STATISTICS BRIEF

WORLD REPORT ON METRO AUTOMATION - JULY 2016

INTRODUCTION

Automated metro lines are a proven solution for
metro systems around the world. As of July 2016,
there are 55 fully automated metro lines in 37
cities around the world, operating in total 803
km, a 14,2% increase in km over 2014 figures.
The projection is that by 2025 there will be over
2,300 km of automated metro lines in operation.
This report offers a general overview of the state
of the art in metro automation, covering line
characteristics, technological trends, supplier
market share and estimated future evolution.

Copenhagen
Lille Nuremberg
Paris Lausanne
Vancouver Rennes Budapest
Lyon Uijeongbu
Detroit Toulouse Brescia Tokyo
Barcelona Milan Seoul Yokohama
Queens (NY) Turin Rome Yongin Nagoya
Las Vegas Osaka
Jacksonville Guangzhou Daegu Busan
Dubai Kobe
Miami Hong Kong
Taipei

Kuala Lumpur
Singapore

São Paulo

High capacity lines: more than 700 passengers per train Medium capacity lines: 300 to 700 passengers per train
Low capacity lines: under 300 passengers per train

Cities with fully automated metro lines in operation as of 15 July 2016

1
 The avant-garde of metros, fully automated metro lines are a win-
dow into the future of all metro systems. This report covers the
complete field of fully automated metro lines in public transport
operation in the world. The analysis of these flagship lines, some of
them in operation for several decades, offers a unique opportunity
to operators, authorities and industry suppliers to better under-
stand the future evolution of metro systems.
AUTOMATION IS A GLOBAL SOLUTION
Asia and Europe together are home to close to 75% of the km
of fully automated metro lines (see figure 1), followed by North
America (13 %), which was in fact one of the pioneering regions in
metro automation. In the last decade, both Latin America and the
Middle East have developed fully automated lines, with the Middle
East showcasing one of the higher rates of growth.

Latin America
MENA 1%
10%
METRO AUTOMATION IN 2016
North America
13% Asia -Pacific
There are currently 55 fully automated metro lines, operating pub- 43%
lic transport services over 803 km. Together they serve 848 metro
stations in 37 cities across the world: 23% of the cities with a metro
network have at least one fully automated metro line in operation
(see box).

OVERVIEW: CONVENTIONAL Europe

VS AUTOMATED METROS 33%

Nearly a quarter of the world’s 157 metro cities have at
least one line operating in full automated mode - in km,
this represents 6% of the world’s metro infrastructure. This
development took place in the last 30 years, a relatively short
time span when considering the 153 years of metro history.
The analysis at a regional level shows that the share of fully
automated metro lines is significantly higher in Middle East and
Europe, where fully automated lines represents respectively
15% and 10% of their metro infrastructure.
Figure 1: % of km of automated metro lines per world region
Half of the world’s fully automated metro infrastructure is con-
centrated in 4 countries: France, South Korea, Singapore and the
United Arab Emirates. France continues to lead the ranking with
16% of the world’s km of fully automated metro lines, followed
closely by South Korea (15%). (See figure 2)
18%

16%
In Asia, the leading world region for automation, automated 16%
15%
14%
lines represent 5% of the km of metro in the region– a
12%
consequence of Asia’s large metro market, and of the late 12%
adoption of automation in China. 10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%
France

Korea
(Republic of South)

Singapore

UAE

Canada

Japan

Italy

U.S.A.

Spain

Malaysia

Taiwan

Denmark

Germany

Brazil

Hungary

China

Switzerland

Figure 2: % of km of fully automated metro lines per country

2
The three cities with the most km of metro operated in automated CHARACTERISTICS & TRENDS
mode are outside Europe – Singapore (93 km), Dubai (80 km)
and Vancouver (68 km) - as depicted in figure 3. Capacity
100
Although fully automated metro solutions were initially deployed in
low capacity lines, growth in the last decade corresponded mostly
93 to medium and high capacity systems (see figure 4). Currently,
80 close to 80% of the world’s automated metro infrastructure cor-
80 respond to medium and high capacity lines, when considering the
68
capacity of the trains. Most high capacity lines are deployed in Asia
60 and Europe (see figure 5), with the significant exception of São
Paulo’s Line 4 in Latin America: with over 32,000 passengers per
hour per direction, it is one of the most heavily loaded lines in the
40
Kuala Lumpur world.
Vancouver

20 Capacity
Singapore

Barcelona

Toulouse

(pax per train)

199 km
Dubai

Busan

Seoul
Paris

>700
Lille

0 >700 21.5% 300-700

Figure 3: Top 10 cities with fully automated automated metro lines <300
(km in operation per city)
391 km

300-700 55.7%
The diversity of urban scenarios that represent the above figures
highlights the flexibility of full driverless metro operation: auto-
mated lines have been deployed now in 37 cities around the world, 214 km
depicting very different mobility needs and demographic contexts.
This demonstrates that fully automated metro solutions are not <300 22.8%
limited to one type of city, mobility pattern or culture.

