrussels Metro24.839.9
BulgariaSofiaSofia Metro2540
CaliforniaLos AngelesMetro Rail17.428
CaliforniaSan FranciscoBART108.6174.8
Czech RepublicPraguePrague Metro40.565.2
DenmarkCopenhagenCopenhagen Metro12.720.4
FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki Metro2235
FloridaMiamiMetrorail24.940.1
FranceLilleLille Metro2845
FranceLyonLyon Metro19.932
FranceMarseilleMarseille Metro13.421.5
FranceParisParis Metro133214
FranceRennesRennes Metro5.89.4
FranceToulouseToulouse Metro17.528.2
GeorgiaAtlantaMARTA47.676.6
GermanyBerlinBerlin U-Bahn94.3151.7
GermanyHamburgHamburg U-Bahn65.9106.1
GermanyMunichMunich U-Bahn5995
GermanyNurembergNuremberg U-Bahn2236
GreeceAthensAthens Metro52.684.7
HungaryBudapestBudapest Metro23.738.2
IllinoisChicagoChicago L102.8165.4
ItalyBresciaBrescia Metro8.513.7
ItalyCataniaCatania Metro5.58.8
ItalyGenoaGenoa Metro4.47.1
ItalyMilanMilan Metro63101
ItalyNaplesNaples Metro12.720.5
ItalyRomeRome Metro3760
ItalyTurinTurin Metro8.213.2
MarylandBaltimoreBaltimore Metro Subway15.524.9
MassachusettsBostonMBTA Subway3861
NetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Metro25.641.2
NetherlandsRotterdamRotterdam Metro48.778.3
New YorkNew York CityNew York City Subway236.2380.2
New YorkNew York CityPATH13.822.2
New YorkNew York CityStaten Island Railway1422.5
OhioClevelandRTA Rapid Transit: Red Line1931
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPATCO Speedline14.222.9
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaSEPTA36.759.1
PolandWarsawWarsaw Metro1829
PortugalLisbonLisbon Metro27.444.1
RomaniaBucharestBucharest Metro44.471.4
SpainBarcelonaBarcelona Metro75120.7
SpainBilbaoMetro Bilbao2845.1
SpainMadridMadrid Metro179.3288.5
SwedenStockholmStockholm Metro67108
United KingdomGlasgowGlasgow Subway6.510.4
United KingdomLondonDocklands Light Railway2134
United KingdomLondonLondon Underground250402
United KingdomNewcastleTyne and Wear Metro48.277.5
Washington DCWashington, D.C.Washington Metro117188

Sources

Wikipedia.  2019.  "List of Metro Systems."  Accessed February 24, 2019.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems.