EU and US States by Number of Subway Stations per Length of Track

Apr 3, 2019
Subway Stations per Mile of Track in EU and US States

The chart above shows the number of subway stations per mile of track in each state.  Only four states - all from the EU - have more than two stations for every mile of track.  Conversely, all of the six states that have less than one station per mile of track are from the US.

Findings

  • The difference between the state with the most subway stations per mile of track, Belgium, and the state with the least (that has a subway system), California, is 1.89.
  • Belgium has 4.91 times the subway stations per mile of track that California does.
  • Italy has seven subway systems, France has six, the United Kingdom and Germany each have four, Spain and New York have three, and the Netherlands, Pennsylvania, and California have two, all other states have one.

Caveats

  • Data is from 2017.
  • Hawaii is currently working on building a subway system for Honolulu which is slated to have 1.05 stations for every mile (0.65 stations per kilometer) of track.
  • Greece is currently working on building a subway system for Thessaloniki which is slated to have 2.03 stations for every mile (1.26 stations for every kilometer) of track initially and 1.74 stations for every mile (1.08 stations for every kilometer) in its second stage which will bump Greece up one spot to 1.32 stations per mile (0.82 stations per kilometer).
  • All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Details

This metric does not show large subway systems but rather how close subway stations are to each other.  Belgium which has the most densely packed stations ranks 14th out of 27 in number of stations in the EU and US, and 21st out of 27 in length of track.  France, which has the most subway stations, ranks second in how densely packed they are, and fifth in length of track.  The United Kingdom which ranks first in length of track, ranks 18th in station density and fifth in number of subway stations.

Italy has seven heavy rail systems.  The Milan Metro has 1.68 stations per mile (1.05 per kilometer), the Rome Metro has 1.97 per mile (1.22 per km), the Naples Metro has 1.73 per mile (1.07 per km), the Turin Metro has 2.56 per mile (1.59 per km), the Brescia Metro has 2.00 per mile (1.24 per km), the Catania Metro has 1.82 per mile (1.14 per km), and the Genoa Metro has 1.82 per mile (1.13 per km).  France has 2.27 stations per mile (1.41 per kilometer) in the Paris Metro, 2.14 per mile (1.33 per km) in the Lille Metro, 2.01 per mile (1.25 per km) in the Lyon Metro, 2.11 per mile (1.31 per km) in the Toulouse Metro, 2.09 per mile (1.30 per km) in the Marseille Metro, and 2.59 per mile (1.60 per km) in the Rennes Metro.  The United Kingdom has two systems in London, one in Newcastle, and one in Glasgow.  The London Underground has 1.08 per stations per mile (0.67 stations per kilometer), the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle has 1.24 per mile (0.77 per km), the Docklands Light Railway in London has 2.14 per mile (1.32 per km), and the Glasgow Subway has 2.31 per mile (1.44 per km).  Germany has 1.83 stations per mile (1.14 stations per kilometer) in the Berlin U-Bahn, 1.63 per mile (1.01 per km) in the Munich U-Bahn, 1.40 per mile (0.87 per km) in the Hamburg U-Bahn, and 2.18 per mile (1.33 per km) in the Nuremberg U-Bahn.  Spain has 1.34 per mile (0.84 per km) in the Madrid Metro, 2.43 per mile (1.51 per km) in the Barcelona Metro, and 1.46 per mile (0.91 per km) in the Metro Bilbao.  The Netherlands has 1.27 stations per mile (0.79 stations per kilometer) in the Rotterdam Metro and 1.52 per mile (0.94 per km) in the Amsterdam Metro.  New York has three heavy rail systems all in the city of New York.  The New York City Subway has 1.79 stations per mile (1.12 per km), the Staten Island Railway has 1.50 per mile (0.93 per km), and PATH has 0.94 per mile (0.59 per km).  California has BART in San Francisco with 0.41 stations per mile (0.26 per kilometer) and Metro Rail in Los Angeles with 0.92 per mile (0.57 per km).  Pennsylvania has two systems in Philadelphia.  SEPTA has 2.04 stations per mile (1.27 per km) and the PATCO Speedline has 0.92 per mile (0.57 per km).

