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How Does NYC's Subway Stack Up Against the World?
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 26, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 26, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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Virgin Vacations created a list of the 11 Top Underground Transit Systems in the World, complete with photographs and YouTube videos to give readers a sense of what mass transit might be like on their trip. The number 1 underground transit system is the oldest - the London Underground. After that, it's the Paris Metro. Then the Moscow Metro. Then Madrid, Tokyo, and Seoul, until you finally see New York City's subway coming in at number 7.
Highlights: Offers express services that run on separate tracks from local trains. The MTA is currently testing out LED displays in subway stations to let commuters know when the next train is expected to arrive. 24 hour service. Unique and distinct artwork (mosaics) throughout the system.
We suppose it came in at 7 because the MTA's subways aren't particularly clean or frequent, unlike other systems abroad, but NYC Transit is the only 24 hour one. The other subways on the list are Montreal, Beijing, Hong Kong and Sao Paolo.
Where would you rank NYC in terms of the world's subway systems? And last week, amNew York reported that NYC subway ridership averages out to 7.2 million riders on weekdays. Which is just confirmation of how crowded the subways are.
Photograph an A train leaving Columbus Circle by Triborough on Flickr
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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