Congratulations to Beijing, which now holds the distinction of having the longest metro system in the world. Four new lines went into operation yesterday — the second phase of Line 10, turning it to a loop; the southern section of Line 8; the northern section of Line 9; and the newly opened Line 6 — giving the city 16 subway lines stretching 442 kilometers. The system can accommodate more than 9 million passengers per day.
According to Wikipedia, Shanghai is No. 2 with 437 kilometers of track, followed by Seoul at 406.2 kilometers, then London at 402 kilometers.
But Beijing isn’t done. According to Xinhua:
From 2013 to 2015, Beijing will put at least one new subway line into operation each year, according to the Beijing Metro Company.
By 2015, the number of subway lines in Beijing will reach 19, with a combined length of 561 km. By 2020, the total subway length is expected to increase to 1,000 km.
Here’s the new station at Dongsi, via Xinhua: