2/8/2017 RapidtransitWikipedia

Rapidtransit
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Rapidtransit,alsoknownasheavyrail,metro,subway,tube,or
underground,isatypeofhighcapacitypublictransportgenerally
foundinurbanareas.[1][2][3]Unlikebusesortrams,rapidtransitsystems
areelectricrailwaysthatoperateonanexclusiverightofway,which
cannotbeaccessedbypedestriansorothervehiclesofanysort,[4]and
whichisoftengradeseparatedintunnelsoronelevatedrailways.

Modernservicesonrapidtransitsystemsareprovidedondesignated
linesbetweenstationstypicallyusingelectricmultipleunitsonrail
tracks,althoughsomesystemsuseguidedrubbertyres,magnetic TheNewYorkCitySubwayisthe
levitation,ormonorail.Thestationstypicallyhavehighplatforms, world'slargestsingleoperatorrapid
withoutstepsinsidethetrains,requiringcustommadetrainsinorderto transitsystembynumberofstations,
minimizegapsbetweentrainandplatform.Theyaretypicallyintegrated at472.
withotherpublictransportandoftenoperatedbythesamepublic
transportauthorities.However,somerapidtransitsystemshaveatgrade
intersectionsbetweenarapidtransitlineandaroadorbetweentwo
rapidtransitlines.[5]Itisunchallengedinitsabilitytotransportlarge
numbersofpeoplequicklyovershortdistanceswithlittleuseofland.
Variationsofrapidtransitincludepeoplemovers,smallscalelight
metro,andthecommuterrailhybridSBahn.

Theworld'sfirstrapidtransitsystemwasthepartiallyunderground
MetropolitanRailwaywhichopenedasaconventionalrailwayin1863,
andnowformspartoftheLondonUnderground.[6]In1868,NewYork TheMoscowMetroisoneofthe
openedtheelevatedWestSideandYonkersPatentRailway,initiallya busiestmetrosystemsintheworld
cablehauledlineusingstaticsteamengines. andisthebusiestinEurope.

Chinahasthelargestnumberofrapidtransitsystemsintheworld.Theworld'slongestsingleoperatorrapid
transitsystembyroutelengthistheShanghaiMetro.[7][8]Theworld'slargestsinglerapidtransitservice
providerbybothlengthofrevenuetrack(665miles(1,070km)andnumberofstations(472stationsintotal)[9]
istheNewYorkCitySubway.ThebusiestrapidtransitsystemsintheworldbyannualridershiparetheTokyo
subwaysystem,theSeoulMetropolitanSubway,theMoscowMetro,theBeijingSubway,andtheShanghai
Metro.[10]

Contents
1 Terminology
2 History
3 Operation
3.1 Lines
3.1.1 Networktopologies
3.2 Passengerinformation
3.3 Safetyandsecurity
4 Infrastructure
4.1 Stations
4.2 Modaltradeoffsandinterconnections
5 Costs,benefits,andimpacts
6 Seealso
7 References
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8 Externallinks

Terminology
MetroisthemostcommontermforundergroundrapidtransitsystemsusedbynonnativeEnglishspeakers.[11]
Rapidtransitsystemsmaybenamedafterthemediumbywhichpassengerstravelinbusycentralbusiness
districtstheuseoftunnelsinspiresnamessuchassubway,[12]underground,[13]Untergrundbahn(UBahn)in
German,[14]ortheTunnelbana(Tbana)inSwedish[15]theuseofviaductsinspiresnamessuchaselevated(el
orL),skytrain,[16]overhead,overgroundorHochbahninGerman.Oneofthesetermsmayapplytoanentire
system,evenifalargepartofthenetwork(forexample,inoutersuburbs)runsatgroundlevel.

InmostofBritain,asubwayisapedestrianunderpassthetermsUndergroundandTubeareusedforthe
LondonUnderground,andtheNorthEastEnglandTyneandWearMetro,mostlyoverground,isknownasthe
Metro.InScotland,however,theGlasgowSubwayundergroundrapidtransitsystemisknownastheSubway.
IntheUS,undergroundmasstransitsystemsareprimarilyknownassubways,whereasthetermmetroisa
shortenedreferencetoa"metropolitanarea".Inthatvein,Chicago'scommuterrailsystem,servingthe
metropolitanarea,iscalledMetra.ExceptionsinnamingrapidtransitsystemsareWashingtonDC'ssubway
systemtheWashingtonMetro,LosAngelesMetroRail,andtheMiamiMetrorail,whicharegenerallycalled
theMetro.[17]

