UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE

CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY
Gharuan, Mohali

SUBJECT NAME: TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION

SUBJECT CODE: ARB-534
TOPIC: METRO MASS TRANSPORTAION

SUBMITTED TO- SUBMITTED BY-

Ar. SHRUTI SIDHU PRAGAV DEWAN

(17BAR1006)
INTRODUCTION
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail, metro,
subway, tube, U-Bahn, T-Bane, metropolitan or underground, is a type of high-
capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. Unlike buses or trams,
rapid transit systems are electric railways that operate on an exclusive right-of-
way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles of any sort,
and which is often grade-separated in tunnels or on elevated railways.

Modern service on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines

between stations typically using electric multiple units on rail tracks, although The London Underground is the world's
some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation (maglev), or oldest underground system.
monorail. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the
trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train
and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often
operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some rapid transit
systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or
between two rapid transit lines.

The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan
Railway which opened as a conventional railway in 1863, and now forms part of
the London Underground. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side
and Yonkers Patent Railway, initially a cable-hauled line using static steam
engines.
The New York City Subway is the world's
largest single-operator rapid transit system
As of 2021, China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world—
by number of metro stations, at 472.
40 in number, running on over 4,500 km of track—and is responsible for most of
the world's rapid-transit expansion in the past decade The world's longest
single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro. The
world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472
stations in total)[14] is the New York City Subway. The busiest rapid transit
systems in the world by annual ridership also include the Tokyo subway system,
the Singapore MRT, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, the Shanghai
Metro, the Shenzhen Metro, the Delhi metro, and the Guangzhou Metro.

A station of the Guangzhou Metro in 2005.

HISTORY
The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked
the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite
ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their
extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient, faster and
cleaner than steam and the natural choice for trains running in tunnels and
proved superior for elevated services.

In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid
transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was
to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing the term
Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were
eventually merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead
Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset.
The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe, the United States,
Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and
others being designed to be electric from the outset. Budapest, Chicago,
Glasgow and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric
rail services.

Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid

solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and pre metro, which
incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost,
engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted
to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities
was low and suburbs tended to spread out. Since the 1970s, the viability of
underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and
Melbourne, has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity.
The first line of Sydney Metro, Australia's first rapid transit system, was opened
in 2019.

Since the 1960s, many new systems were introduced in Europe, Asia and Latin
America. In the 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in
Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating
some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that