The Mass-Produced Metros of China | Rapid Transit Standardization

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

The problem with Canada is that there are 38 million Canadians with 50 million different opinions.

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.

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.

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!

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

From a software developer perspective, standardization makes a lot of sense. Imagine Microsoft operating systems being drastically different between versions. In software development, you don't do and build up each function from scratch. You can either buy software codes that do certain functions, or you build it yourself. Once you have each functional code block fully tested to your satisfaction, you can then use and re-use it in future development. What this means your software will be very similar in functionalities, as well, as very predictable in behaviours. The modular design means you get get things done quicker, cheaper, and most importantly, less problematic because each module had been tested to death for accuracy and reliability. Modular design concepts is being used in many parts of society. Modular houses, modular machines, etc. That is why robotic is so critical to modern days because each robot does the same job, without fail. But why the western world doesn't adopt the same design philosophy? I think it has to do with the overall philosophy of the two systems namely China and the west. China is not big on individuality, collectivism is acceptable way of life. The west is the opposite. Individualistic, and everyone vies to be different. That translates into even the public transport systems. Company A doesn't want to be the same as Company B and believes that it is so much better and cleverer than B. So off they went. They designed and built different systems just to prove to each other that they are indeed better. China won;t allow that wasteful competition.

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 🇮🇳