History
TheopeningofLondon'ssteamhauledMetropolitanRailwayin1863
markedthebeginningofrapidtransit.Initialexperienceswithsteam
engines,despiteventilation,wereunpleasant.Experimentswith
pneumaticrailwaysfailedintheirextendedadoptionbycities.Electric
tractionwasmoreefficient,fasterandcleanerthansteamandthenatural
choicefortrainsrunningintunnelsandprovedsuperiorforelevated
services.In1890theCity&SouthLondonRailwaywasthefirst
electrictractionrapidtransitrailway,whichwasalsofully
underground.[18]BothrailwayswereeventuallymergedintoLondon
Underground.The1893LiverpoolOverheadRailwaywasdesignedto InitialconstructionstagesofLondon's
MetropolitanRailwayatKing'sCross
useelectrictractionfromtheoutset.[19]
St.Pancrasin1861
ThetechnologyquicklyspreadtoothercitiesinEurope,theUnited
States,Argentina,andCanada,withsomerailwaysbeingconvertedfromsteamandothersbeingdesignedtobe
electricfromtheoutset.BudapestinHungaryandGlasgow,ChicagoandNewYorkallconvertedorpurpose
designedandbuiltelectricrailservices.[20]

Advancementsintechnologyhaveallowednewautomatedservices.Hybridsolutionshavealsoevolved,such
astramtrainandpremetro,whichincorporatesomeofthefeaturesofrapidtransitsystems.[18]Inresponseto
cost,engineeringconsiderationsandtopologicalchallengessomecitieshaveoptedtoconstructtram
systems.[21]

Sincethe1960smanynewsystemswereintroducedinEurope,AsiaandLatinAmerica.[14]InXXIcentury
China(totallywithnear60citieshavingorplanningtherapidtransitsystemsbecametheworld'sleaderby
countsandfastgrowingofrapidtransitsystems(uptosomenewChinesemetrosystemsopensannually),and
manyotherAsiancitiesalsoundertooktheconstructionofsuchsystemsalso.

Operation
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Rapidtransitisusedincities,agglomerations,andmetropolitanareasto
transportlargenumbersofpeopleoftenshortdistancesathigh
frequency.Theextentoftherapidtransitsystemvariesgreatlybetween
cities,withseveraltransportstrategies.

Somesystemsmayextendonlytothelimitsoftheinnercity,ortoits
innerringofsuburbswithtrainsmakingfrequentstationstops.The
outersuburbsmaythenbereachedbyaseparatecommuterrailnetwork
wheremorewidelyspacedstationsallowhigherspeeds.Insomecases TrainparadeonCircleLinein
thedifferencesbetweenurbanrapidtransitandsuburbansystemsare MoscowMetro
notclear.[3]

Rapidtransitsystemsmaybesupplementedbyothersystemssuchasbuses,trams,orcommuterrail.This
combinationoftransitmodesservestooffsetcertainlimitationsofrapidtransitsuchaslimitedstopsandlong
walkingdistancesbetweenoutsideaccesspoints.Busortramfeedersystemstransportpeopletorapidtransit
stops.[22]

Lines

Eachrapidtransitsystemconsistsofoneormorelines,orcircuits.Each
lineisservicedbyatleastonespecificroutewithtrainsstoppingatall
orsomeoftheline'sstations.Mostsystemsoperateseveralroutes,and
distinguishthembycolors,names,numbering,oracombination
thereof.Somelinesmaysharetrackwitheachotherforaportionof
theirrouteoroperatesolelyontheirownrightofway.Oftenaline
runningthroughthecitycenterforksintotwoormorebranchesinthe
suburbs,allowingahigherservicefrequencyinthecenter.This
arrangementisusedbymanysystems,suchastheCopenhagen
MetroM1kitonlineCinPrague
Metro,[23]theOsloMetroandtheNewYorkCitySubway.[24] Metro
Alternatively,theremaybeasinglecentralterminal(oftensharedwith
thecentralrailwaystation),ormultipleinterchangestationsbetween
linesinthecitycentre,forinstanceinthePragueMetro.[25]TheLondon
Underground[26]andParisMtro[27]aredenselybuiltsystemswitha
matrixofcrisscrossinglinesthroughoutthecities.TheChicago'L'has
mostofitslinesconvergingonTheLoop,themainbusiness,financial,
andculturalarea.Somesystemshaveacircularlinearoundthecity
centerconnectingtoradiallyarrangedoutwardlines,suchasthe
MoscowMetro'sKoltsevayaLineandBeijingSubway'sLine10.

