With the new year comes the latest edition of the Rail Transit Rankings, as promised.
This marks the 12th year of producing our year-end ranking summary. This year, we continue to use the "Metropolitan Area Network" as our statistical standard, presenting you with network maps that reflect actual connectivity and geographic layout. This approach allows you to more intuitively perceive the network characteristics of each city (or metropolitan area). (Note: The ranking feature within the MetroMan App remains updated in real-time, based on "Single City Network" and administrative boundaries.)
2024 Core Changes
- New Developments: A total of 26 cities added rail transit mileage this year.
- Integration Milestone: With the opening of Chengdu Rail Transit Line S3, which successfully connects to Ziyang, the interconnection of the Chengdu Metropolitan Area has taken a significant step forward.
Metropolitan Area Integration Progress
More and more urban rail networks are expanding and merging, breaking the boundaries of single cities:
- Interconnected:
- Chengdu-Ziyang Integration: Chengdu and Ziyang (Connected via Line S3).
- Guangzhou Metro Area: Includes Foshan (Future links to Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, etc.).
- Nanjing Metro Area: Includes Zhenjiang Jurong (Future links to Ma'anshan, Chuzhou, Yangzhou).
- Hangzhou Metro Area: Includes Shaoxing, Jiaxing Haining (Future links to Huzhou Deqing).
- Taipei Metro Area: Includes New Taipei, Taoyuan (Future links to Keelung).
- Integrating/Connecting Soon:
- Xi'an Metro Area: Xi'an and Xianyang integration is in progress.
- Beijing Metro Area: Connection to Langfang and Xiong'an is imminent.
- Chengdu Metro Area Expansion: Deyang, Meishan, etc.
- Shenzhen Metro Area: Dongguan, Huizhou.
- Xiamen Metro Area: Zhangzhou, Quanzhou.
Statistical Notes & Exclusions
- Methodology: To ensure consistency, the rankings use the Calendar Year cutoff. Data is rounded to the nearest whole number.
- General Exclusions: Statistics exclude trams without independent right-of-way, light rail, SkyShuttle (Cloud Bus), CloudRail, suburban railways operating on existing tracks, and tourism-oriented rail lines.
- Specific Unopened Section Exclusions: The following sections are not included in this year's mileage as they are not yet operational:
- Chengdu Line 19: Hejiang Section
- Qingdao Blue Valley Line (Line 11): Aoshanwan Section
- Hefei Line 3: Guanyi Section
- Hefei Line 4: Ziyunhu Section
2024 China Urban Rail Transit Rankings (With Network Maps)
Data Statistics Charts
2025 Opening Forecast Rankings
MetroMan App Real-time Rankings