200 150 100 50 50 100 150 200

2006

One of the recurrent questions raised by decision makers con-

cerning automation is public opinion – in particular citizen’s re- Figure 4: Km of automated lines per train capacity & % of growth in the last
decade
action to a train without a driver on front. The variety of cultural
contexts in which full metro automation has been successfully de-
ployed demonstrates this is not a real barrier. Another clear indi-
cator on the acceptance of automation is that when a city builds an
automated metro line, it never opts for building subsequent lines in Capacity
Asia-Pacific (pax per train)
conventional, manual operation. 342 km >700
300-700
32%
<300
44%

24% 30%
MENA 35% Europe
35% 267 km
80 km
100%
m
m

100 k
m

200 k
300 k

35%
100%
10 km 65%
105 km
© Flickr - News Oresund

Latin America North America

Lines using low capacity vehicles

Lines using medium capacity vehicles
Figure 5: % of km of automated metro lines per world region - train capacity
Lines using high hapacity vehicles

3
Signalling technology
CBTC has consolidated as the preferred signalling solution for fully
automated metro lines. Currently, 68% of the world’s km of au-
tomated metro lines are operated using CBTC systems and even
more significantly, close to three quarters of the new fully auto-
mated metro infrastructure built in the last decade was equipped
with CBTC (see figure 6).
Thales, with close to 250 km of automated metro lines equipped, is
the market leader for fully automated metro lines, closely followed
by Siemens (see figure 7).
547 km
Platform track protection systems
The safety of the platform/track interface is crucial for fully au-
tomated metro lines. The installation of Platform Screen doors
remains the dominant solution over track intrusion detection sys-
tems (see figure 8) since they prevent persons and objects from
falling on the track, improving the performance of the line. Cur-
rently, 76% of stations in automated metro lines in operation are
equipped with platform screen doors, a trend that is confirmed by
the evolution in the last decade: only 15% of the stations inaugu-
rated since 2006 are protected with intrusion detection systems.
645 stations
PSD
Non-PSD
85%

76% 203 stations

15%
256 km

24%

2006
300 200 100 100 200 300 400 500
CBTC
Non CBTC
Figure 8: Platform Screen Doors vs. non-PSD (total stations equipped & percen-
2006

200 100 100 200 300 400 tage of growth in the last decade)

Figure 6: CBTC vs non-CBTC signalling solutions for fully automated lines (km
Rolling stock market
equipped & percentage of growth in the last decade) As of 2016, 10 rolling stock suppliers serve the market for fully
automated metro lines. Bombardier, Alstom and Siemens are the
leading suppliers; serving with their trains close to 60% of the km
of fully automated metro in operation (see figure 9). Asia is the
most diversified market, with lines equipped by 9 different sup-
pliers and no dominant market leader, whereas for Europe, North
Thales
Others
31.8% America and the Middle East, the market is concentrated in 3 or
9.0%
2 suppliers.
Bombardier
6.4% Others Bombardier
5.6% 23.7%
Mitsubishi Heavy
Alstom
Industries
7.4% 5.7%

Kinki Sharyo
9.3%

Kobelco
7.8%

Hyundai Rotem
10.4%
Ansaldo STS
8.1%

Alstom
17.1%
Siemens Hitachi
29.6% 11.7%

Figure 7: Signalling suppliers for fully automated metro lines (% of km equipped) Siemens
16.5%

Figure 9: Automated rolling stock suppliers (share of km equipped)

4
 Construction model
There is no predominant alignment solution for automated met- THE CASE FOR CONVERSION
ro lines; underground and elevated stations are fairly equally split,
as depicted in figure 10. Over 60% of the stations inaugurated in Conversion of metro lines from conventional to fully
the last decade, however, correspond to underground alignment. automated operation is a complex project that requires careful
When considering the wheel/rail interface system, a majority of timing to ensure the technical and financial viability of the
lines opt for steel wheels, as opposed to rubber-tyred trains: in the project.
last decade, close to 70% of the km of new automated metro used
steel wheel systems. The signalling upgrade must be complemented with a significant
Elevated modification or the renewal of the rolling stock fleet and the
Underground retrofitting of platform-track protection systems at stations.
406 stations
When timed appropriately with the end of the life cycle of the
existing assets, the investment can be recovered in a relatively
38% short time (within a decade). Conversion projects must also
consider and address from the beginning the organisational
implications of full automated operation for the company,
and involve staff at all company levels since the early stages
442 stations
of the project. Following the successful conversions of U2
in Nuremberg in 2009 and L1 in Paris in 2012, six European
62% cities have confirmed conversion projects in the coming
decade: Glasgow - G. Subway, London - Docklands, Lyon - LA
& LB, Marseille - L1 & L2, Paris - L4, Vienna - U5.
2006

