London Underground vs Delhi Metro

London Underground Maps © Transport for London (TFL) and Delhi Map from Maximilian DörrbeckerThe map above compares the London Underground and Delhi Metro in 2001 vs 2025.

The London Underground was the world’s first underground passenger railway and opened in 1863, when India was still firmly under British Imperial rule.

In contrast, the Delhi Metro opened in 2002, but in that time has rapidly grown and in many surpassed London’s network.

Here are some comparisons below:

	London Underground	Delhi Metro
Year Opened	1863	2002
Number of Stations	272	289
Number of Lines	11	10
Annual Passengers	1.2 Billion	2.0 Billion
Stations Opened Since 2001	4	289
Lines Opened Since 2001	0	10
System Length	402 km (250 mi)	395 km (245 mi)
Average Speed	33 km/h	45 km/h

Now the numbers for London are not entirely fair, as they only include the Underground network and not wider TFL services, which include the Overground, Elizabeth Line, Docklands Light Railway and Trams.

Here are some key stats for each of those services:

Overground: 113 stations covering 167 km (103.8 mi)
Elizabeth Line: 41 stations covering 117 km (73 mi)
DLR: 45 stations covering covering 38 km (24 mi)
Trams: 39 stations covering covering 28 km (17 mi)

Moreover, it does not include commuter rail stations of which I am a frequent user given the fact I live south of the river.

According to Wikipedia there are 356 railway passenger stations in and around London, excluding stations exclusively served by the London Underground, Tramlink and Docklands Light Railway.

On the flip side the numbers above also do not take into account the Delhi Suburban Railway which operates an additional 46 stations.

Finally, here’s a gif showing the growth of the Delhi Metro up until 2018.

Reddit user ConsequenceProper184 has also made the following comparison:

Toronto vs. Delhi Metro System

Here’s how they’d stack up:

	Toronto Subway	Delhi Metro
Year Opened	1954	2002
Number of Stations	70	289
Number of Lines	3	10
Annual Passengers	332 million	2.0 Billion
Stations Opened Since 2001	10	289
Lines Opened Since 2001	1	10
System Length	70.1 km (43.6 mi)	395 km (245 mi)
Average Speed	Unknown	45 km/h