Thecapacityofalineisobtainedbymultiplyingthecarcapacity,the Line2subwaytrainintheToronto
trainlength,andtheservicefrequency.Heavyrapidtransittrainsmight SubwayarrivingatBaystation
havesixtotwelvecars,whilelightersystemsmayusefourorfewer.
Carshaveacapacityof100to150passengers,varyingwiththeseatedtostandingratiomorestandinggives
highercapacity.Theminimumtimeintervalbetweentrainsisshorterforrapidtransitthanformainline
railwaysowingtotheuseofCommunicationsbasedtraincontrol:theminimumheadwaycanreach90seconds,
butmanysystemstypicallyuse120secondstoallowforrecoveryfromdelays.Typicalcapacitylinesallow
1,200peoplepertrain,giving36,000peopleperhour.Thehighestattainedcapacityis80,000peopleperhour
bytheMTRCorporationinHongKong.[28]

Networktopologies

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Rapidtransittopologiesaredeterminedbyalargenumberoffactors,includinggeographicalbarriers,existing
orexpectedtravelpatterns,constructioncosts,politics,andhistoricalconstraints.Atransitsystemisexpected
toserveanareaoflandwithasetoflines,whichconsistofshapessummarizedas"I","U","S",and"O"
shapesorloops.Geographicalbarriersmaycausechokepointswheretransitlinesmustconverge(forexample,
tocrossabodyofwater),whicharepotentialcongestionsitesbutalsoofferanopportunityfortransfers
betweenlines.Loopsprovidegoodcoverage,butareinefficientforeverydaycommutinguse.Aroughgrid
patterncanofferawidevarietyofrouteswhilestillmaintainingreasonablespeedandfrequencyofservice.[29]

Line,e.g.Algiers, Cross,e.g.Atlanta, Xshaped,e.g. Twocrossingpaths,

Baltimore, Esfahan, Amsterdam, e.g.Cairo,Lille,
Cleveland, Kaohsiung,Kyoto, Brussels,San Milan,Nuremberg,
Gwangju,Helsinki, Minsk,Nizhny FranciscoBayArea Marseille,Montreal
Lima,Mumbai, Novgorod,
PanamaCity, Philadelphia,Rome,
Yekaterinburg Sendai,Warsaw

Secant,e.g.Athens, Radial,e.g.Boston,
Budapest,Lisbon, Budapest,Chicago,
Munich,Prague, Daegu,Kiev,Kuala
SoPaulo,St. Lumpur,Sapporo,
Petersburg, WashingtonDC
Tashkent,Tianjin

Circle,e.g. Circleradial,e.g. Complexgrid,e.g.

Glasgow Beijing,Bucharest, Berlin,Delhi,
London,Madrid, Guangzhou,Hong
Moscow,Seoul, Kong,MexicoCity,
Shanghai, NewYork,Osaka,
Singapore,Tokyo Paris,Shenzhen,
Taipei

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Passengerinformation

Rapidtransitoperatorshaveoftenbuiltupstrongbrands,oftenfocused
oneasyrecognitiontoallowquickidentificationeveninthevastarray
ofsignagefoundinlargecitiescombinedwiththedesireto
communicatespeed,safety,andauthority.[30]Inmanycities,thereisa
singlecorporateimagefortheentiretransitauthority,buttherapid
transitusesitsownlogothatfitsintotheprofile.

Atransitmapisatopologicalmaporschematicdiagramusedtoshow
theroutesandstationsinapublictransportsystem.Themain
Informationpanelshowingthe
componentsarecolorcodedlinestoindicateeachlineorservice,with
currentlocationandupcomingstops
namediconstoindicatestations.Mapsmayshowonlyrapidtransitor
ofanEastWestMRTtrainin
alsoincludeothermodesofpublictransport.[31] Singapore