250 150 50 50 150 250 350

Figure 10: Constructive model - underground vs. elevated (number of stations &
percentage of growth in the last decade)
FUTURE GROWTH
In the 30 years since the implementation of the first automated
metro lines, the growth rate for automated metro has doubled with
each passing decade – an exponential growth that is set to quadru-
ple in the coming decade. Current forecasts, based on confirmed
projects, indicate that by 2025 there will be over 2,300 km of fully
automated metro lines in operation (figure 11).
2,500
This growth will mainly concentrate in the Middle East, Europe and
Asia (see chart 19) – together they will account for 88% of new km
of automated lines, with Latin America accounting for another 11%
of the total projected growth. Significantly, 26% of the new km in
Europe will correspond to conversion projects (see box).
In 2025, Asia and Europe are expected to account for 33% and
30% of the world’s km of automated metro lines respectively, fol-
lowed by the Middle East: thanks to its elevated growth rates, it will
represent 25% of the world’s km of automated metro. China an-
nounced the opening of two new fully automated lines for the end
of 2017 - one of them built using exclusively Chinese technology.
This significant development may translate in even higher growth
rates if China embraces full automation for its many expanding
systems.
Asia-Pacific

1,977
2,000
MENA 342 km Europe

1,500
80 km
Km in operation
800 km

600 km

400 km

200 km

267 km
Projected growth
1,000

525 10 km 105 km

500
106 216 Australia North America

0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025

Latin America
Figure 11: Total growth in automated metros (km of lines operated in full auto-
Current length of automated metro infrastructure
mated mode) Figure 12: Current length of automated metro lines and projected growth for the
Projected infrastructure length in 2025
next decade, per world region
Current length of infrastructure for automated metros
Projected growth (2025) in infrastructure
5
 CONCLUSION

The three decades of automated metro opera-
tion around the world summarised in this brief
demonstrate that full automation is a consolidat-
ed solution - one that brings many advantages to
operators, authorities, and users.
Fully automated metro lines offer increased
safety, unrivalled reliability and the capacity to
respond flexibly to surges in demand. For oper-
quadruple in the coming decade, confirms that
increasingly authorities and operators around the
world are ready to take the leap towards this new
referent in metro service and operation.
This report covers exclusively fully automated metro lines, defined as those metro
lines in which trains can be operated without staff onboard - a defining characteris-
tic is the absence of a driver’s cabin on the train. This type of operation is also known
as Unattended Train Operation (UTO), or Grade of Automation 4 in standard IEC
62267 (see table below). Moreover, only lines in public transport service have been
considered.

ators, automation has the potential to be a lever Grade of

Type of Setting
Stopping Door Operation
train train in event of
of change to develop new organisational models, Automation
operation in motion
train closure disruption

enriching job profiles and more efficient mainte- GoA1

ATP* with
Driver Driver Driver Driver
driver
nance and operation. Building on these strengths,
ATP and
metro operating companies are able to offer bet- GoA2 ATO* Automatic Automatic Driver Driver
with driver
ter service to their customers and respond effi-
Train Train
ciently to their increasingly changing mobility GoA3 Driverless Automatic Automatic
attendant attendant

needs, raising the attractiveness of public trans-

GoA4 UTO Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic
port and ultimately contributing to improving the
quality of life in our cities. *ATP - Automatic Train Protection; ATO - Automatic Train Operation

Full automation brings therefore the opportunity
to generate a step change for metro systems and
a more sustainable urban mobility. The exponen-
tial growth trend observed in this report, set to
The data in this Statistics Brief is sourced from the global database of auto-
mated metro lines of the UITP Observatory of Automated Metros. This Ob-
servatory gathers the world’s leading operators with experience in full auto-
mated metro operation. It exchanges best practices in key issues affecting
automated metro operation and monitors the global evolution and trends on this
field. For more information on the Observatory work, and further content on
metro automation, consult the Observatory website: www.metroautomation.org.
Contact: Miryam Hernandez - miryam.hernandez@uitp.org

This is an official Statistics Brief of UITP, the International Association of Public Transport. UITP has over 1,400 members in 96 countries
throughout the world and represents the interests of key players in this sector. Its membership includes transport authorities, operators,
both private and public, in all modes of collective passenger transport, and the industry. UITP addresses the economic, technical, organisation and
management aspects of passenger transport, as well as the development of policy for mobility and public transport world-wide.

This Statistics Brief was prepared by the Observatory of Automated Metros. Data is valid as of 15 July 2016. A digital version
is available on
This brief was modified in September 2016 to include updated information on Guangzhou and Singapore lines.
Mobi+

JULY | 2016

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