History of rapid transit

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "History of rapid transit" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on
Rail transport
History Company types
Infrastructure
Management Rail yard Railway station list Railway track Maintenance Track gauge Variable gauge Gauge conversion Dual gauge
Service and rolling stock
Operating Locomotives Steam locomotives Trains Railroad cars Railway couplings Couplers by country Coupler conversion Dual coupling Wheelset Bogie (truck) Passenger train Commuter rail Regional rail Inter-city rail High-speed railways Passenger traffic terminology Named passenger trains Rail subsidies Railway nationalization Freight
Special systems
Tram Light rail Rapid transit History Maglev Urban
Miscellanea
Accidents Attractions By country Companies List of high-speed trains List of train songs Longest train services Modelling Museums Platform screen doors Railway speed record Suicide Terminology (AU, NA, NZ, UK) Vactrain
Transport portal
v t e

The history of rapid transit began in London with the opening of the Metropolitan Railway, which is now part of the London Underground, in 1863. By World War I, electric underground railways were being used in Athens, Berlin, Boston, Buenos Aires, Budapest, Glasgow, Hamburg, Istanbul, Liverpool, New York City, Paris, and Philadelphia.

In the 21st century, China became the world's leader by number of rapid transit systems as well as the fastest growth of such systems,^{[citation needed]} and many other Asian countries began construction of their own rapid transit systems.