Transitmapscanbefoundintransitvehicles,onplatforms,elsewherein
stations,andinprintedtimetables.Mapshelpusersunderstandthe
interconnectionsbetweendifferentpartsofthesystemforexample,
theyshowtheinterchangestationswherepassengerscantransfer
betweenlines.Unlikeconventionalmaps,transitmapsareusuallynot
geographicallyaccurate,butemphasizethetopologicalconnections
amongthedifferentstations.Thegraphicpresentationmayusestraight
linesandfixedangles,andoftenafixedminimumdistancebetween
stations,tosimplifythedisplayofthetransitnetwork.Oftenthishasthe
effectofcompressingthedistancebetweenstationsintheouterareaof CoachesofDelhiMetroarecolor
thesystem,andexpandingdistancesbetweenthoseclosetothe codedindicateeachlineorservice,
center.[31] withnamediconstoindicatestations

Somesystemsassignuniquealphanumericcodestoeachoftheir
stationstohelpcommutersidentifythem,whichbrieflyencodesinformationaboutthelineitison,andits
positionontheline.[32]Forexample,ontheSingaporeMRT,ChangiAirportMRTStationhasthe
alphanumericcodeCG2,indicatingitspositionasthe2ndstationontheChangiAirportbranchoftheEast
WestLine.Interchangestationswouldhaveatleasttwocodes,forexample,RafflesPlaceMRTStationhastwo
codes,NS26andEW14,the26thstationontheNorthSouthLineandthe14thstationontheEastWestLine.

WithwidespreaduseoftheInternetandcellphonesglobally,transitoperatorsnowusethesetechnologiesto
presentinformationtotheirusers.Inadditiontoonlinemapsandtimetables,sometransitoperatorsnowoffer
realtimeinformationwhichallowspassengerstoknowwhenthenextvehiclewillarrive,andexpectedtravel
times.ThestandardizedGTFSdataformatfortransitinformationallowsmanythirdpartysoftwaredevelopers
toproducewebandsmartphoneappprogramswhichgivepassengerscustomizedupdatesregardingspecific
transitlinesandstationsofinterest.

Safetyandsecurity

Comparedtoothermodesoftransport,rapidtransithasagoodsafetyrecord,withfewaccidents.Railtransport
issubjecttostrictsafetyregulations,withrequirementsforprocedureandmaintenancetominimizerisk.Head
oncollisionsarerareduetouseofdoubletrack,andlowoperatingspeedsreducetheoccurrenceandseverity
ofrearendcollisionsandderailments.Fireismoreofadangerunderground,suchastheKing'sCrossfirein
LondoninNovember1987,whichkilled31people.Systemsaregenerallybuilttoallowevacuationoftrainsat
manyplacesthroughoutthesystem.[33][34]

Highplatforms(usuallyover1meter/3feet)areasafetyrisk,aspeoplefallingontothetrackshavetrouble
climbingback.Platformscreendoorsareusedonsomesystemstoeliminatethisdanger.

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Rapidtransitfacilitiesarepublicspacesandmaysufferfromsecurity
problems:pettycrimes,suchaspickpocketingandbaggagetheft,and
moreseriousviolentcrimes.Securitymeasuresincludevideo
surveillance,securityguards,andconductors.Insomecountriesa
specializedtransitpolicemaybeestablished.Thesesecuritymeasures
arenormallyintegratedwithmeasurestoprotectrevenuebychecking
thatpassengersarenottravellingwithoutpaying.[35]Rapidtransit
systemshavebeensubjecttoterrorismwithmanycasualties,suchasthe
1995Tokyosubwaysaringasattack[36]andthe2005"7/7"terrorist
bombingsontheLondonUnderground. Platformedgedoorsareusedfor
safetyatDaanStationonLine2,
Infrastructure TaipeiMetro,Taiwan

