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
| State | City | Name | Stations | Miles of Track (Kilometers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Brussels | Brussels Metro | 59 | 24.8 (39.9) |
| Bulgaria | Sofia | Sofia Metro | 34 | 25 (40) |
| California | Los Angeles | Metro Rail | 16 | 17.4 (28) |
| California | San Francisco | BART | 45 | 108.6 (174.8) |
| Czech Republic | Prague | Prague Metro | 58 | 40.5 (65.2) |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | Copenhagen Metro | 22 | 12.7 (20.4) |
| Finland | Helsinki | Helsinki Metro | 25 | 22 (35) |
| Florida | Miami | Metrorail | 23 | 24.9 (40.1) |
| France | Lille | Lille Metro | 60 | 28 (45) |
| France | Lyon | Lyon Metro | 40 | 19.9 (32) |
| France | Marseille | Marseille Metro | 28 | 13.4 (21.5) |
| France | Paris | Paris Metro | 302 | 133 (214) |
| France | Rennes | Rennes Metro | 15 | 5.8 (9.4) |
| France | Toulouse | Toulouse Metro | 37 | 17.5 (28.2) |
| Georgia | Atlanta | MARTA | 38 | 47.6 (76.6) |
| Germany | Berlin | Berlin U-Bahn | 173 | 94.3 (151.7) |
| Germany | Hamburg | Hamburg U-Bahn | 92 | 65.9 (106.1) |
| Germany | Munich | Munich U-Bahn | 96 | 59 (95) |
| Germany | Nuremberg | Nuremberg U-Bahn | 48 | 22 (36) |
| Greece | Athens | Athens Metro | 61 | 52.6 (84.7) |
| Hungary | Budapest | Budapest Metro | 48 | 23.7 (38.2) |
| Illinois | Chicago | Chicago L | 145 | 102.8 (165.4) |
| Italy | Brescia | Brescia Metro | 17 | 8.5 (13.7) |
| Italy | Catania | Catania Metro | 10 | 5.5 (8.8) |
| Italy | Genoa | Genoa Metro | 8 | 4.4 (7.1) |
| Italy | Milan | Milan Metro | 106 | 63 (101) |
| Italy | Naples | Naples Metro | 22 | 12.7 (20.5) |
| Italy | Rome | Rome Metro | 73 | 37 (60) |
| Italy | Turin | Turin Metro | 21 | 8.2 (13.2) |
| Maryland | Baltimore | Baltimore Metro Subway | 14 | 15.5 (24.9) |
| Massachusetts | Boston | MBTA Subway | 51 | 38 (61) |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Metro | 39 | 25.6 (41.2) |
| Netherlands | Rotterdam | Rotterdam Metro | 62 | 48.7 (78.3) |
| New York | New York City | New York City Subway | 424 | 236.2 (380.2) |
| New York | New York City | PATH | 13 | 13.8 (22.2) |
| New York | New York City | Staten Island Railway | 21 | 14 (22.5) |
| Ohio | Cleveland | RTA Rapid Transit: Red Line | 18 | 19 (31) |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | PATCO Speedline | 13 | 14.2 (22.9) |
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | SEPTA | 75 | 36.7 (59.1) |
| Poland | Warsaw | Warsaw Metro | 27 | 18 (29) |
| Portugal | Lisbon | Lisbon Metro | 56 | 27.4 (44.1) |
| Romania | Bucharest | Bucharest Metro | 47 | 44.4 (71.4) |
| Spain | Barcelona | Barcelona Metro | 182 | 75 (120.7) |
| Spain | Bilbao | Metro Bilbao | 41 | 28 (45.1) |
| Spain | Madrid | Madrid Metro | 241 | 179.3 (288.5) |
| Sweden | Stockholm | Stockholm Metro | 100 | 67 (108) |
| United Kingdom | Glasgow | Glasgow Subway | 15 | 6.5 (10.4) |
| United Kingdom | London | Docklands Light Railway | 45 | 21 (34) |
| United Kingdom | London | London Underground | 270 | 250 (402) |
| United Kingdom | Newcastle | Tyne and Wear Metro | 60 | 48.2 (77.5) |
| Washington DC | Washington, D.C. | Washington Metro | 91 | 117 (188) |
Sources
Wikipedia. 2019. "List of Metro Systems." Accessed February 24, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems.