I was always impressed by Berlin's subway. Some parts of it are very accessible, with the rails literally 20ft below the street. For example: https://youtu.be/42EV-9G9vjo?t=230
Also, no fare gates (there are occasional ticket checks on the trains, and heavy fines for non-payers).
What was a first in Nuremberg wasn't the trains (many places have them by now), but that they have two lines self-driving trains and one conventional line mixed sometimes sharing the same tracks and even a few (central city) stations (same platforms there too).
Very cool, but FYI, this is not a "subway" map. It is a transportation map. Trains, Planes, Monorails. The page's title is "Mini Tokyo 3D" not "Real-Time Tokyo Subway Map"
Typical metro maps are quite complicated to automatically calculate. At least I know of no efficient algorithm and force-directed layout doesn't really work, since you want the stations in roughly the right place, especially relative to other stations. A colleague tried something based on a paper a few years ago [1], alas it only really worked with a commercial ILP solver. We've tried an open-source one a year before that and could only get results in acceptable time for three lines or so.
I think most tube maps are hand-arranged, perhaps with some algorithmic help, but oftentimes you also have to fit a specific aspect ratio or shape (because the greater metropolitan area is also shown on the map, along with fare zones), which I don't think any algorithm currently does well. And the manual approach can result in niceties like the actual circle around the city center here: https://www.rsag-online.de/fahrplan/liniennetzplaene
I grew up in Reston. When I started elementry school (1985), the furthest the metro rail went out was Vienna, though they were talking about running a line out along the Dulles corridor.
I visited home last year; the furthest the metro rail went out was Vienna, though they were talking about running a line out along the Dulles corridor, and they have a website[1]. Now that's progress!
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