Mostrapidtransittrainsareelectricmultipleunitswithlengthsfrom
threetoovertencars.[37]Crewsizeshavedecreasedthroughouthistory,
withsomemodernsystemsnowrunningcompletelyunstaffedtrains.[38]
Othertrainscontinuetohavedrivers,eveniftheironlyroleinnormal
operationistoopenandclosethedoorsofthetrainsatstations.Power
iscommonlydeliveredbyathirdrailorbyoverheadwires.Thewhole
LondonUndergroundnetworkusesfourthrailandothersusethelinear
motorforpropulsion.[39]Mostrunonconventionalsteelrailwaytracks,
althoughsomeuserubbertires,suchastheMontrealMetroandMexico
CityMetroandsomelinesintheParisMtro.Rubbertiresallowsteeper InsideatunnelontheTurinMetro,
gradientsandasofterride,buthavehighermaintenancecostsandare theinterlockingtunnellining
lessenergyefficient.Theyalsolosetractionwhenweatherconditions segmentsplacedbyatunnelboring
arewetoricy,preventingabovegrounduseoftheMontralMetroand machinecanbeclearlyseen.
limitingabovegrounduseontheSapporoMunicipalSubwaybutnot
rubbertiredsystemsinothercities.[40]HighcapacityMonorailswithlargerandlongertrainscanbeclassified
asrapidtransitsystems.SuchmonorailsystemsrecentlystartedoperatinginChongqingandSoPaulo.Light
metroisasubclassofrapidtransithasthespeedandgradeseparationofa"fullmetro''butforsmaller
passengernumbers.Itoftenhassmallerloadinggauges,lightertraincarsandsmallerconsistsoftypicallytwo
tofourcars.LightmetrosaretypicallyusedasFeederlinesintothemainrapidtransitsystem.[41]Forinstance,
theWenhuLineoftheTaipeiMetroservesmanyrelativelysparseneighbourhoodsandfeedsintoand
complementsthehighcapacitymetrolines.

Somesystemshavebeenbuiltfromscratch,othersarereclaimedfromformercommuterrailorsuburban
tramwaysystemsthathavebeenupgraded,andoftensupplementedwithanundergroundorelevateddowntown
section.[15]Atgradealignmentswithadedicatedrightofway.aretypicallyusedonlyoutsidedenseareas,
sincetheycreateaphysicalbarrierintheurbanfabricthathinderstheflowofpeopleandvehiclesacrosstheir
pathandhavealargerphysicalfootprint.Thismethodofconstructionisthecheapestaslongaslandvaluesare
low.Itisoftenusedfornewsystemsinareasthatareplannedtofillupwithbuildingsafterthelineisbuilt.[42]

Undergroundtunnelsmovetrafficawayfromstreetlevel,avoidingdelayscausedbytrafficcongestionand
leavingmorelandavailableforbuildingsandotheruses.Inareasofhighlandpricesanddenselanduse,
tunnelsmaybetheonlyeconomicrouteformasstransportation.Cutandcovertunnelsareconstructedby
diggingupcitystreets,whicharethenrebuiltoverthetunnelalternatively,tunnelboringmachinescanbeused
todigdeepboretunnelsthatliefurtherdowninbedrock.[18]

Elevatedrailwaysareacheaperandeasierwaytobuildanexclusiverightofwaywithoutdiggingexpensive
tunnelsorcreatingbarriers.Inadditiontostreetlevelrailwaystheymayalsobetheonlyotherfeasible
alternativeduetoconsiderationssuchasahighwatertableclosetothecitysurfacethatraisesthecostof,or
evenprecludesundergroundrailways(e.g.Miami).Elevatedguidewayswerepopulararoundthebeginningof

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the20thcentury,butfelloutoffavortheycamebackintofashioninthe
lastquarterofthecenturyoftenincombinationwithdriverless
systems,forinstanceVancouver'sSkyTrain,London'sDocklandsLight
Railway,[43]theMiamiMetrorail,andtheBangkokSkytrain.[44]

Stations

Stationsfunctionashubstoallowpassengerstoboardanddisembark
fromtrains.Theyarealsopaymentcheckpointsandallowpassengersto
transferbetweenmodesoftransport,forinstancetobusesorother LandungsbrckenstationinHamburg
trains.Accessisprovidedviaeitherislandorsideplatforms.[45] isanexamplewheretheUBahnison
Undergroundstations,especiallydeeplevelones,increasetheoverall surfacewhiletheSBahnstationison
transporttime:longescalatorridestotheplatformsmeanthatthe lowerlevel
stationscanbecomebottlenecksifnotadequatelybuilt.Some
undergroundandelevatedstationsareintegratedintovastunderground
orskywaynetworksrespectively,thatconnecttonearbycommercial
buildings.[46]Insuburbs,theremaybea"parkandride"connectedtothe
station.[47]

Toalloweasyaccesstothetrains,theplatformheightallowsstepfreeaccess
betweenplatformandtrain.Ifthestationcomplieswithaccessibilitystandards,
itallowsbothdisabledpeopleandthosewithwheeledbaggageeasyaccessto
thetrains,[48]thoughifthetrackiscurvedtherecanbeagapbetweenthetrain
andplatform.Somestationsuseplatformscreendoorstoincreasesafetyby
preventingpeoplefallingontothetracks,aswellasreducingventilationcosts.

