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Top 6 Metro Systems in the World!!

March 24, 2014 12:04 pm    |    by Jonny Blair

If you are a travel obsessive like me then you might love being “on the tube”. My love for city tubes, underground, metro systems, subways and trains dates back to my time working in London, for a PR Agency at Ravenscourt Park. Growing up in Bangor, Northern Ireland we certainly didn’t need a “metro”. Today I bring you my top 6 metro systems in the world from my travels! Mind the gaps please! I could have done a top 30, but we’ll leave it as 6 for now. Next station: Tsuen Wan.

1. Tokyo, Japan

Japan’s Metro System is amazing. Quite how they fit all these passengers daily into such a gigantic city yet not ever seeming too crushed is amazing! I toured Tokyo with one of my best mates and loved the metro system (at least it avoided having to get taxis – a bug bear of mine). While in Tokyo we got off the beaten path too and got lost a few times, picking random stations to get off at and explore. There’s a cool video on the Tokyo Metro it’s a quick fire minute and shows the whole experience of being on the Tokyo Metro in what is easily one of the world’s busiest and craziest cities:

There’s more about it on the official site: http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/

2. Hong Kong

I’ve lived and breathed the Kong for 3 years of my backpacking and working life so I’m well used to it. I love the way you can get from one side of the city to the other so quickly on the MTR system – even in rush hour. I used to work at Tsuen Wan by day and Central by night and a quick 20 minutes was all it took with a quick change on route.

hong kong metro

The excellent MTR system in Hong Kong

3. London, England

I was back in London as recently as this month and as usual there was a strike, a delay and a cancelled line! It was amazing to be back there to see it as a backpacker! The fact that it has problems and complaints is what makes it for me! I love it the way Londoners moan about it – for God sake if they grew up in a city like Belfast which doesn’t even have a metro system, they’d appreciate it a lot more!

london tubes

The backpacker back on the tube in London.

I even made a video of it as I was in the middle of a huge delay:

4. Tehran, Iran

Perhaps a surprise entry but I don’t mention Iran much on here and what I loved about the Metro in Tehran is that local people TALK to you on it. They love to talk to foreigners and we met one of our homestay hosts, Issa this way. We got offered 2 other homestays just by being on the Metro. It’s also ridiculously cheap!

iran tehran metro

The Metro System in Tehran, Iran.

Don’t forget you’re also in Iran – they have a “women only” section. Make sure you don’t hop in there if you have a willy.

The women only section on the Tehran Metro

The women only section on the Tehran Metro

5. Chongqing, China

To the world’s biggest city then, mighty Chongqing is HUGE! But yet the metro is easy enough to travel on – easy to buy a ticket, cheap, clean and fast. I loved it! The information on this post about Backpacking in Chongqing offers a crazy world of random non touristy stuff to do in this metropolis which is often seen as the biggest city on the planet!

chongqing

Chongqing’s Mammoth Metro system!

6. Pyongyang, North Korea

Pyongyang is the deepest metro system in the world so it has to make this list. We travelled from Revival to Glory. The whole decor of it, the cheapness of it, the bizarre fact that some people seem to think the North Koreans that use it are “actors” (yeah right)! One of the cool travel blogs out there has a review on touring the Pyongyang Metro, worth checking out.

metro pyongyang

Pyongyang Metro System in North Korea – deepest in the world!

Those are my top 6 metro systems so far, hope you enjoyed reading and safe onwards travels!

Disclaimer: This post has been kindly sponsored by the Tokyo Metro System which will hopefully covers some of my maintenance costs from running this site.

2 Responses to “Top 6 Metro Systems in the World!!”

  1. […] You can also check out my top 5 metro systems which includes Tokyo. […]

  2. […] backpack to one side, a great and affordable option is to rent a bicycle. The country’s various metro systems, including the one in Paris, are also very […]


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