Metro is the most uncommon mode of transport. Few cities, even countries, can boast of such public transport. Only in about 100 cities around the world is there a metro. On the African continent there are only two cities: Cairo and Tunisia. Australia also has two subways - in Sydney and Melbourne.
What is the subway?
To understand where the smallest metro in the world is, one should understand what it is, because there are several interpretations of the term. One of the most eminent experts in this field - Schwandl Robert - identifies several features that define the term:
- the movement of trains is carried out in a short period of time, up to 10 minutes;
- erected in large cities;
- powered by electricity.
To date, we can distinguish a number of metro that correspond to the above signs and have a small length.
Dnipro, Ukraine
This Ukrainian city is large and is the financial capital of the state, at the same time it has the shortest metro in the world, with a length of only 6.8 kilometers, and 5 stations. Travel time from one end station to another is 12 minutes.
They opened the subway in 1995 and promised to complete it further by 2018. It is a well-known fact that there is a problem in the city, because it stands on granite slabs close to the surface, which complicates the development of tunnels. In addition, the city has underground water, which is also close to the surface of the soil.
The current head of the city promised to complete the metro until 2021. Let's see what will happen next.
Ekaterinburg
In 1991, the subway of the city was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest metro in the world in the number of stations. At that time there were 3 of them.
In this city, the circumstances for the development of underground public transport are somewhat better. A year later, a new station opened. In 1994, two more. Today it is already 9 stations, with a total length of 12.7 kilometers. There are plans to build two more lines with 39 stations in total.
New Athos metro, Abkhazia
In fact, this is an underground railway, which was built to transport tourists and yet, according to the criteria, it falls within the definition of the metro.
They opened the road in 1975, its length is only 1.3 kilometers, and only 3 stations operate. Therefore, it can be called the shortest metro in the world. The trains move at an average speed of 30 kilometers per hour and during the peak season they transport about 2 thousand people per day.
Kazan
At one time, this city was also famous for the shortest metro in the world. The history of the construction of underground public transport began in the 30s of the last century, but the construction itself began only in 1997. At the time of the opening, the length of the subway was 6.8 kilometers, and there were only 5 stations.
To date, 11 stations are operating; in the near future, the construction of another 3 subway lines.
Catania, Sicily
The shortest metro line in Europe is perhaps the Catania subway. We opened it only in 1990, and it is the fifth high-speed public transport system that operates underground in the city.
The metro is only 4 kilometers long. But there are a lot of stations on this line - 11.
Israel
It is believed that the shortest metro system in the world is Carmelit, Israel. Although this underground transport does not fully meet all the criteria for determining the subway.
The total length of the tracks is 1.8 kilometers and only 6 stations. The total time for which this distance can be covered is 6 minutes. They built a subway in 1956. On average, about 2.5 thousand people use a subway per day.
However, the peculiarity of Carmelit is that it is, first of all, the only underground transport in the whole country. Secondly, the movement of the train occurs vertically, and not horizontally, as in a traditional metro.
On average, the slope here is 17 degrees, and the occurrence depth is from 5 to 30 meters. The difference in height from the lower to the upper station is 300 meters. In fact, if we consider the device of the subway, then this is a funicular operating on traction cables.
Only two trains with two wagons move along the road. The capacity of one train is 400 people.
Unusual yet in this world's shortest metro platform. They have a stepped shape, which is generally unusual for most people. At the same time, the lobby is available only at 2 stations. At other stations, the platforms are still used as underpasses. The movement of trains is carried out entirely by computers, but the drivers are still present in the cabs. Escalators familiar to metro users here work only in one direction - up.
Today, the Haifa metro is actually a financial burden for the treasury. About 3 million US dollars are spent on its maintenance per year, and more than 10 passengers are rarely typed in wagons. The underground is not suitable for disabled people, most often tourists use it, since this place is included in many excursion programs in Haifa.
