Going underground: the cheapest, deepest, oldest subway systems in the world – but which is home to its own mosquito?
- There are some 180 public subway systems across the globe, with the newest network being added in Inner Mongolia, in 2019
- More than just forms of transport ferrying millions around, some act as art galleries or propaganda projects
Depending on definition (some are more overground than underground), there are about 180 public subway systems worldwide. The world’s first was Britain’s London Underground, which opened in January 1863. The steam-powered, gas-lit trains that ran between Paddington and Farringdon stations offered a thrilling alternative to horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses.
Fast forward 156 years and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, celebrated the opening of the world’s newest network in December 2019, making it the 38th Chinese city with a rail transit system.
St Petersburg’s metro is the world’s deepest line, based on an average depth of 60 metres (HKU is the deepest station on the Hong Kong MTR, at 70 metres, by comparison). Burrowed even further underground is Arsenalna station, Kiev, which lies 105.5 metres beneath the Ukrainian capital and is the deepest on the planet. The ride to and from the surface takes about five minutes with a change of escalators halfway. Take a Sudoku puzzle or a good book.
The New York City subway is the world’s largest, based on number of stations – there are 472, of which 470 operate 24 hours a day – while the Seoul metro is the most comprehensive network distance-wise, with 940km of track. The South Korean rail system is also rated one of the world’s best, thanks to wireless broadband coverage in all stations and trains, heated seats, ease of navigation and overall cleanliness.
The world’s shortest rail transit system is the 8.8km Metropolitana di Catania, on the Italian island of Sicily. In operation since 1999, the network consists of one line with 11 stations. Trains on Europe’s southernmost subway take about 10 minutes to cover the route. In 2019, seven million passengers used the service.