The Rennes Metro in France has the highest density of stations in the EU and US with 2.59 stations for every mile or 1.60 for every kilometer.  Pennsylvania's SEPTA has the highest density in the US with 2.04 stations for every mile or 1.27 for every kilometer.  It ranks 13th in both the EU and the US.

California's BART system has the lowest density of stations with 0.41 for every mile of track or 0.26 for every kilometer.  Romania's Bucharest Metro has the lowest density in the EU with 1.06 stations per mile or 0.66 stations per kilometer.  It ranks 42nd out of 51 systems in station density.

Data

StateCityNameStationsMiles of Track (Kilometers)
BelgiumBrusselsBrussels Metro5924.8 (39.9)
BulgariaSofiaSofia Metro3425 (40)
CaliforniaLos AngelesMetro Rail1617.4 (28)
CaliforniaSan FranciscoBART45108.6 (174.8)
Czech RepublicPraguePrague Metro5840.5 (65.2)
DenmarkCopenhagenCopenhagen Metro2212.7 (20.4)
FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki Metro2522 (35)
FloridaMiamiMetrorail2324.9 (40.1)
FranceLilleLille Metro6028 (45)
FranceLyonLyon Metro4019.9 (32)
FranceMarseilleMarseille Metro2813.4 (21.5)
FranceParisParis Metro302133 (214)
FranceRennesRennes Metro155.8 (9.4)
FranceToulouseToulouse Metro3717.5 (28.2)
GeorgiaAtlantaMARTA3847.6 (76.6)
GermanyBerlinBerlin U-Bahn17394.3 (151.7)
GermanyHamburgHamburg U-Bahn9265.9 (106.1)
GermanyMunichMunich U-Bahn9659 (95)
GermanyNurembergNuremberg U-Bahn4822 (36)
GreeceAthensAthens Metro6152.6 (84.7)
HungaryBudapestBudapest Metro4823.7 (38.2)
IllinoisChicagoChicago L145102.8 (165.4)
ItalyBresciaBrescia Metro178.5 (13.7)
ItalyCataniaCatania Metro105.5 (8.8)
ItalyGenoaGenoa Metro84.4 (7.1)
ItalyMilanMilan Metro10663 (101)
ItalyNaplesNaples Metro2212.7 (20.5)
ItalyRomeRome Metro7337 (60)
ItalyTurinTurin Metro218.2 (13.2)
MarylandBaltimoreBaltimore Metro Subway1415.5 (24.9)
MassachusettsBostonMBTA Subway5138 (61)
NetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Metro3925.6 (41.2)
NetherlandsRotterdamRotterdam Metro6248.7 (78.3)
New YorkNew York CityNew York City Subway424236.2 (380.2)
New YorkNew York CityPATH1313.8 (22.2)
New YorkNew York CityStaten Island Railway2114 (22.5)
OhioClevelandRTA Rapid Transit: Red Line1819 (31)
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPATCO Speedline1314.2 (22.9)
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaSEPTA7536.7 (59.1)
PolandWarsawWarsaw Metro2718 (29)
PortugalLisbonLisbon Metro5627.4 (44.1)
RomaniaBucharestBucharest Metro4744.4 (71.4)
SpainBarcelonaBarcelona Metro18275 (120.7)
SpainBilbaoMetro Bilbao4128 (45.1)
SpainMadridMadrid Metro241179.3 (288.5)
SwedenStockholmStockholm Metro10067 (108)
United KingdomGlasgowGlasgow Subway156.5 (10.4)
United KingdomLondonDocklands Light Railway4521 (34)
United KingdomLondonLondon Underground270250 (402)
United KingdomNewcastleTyne and Wear Metro6048.2 (77.5)
Washington DCWashington, D.C.Washington Metro91117 (188)

Sources

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