NYC Subway v. Paris Metro: The Smackdown

There have been reports that the New York City Transit Authority is looking to build the Second Avenue Subway (proposed as the T line) complete with barriers between the platforms and the tracks. It's an intriguing idea, and given that I had just been to Paris, it gives me the opportunity to compare and contrast the systems.

The Paris Metro is of a similar size and is nearly as old as the NYC subway. In my experience using the Metro, only one line had barriers such as the ones being proposed for the Second Avenue Line. I thought it was an interesting idea, even if it was only available on some of the Paris metro stops.

It would make the subways a whole lot safer and would encourage the MTA to expand the program to other stations where it was feasible. If such a system were installed, track fires would become a whole lot less common and the system could theoretically run more efficiently. Station comfort could also be improved as a result.

But, this story also gives me the opportunity to give the tale of the tape between the Paris Metro and the NYC Subway.

Size (track miles):
New York: 660 miles
Paris: 133.7 miles
Winner: New York, by a huge margin. This is due, in part, to the express track system that enables multiple trains to run on certain lines.

Stations:
New York: 468 stations
Paris: 380 stations
Winner: New York by a huge margin. New York has just 35 fewer stations than all other the subway systems in the US combined.

Hours of operation:
New York: 24/7/365
Paris: Shuts down for several hours overnight.
Winner: New York. It is the city that never sleeps precisely because the subways mean that you can get around town all day and all night.

Number of lines:
New York: 26 lines and three shuttle services
Paris: 14 lines and two branches
Winner: New York. And yet there are some parts of the city that are extremely poorly served, like the East Side of Manhattan and parts of the outer boroughs.

Ridership:
New York: 1.5 billion
Paris: 1.3 billion.
Winner: New York.

Comfort:
New York: What's that? Seats are hard plastic and there are plenty of places to stand. No more straps though. Air conditioned cars (when working) are effective.
Paris: Cushioned seats, jumper seats (which are near to the doors and flip up when cars become crowded. Some of the newest cars have bars that are almost sculptural in nature and let more people grab on without feeling like you're intruding too much into the personal space of others. Windows work to aerate the cars.
Winner Draw. New York subway cars carry far more people and because of the 24/7/365 service, cushioned seats would quickly get worn out. Jumper seats don't make sense in a system that carries as many passengers daily as the New York system. The Metro seats are quite comfortable, but you can't get as many people into the subway cars as the New York system, especially during rush hour.

Signage:
New York: The New York maps are fairly good at getting you where you need to go and the number and color system is pretty clear. Trying to figure out the express and local trains isn't nearly as easy. However, knowing which exit to leave an individual station could be a crapshoot.
Paris: Excellent signage and local area maps are present throughout the system. You simply follow the numbers to see which exit to leave the station.
Winner Paris. Simply follow the numbers to know which station exit to leave instead of guessing whether the SE corner is closer to your destination.

Smell:
New York - a combination of pungent odors and urine in quite a few stations, some with raw sewage.
Paris - body odor, urine in a few stations.
Winner: Anyone with a clothespin.

Express Service:
New York: They are one of the few large systems to maintain express service, which means you're just as likely to be stuck in an express car as a local should there be delays in the system.
Paris: Good luck, though trains do run very frequently during the day.
Winner: New York. When it works, the New York subways can get you to your destination far quicker with express service. Paris doesn't really need express service because the city is quite compact.

Style points:
New York: While there are quite a few stations that have art nouveau, beaux arts, or even modern art features, many stations are utilitarian in nature. The City is working on rehabilitating stations and improving the art, but with hundreds of stations, it is a huge undertaking.
Paris: An art lovers paradise. The Louvre-Rivoli stop extends the museum into the Metro, as there are pieces of art displayed behind glass. Concorde is a word lover's paradise. There is station art honoring writers who made Paris home, and the decorative flair at many stations is noteworthy.
Winner Paris, by a hair. New York could benefit from additional art in the subways and the rehabilitation work is a big step in the right direction. If you're going to wait for a subway that might never come, you should at least be mildly entertained in the process.

Station announcements:
New York: Often makes the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons seem like they're speaking Queen's English. Incomprehensible and when you can actually understand them, may be wrong.
Paris: Announcements are often quite clear, even if you don't understand the French.
Winner Paris.

Information screens:
New York: What are those?
Paris: Many Paris stations are equipped with signs letting you know when the next two trains are coming.
Winner: Paris. New York may be looking to install similar systems on some of the subway lines, but it is a long time coming and it may be a decade before it is expanded systemwide.

Overall winner: New York 6 - Paris 4 with two draws. New York wins on the brute force approach. Size does matter. Paris gets the style points.