ThedeepeststationintheworldisArsenalnastationinKiev,Ukraine.[49]

ParticularlyintheformerSovietUnionandotherEasternEuropeancountries,
buttoanincreasingextentelsewhere,thestationswerebuiltwithsplendid ThespaciousGetafeCentral
decorationssuchasmarblewalls,polishedgranitefloorsandmosaicsthus stationonLine12ofMadrid
exposingthepublictoartintheireverydaylife,outsidegalleriesandmuseums. Metrohasseveralclearly
ThesystemsinMoscow,St.Petersburg,TashkentandKievarewidelyregarded visiblelevels
[50]
assomeofthemostbeautifulintheworld. Severalothercitiessuchas
Stockholm,Montreal,Lisbon,NaplesandLosAngeleshavealsofocusedon
art,whichmayrangefromdecorativewallcladdings,tolarge,flamboyantartisticschemesintegratedwith
stationarchitecture,todisplaysofancientartifactsrecoveredduringstationconstruction.[51]Itmaybepossible
toprofitbyattractingmorepassengersbyspendingrelativelysmallamountsongrandarchitecture,art,
cleanliness,accessibility,lightingandafeelingofsafety.[52]

Modaltradeoffsandinterconnections

Sincethe1980s,tramshaveincorporatedseveralfeaturesofrapidtransit:lightrailsystems(trams)runontheir
ownrightsofway,thusavoidingcongestiontheyremainonthesamelevelasbusesandcars.Somelightrail
systemshaveelevatedorundergroundsections.Bothnewandupgradedtramsystemsallowfasterspeedand
highercapacity,andareacheapalternativetoconstructionofrapidtransit,especiallyinsmallercities.[21]

Apremetrodesignmeansthatanundergroundrapidtransitsystemisbuiltinthecitycentre,butonlyalightrail
ortramsysteminthesuburbs.Conversely,othercitieshaveoptedtobuildafullmetrointhesuburbs,butrun
tramsincitystreetstosavethecostofexpensivetunnels.InNorthAmerica,interurbanswereconstructedas
streetrunningsuburbantrams,withoutthegradeseparationofrapidtransit.Premetrosalsoallowagradual
upgradeofexistingtramwaystorapidtransit,thusspreadingtheinvestmentcostsovertime.Theyaremost
commoninGermanywiththenameStadtbahn.[37]
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Suburbancommuterrailisaheavyrailsystemthatoperatesatalower
frequencythanurbanrapidtransit,withhigheraveragespeeds,often
onlyservingonestationineachvillageandtown.Commuterrail
systemsofsomecities(suchasGermanSBahns,Chennairail,
Australiancityrails,DanishStogetc.)canbeseenasthesubstitutefor
thecity'srapidtransitsystemprovidingfrequentmasstransitwithin
city.Asopposedtosomecities(suchastheDubaiMetro,Shanghai
Metro,MetroSuroftheMadridMetro,TaipeiMetro,KualaLumpur
RapidTransitetc.)themainlyurbanrapidtransitsystemshavelinesthat
fanouttoreachtheoutersuburbs.Withsomeotherurbanor"near StratfordStationinLondonisshared
urban"rapidtransitsystems(GuangfoMetro,BayAreaRapidTransit, byLondonUndergroundtrains(left)
LosTequesMetroandSeoulSubwayLine7,etc.)servingbiandmulti andmainlinerailservices(right),as
nucleusagglomerations. wellastheDocklandsLightRailway
(notshown).
Somecitieshaveoptedfortwotiersofurbanrailways:anurbanrapid
transitsystem(suchastheParisMtro,BerlinUBahn,London
Underground,andtheTokyosubway)andasuburbansystem(suchastheircounterpartsRER,SBahn,future
Crossrail&LondonOverground,JRUrbanLinesrespectively).Thesuburbansystemsmayhavetheirown
purposebuilttrackage,runatsimilar"rapidtransitlike"frequencies,andcommonlyoperatedbythenational
railwaycompany.Insomecitiesthesesuburbanservicesrunthroughtunnelsinthecitycentreandhavedirect
transferstotherapidtransitsystem,onthesameoradjoiningplatforms.[53][54]California'sBARTand
Washington'sMetrorailsystemisanexampleofahybridofthetwo:inthesuburbsthelinesfunctionlikea
commuterrailline,withlongerintervals,andlongerdistancebetweenstationsinthedowntownareas,the
stationsbecomeclosertogetherandmanylinesinterlinewithintervalsdroppingtotypicalrapidtransit
headways.

