The table provides key information about the underground railway systems in six different cities, detailing the year they were opened, their total route length in kilometres, and the annual number of passengers they carry, measured in millions.
Overall, there is a clear distinction between the older, more established systems in Europe and Asia and the newer networks in the United States and Japan. London has the most extensive network by far, while Tokyo carries the highest volume of passengers annually.
London’s underground, opened in 1863, is the oldest system and boasts the longest route at 394 kilometres. However, it carries fewer passengers (775 million) than both Paris and Tokyo. The Paris Metro, opened in 1900, transports 1,191 million passengers on a network of 199 kilometres. Tokyo, which began operating in 1927, has the second shortest route length of the older systems (155 kilometres) but is the busiest by a significant margin, serving 1,927 million passengers per year.
In contrast, the more modern systems are smaller and less utilised. Washington DC’s metro, opened in 1976, has a route of 126 kilometres and serves 144 million passengers. Kyoto and Los Angeles, opened in 1981 and 2001 respectively, have the smallest networks (11 and 28 kilometres) and the lowest passenger numbers, with 45 and 50 million annually. This suggests that newer, smaller systems carry far fewer passengers than the established networks of major global capitals.