A question from Richard Archambault via Twitter: how many metros/subways have you personally visited? Favourite?

Answer: Oooo, good question! Using the full list of rail rapid transit systems in Mark Ovenden’s Transit Maps of the World gives this list (in approximate order of first use):

• Sydney (suburban rail, monorail, light rail)
• London (Underground)
• Paris (Métro)
• Rome (Metro)
• Melbourne (tram)
• Ghent (tram)
• Milan (commuter/regional rail to Como, not tram or Metro)
• Naples (Circumvesuviano line only, not Metro)
• Freiburg im Breisgau (tram)
• Strasbourg (tram)
• Köln (U-Bahn)
• Amsterdam (tram)
• Vienna (tram, not U-Bahn)
• Prague (Metro, tram)
• Berlin (U-Bahn)
• San Francisco (BART)
• Portland (light rail, streetcar)
• Seattle (light rail)
• Boston (T)
• New York (subway)
• Tempe, Arizona (light rail)
• Valencia (Metro)
• Barcelona (Metro)

That’s it, I think. I’ve also traveled extensively around Europe by train, but that’s kind of outside the scope of this question. And there’s lots of cities I’ve visited that have rail transit that I just haven’t used yet – Los Angeles, Brussels, Marseille, Munich, etc.

I have a few favourites for different reasons: London because it introduced me to real rapid transit and the H.C. Beck map; Paris because of how integrated into the fabric of the city it is; and Barcelona because of the awesome wayfinding signage. Honourable mention to New York for just being the New York Subway (for better and for worse). 

Oh yeah, and a a huge shoutout to Freiburg, where the tram operator not only shouted out his window to me that his tram was the right one to catch to get to the youth hostel on the edge of town, but also made a pitstop at the information center to dash inside and get me a map and information on ticket discounts. Operator of the year, 2003!