The Mass-Produced Metros of China | Rapid Transit Standardization

Ever wondered why China was able to build so many metro systems in such a short period of time over the past couple of decades, but your country can't? Well, China has a secret weapon: standardization.

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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!

Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[michaelzhong]

As a Chinese, I would like to say that not only the metro but also the train stations and airports in China are very similar. Although each government has made a "soft package" based on the local culture, a closer look at the structure shows that most of them are similar. But as a way of commuting, it is efficient and convenient.

[MrLukealbanese]

I had the pleasure of working with Chinese suppliers on a recent light metro project and one thing thaqt's really worth emphasising is that they take their standardisation all the way through actual tunnelling itself. They have a national TBM company which has over 100 TBMs in the field at any one time in China, and they are all monitored centrally from their own HQ!! They are good tunnellers. As you say Reece, work pipeline is everything.

[humanecities]

I like this standardisation. I feel like we too often “hmm…” and “haaa” over what we should do. We get caught up in the decision making and never actually end up taking action. You can see it in transit, housing, bike lanes, etc. Have a set of standards for all of those things really makes a difference.

Mass production gets a bad rap for being low quality, but it really doesn’t have to be. If we know something works… Why spend so much time doing nothing?

[sobu_hasy]

PR China is actually the second country that built standardized metro. There was an another country (that doesn't exist anymore) who standardized so much of their subway construction. I'm talking here about the Soviet Union, that built metro systems in so many Soviet cities using actually only one type of train (Metrovagonmash 81-717), the broad Russian gauge and the 825V DC third rail electrification. If you will search videos from the metro systems in the former Soviet countries you will see metro systems that looks pretty much the same.

[shahilj]

Need more Chinese metro content. The standardisation is epic and definitely a huge positive.

[KabibbleIsh]

I lived in Shenzhen in 2017-2018 and I really love the metro there. I visited a few other cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Beijing, and those all have good and very similar metros in terms of basic design, but the Shenzhen metro had some extra details I really liked.

They were early adopters of allowing tap payments with your phone, and it even (sort of) connected with the HK metro (with certain limitations of course). The stations are clean and accessible, and mode transfers to bus or bike-share were also really easy upon exiting the station.

I’ve lived in Europe and various parts of the US, but using the Shenzhen metro system was by far the best transit experience I’ve had living anywhere.

[DanChan-qbec]

Some Chinese metro station even have enormous and crazy architecture no matter above ground or underground which is quite impressive

[lol]

Great video!

Unfortunately, standardization requires regulation. Regulation requires politics to not be influenced by the same private sector we are trying to regulate. There is a lot of incentive for the private sector to keep public transit non-standard and expensive.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Do a shot every time Reece says "standard" and "standardize" 😂. China's like "You get a metro! You get a metro! You get a metro! EVERYBODY GETS A METRO!" like Oprah did with giving everyone in her audience a car and I love it. Although I like when metro stations are unique like those on the Tashkent or Pyongyang Metro, transit infrastructure shouldn't be required to be that way. And for a place like China with huge cities, standardizing to meet demands of an enormous population is the effective solution. After all, the main purpose of a metro is to keep big amounts of people moving. Convenience is key.

People in Europe and North America just don't want to admit when China does something good, but I'm glad more people like you are giving China a chance. Their economic growth has been amazing and the way they were able to build the most extensive HSR network in the world with 26, 000 miles/42, 000 km (and it'll get bigger with 43K miles/70K km in 2035) in a matter of about two decades, is an incredible engineering feat.

[LouisSubearth]

Also, another thing China is known for regarding metro construction is that they build metro stations before the surrounding areas are built out with roads, apartments, and commercial space, taking a "build it and they will come" attitude to their planning and construction.

[stephenliam]

Standardization is beneficial.
As a citizen of Chengdu, I once heard that there are 55 lines planned in Chengdu (Actually, in 2019, there were 5 lines started at the same time), but unfortunately, 36 planned lines were cut off later. The good news is that now it is still the fastest city in China's subway construction.
At the beginning of the metro construction, the noise generated by the construction and the inconvenience of travel due to the occupation of the road, but until the construction is completed, you will feel the convenience of the metro, and everything is worth it.

[transitspace]

Standards are becoming much more common as they reduce costs, Alstom Metropolis driverless trains are becoming a standard in numerous countries due to expertise exporting, e.g. France gov is currently funding and building the Belgrade 40km metro, naturally RATP and Alstom (who are leading the project) are using their standard. Those Chinese standards are also being exported, M11 in Istanbul uses high speed CRRC trains seen in China. Paris metro is also a great example, all lines (even the rubber-tyred ones) use the same standard (750V DC third rail, 2.55m wide trains, same signaling GOA-2 system…), it allows Paris to replace almost all of its trains in one order by 2030. though this is gonna change with GPE.

[torbjrnmelbye]

I teach in train technology in Oslo (subway trains) I have been in China 45 times, and going back in June. The difference in just 17 years is amazing. I am especially impressed by the high speed rail system. Standardisation is the key to everything, also lower maintenance costs

[StevenJosephLee]

This is a really great video. People often talk about how China is building so much so much faster than other countries, but rarely have I heard an effective explanation of why they can.

[KN]

I've been to Chengdu back when line 1 and 2 were the only lines and the metro trains there are some of the quietest and the smoothest I've ever experienced!

[ashwinnarasimhan]

This definitely reminds me a lot of what I’ve learned from your videos on India’s metro systems too, we should definitely have a bit more standardization in North America

[calleywang]

America used to do this. The PCC Streetcars were meant to be a standard to be used all around the country and licensed around the world. They still hold up today on modern streetcar lines.

[kevinlove]

How many times did the word "standard" or "standardize" appear in this video? Standards are really, really important. Here in Toronto, far too much time and money is wasted on "reinventing the wheel." In my opinion, we should adopt standards from whoever has the best ones, and then get on with building the stuff we need. Yes, use the Dutch CROW standards for bicycle infrastructure and the Chinese standards for rail transit, etc.

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Not all the rolling stock are made by CRRC! Some were manufactured by ADtranz and Siemens like those of Shanghai's Line 1, Bombardier like those on Beijing's Capital Airport Express, and Alstom (cooperating with CRRC Nanjing) like those of Shanghai's Line 3. The way China is doing all this really is beautiful. I say beautiful because that's the feeling of progress when everyone is on the same page! Unity is key to get things done! In the past when PCCs were around, the streetcar companies were able to standardize PCCs successfully and they were everywhere in the US from Newark to Los Angeles! And then overtime...it's like the US has forgotten what works.

[vickkeevickkee]

As an Indian we may have alot of differences but truly Chinese hospitality and Chinese people are kind hearted. Their development is something motivates us too.
Love from 🇮🇳