Costs,benefits,andimpacts
AsofMay2012,184citieshavebuiltrapidtransitsystems.[55]The
capitalcostishigh,asistheriskofcostoverrunandbenefitshortfall
publicfinancingisnormallyrequired.Rapidtransitissometimesseen
asanalternativetoanextensiveroadtransportsystemwithmany
motorways[56]therapidtransitsystemallowshighercapacitywithless
landuse,lessenvironmentalimpact,andalowercost.[57]

Elevatedorundergroundsystemsincitycentersallowthetransportof
peoplewithoutoccupyingexpensiveland,andpermitthecityto
developcompactlywithoutphysicalbarriers.Motorwaysoftendepress TheDocklandsLightRailwayin
nearbyresidentiallandvalues,butproximitytoarapidtransitstation Londonallowsfordenselanduse,
oftentriggerscommercialandresidentialgrowth,withlargetransit whileretainingahighcapacity
orienteddevelopmentofficeandhousingblocksbeing
constructed.[56][58]Also,anefficienttransitsystemcandecreasethe
economicwelfarelosscausedbytheincreaseofpopulationdensityinametropolis.[59]

Rapidtransitsystemshavehighfixedcosts.Mostsystemsarepubliclyowned,byeitherlocalgovernments,
transitauthoritiesornationalgovernments.Capitalinvestmentsareoftenpartiallyorcompletelyfinancedby
taxation,ratherthanbypassengerfares,butmustoftencompetewithfundingforroads.Thetransitsystems
maybeoperatedbytheownerorbyaprivatecompanythroughapublicserviceobligation.Theownersofthe
systemsoftenalsoowntheconnectingbusorrailsystems,oraremembersofthelocaltransportassociation,
allowingforfreetransfersbetweenmodes.Almostalltransitsystemsoperateatadeficit,requiringfare
revenue,advertisingandsubsidiestocovercosts.

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Thefareboxrecoveryratio,aratioofticketincometooperatingcosts,isoftenusedtoassessoperational
profitability,withsomesystemsincludingHongKong'sMTRCorporation,[60]andTaipei[61]achieving
recoveryratiosofwellover100%.Thisignoresbothheavycapitalcostsincurredinbuildingthesystem,which
areoftensubsidizedwithsoftloans[62]andwhoseservicingisexcludedfromcalculationsofprofitability,as
wellasancillaryrevenuesuchasincomefromrealestateportfolios.[60]Somemetros,particularlyHongKong,
arepartlyfinancedbythesaleoflandwhosevaluehasbeenincreasedbythebuildingofthesystem,[42]a
processknownasvaluecapture.

Seealso
Listofmetrosystems
Busrapidtransit
Megaproject
Rapidtransittechnology

References
Footnotes

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3."GlossaryofTransitTerminology"(PDF).AmericanPublicTransportationAssociation.Retrieved20130731.
4."RapidTransit".EncyclopediaBritannica.Retrieved20141128.
5."Chicago".Retrieved20150424.
6.TransportforLondon.LondonUnderground:History.ISBN9780904711301.Archivedfromtheoriginalon
20130116.Retrieved20130102.
7."Shanghainowtheworld'slongestmetro".RailwayGazetteInternational.4May2010.Retrieved20100504.
8.Smith,StephenJ.(6January2014)."NewStarts:ShanghaiMetroWorld'sLongest,PanamaCanalDrama,Japan's
Maglev".NextCity.Retrieved20140921.
9."FactsSubwayandBusRidership".MetropolitanTransportationAuthority(MTA).Retrieved20140921.
10."Metros:Keepingpacewith21stcenturycities".uitp.org.InternationalAssociationofPublicTransport(French:
LUnioninternationaledestransportspublics(UITP)).2014.Retrieved20140920.
11.Fjellstrom&Wright,2002:p.2
12.Executiveed.:JosephP.Pickert...(2000).TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage(Fourthed.).
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Externallinks
Subways.net(http://www.subways.net/)
WikimediaCommonshas
UrbanRail.net(http://www.urbanrail.net/)
mediarelatedtoRapid
Small,KennethA.(2008)."UrbanTransportation".InDavidR. transit.
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Indianapolis:LibraryofEconomicsandLiberty.ISBN9780865976658.OCLC237794267.

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