There is a school of thought that elevated rail is bad, or at least suboptimal, for cities. The thinking is that it's a visual blight, it's noisy, it disconnects neighbourhoods, and it can even reduce surrounding real estate values. Having a train passing directly in front of your window is admittedly less ideal than not having a train passing directly in front of your window.
But there is no shortage of examples from around the world where elevated rail does far more to benefit a community than detract from it. Tokyo is perhaps the obvious place to look. It is decidedly rail-oriented city with the majority of its network above ground and countless examples of active commercial spaces being tucked under and adjacent to elevated rail.
Here, for example, is a restaurant that I visited on my last trip and that was immediately adjacent to a track:
But you don't have to travel all the way to Japan to find examples where elevated rail does little to detract from the urban experience. Here's Marine Drive station in Vancouver, integrated into a newish development:
And here's what the elevated guideway looks like as it heads toward the station:
The obvious advantage of elevated rail is that it's significantly cheaper than underground rail. According to global data collected by the Transit Costs Project at New York University, underground rail tends to be at least 2x the cost — often it's even more. Are the benefits worth this additional cost, and is it worth building less overall transit with the same capital budget?
Elevated rail is not without its drawbacks, but good design and urban sensibilities can help to mitigate many of them. As is the case with a lot of urban design, what matters most is how we treat the ground plane underneath the rail. So, to the extent that it remains out there, I think it's time we get rid of any stigmas associated with elevated rail. More transit is better than less transit.
Cover photo by Daiji Sasahara on Unsplash
Paris has a massive transit project that is currently under construction called the Grand Paris Express. It consists of 4 new metro lines, 1 line extension (at both ends), 68 new stations, and 200 km of new tracks. The first phase was the extension of Line 14. That opened last year. And the new lines are planned to open in stages up until 2031. I have no idea if they're on schedule and/or on budget, but here's a map of the GPE project:
Here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing metro lines (note how concentrated they are in Paris proper and how they're clearly designed to bring people into the core):
Here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing tram lines:
And finally, here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing RER lines (suburban rail):
At this point, the map is getting visually pretty cluttered. But if you look at how the GPE lines compare to what's existing, I think you'll start to see just how important this project is for the Métropole du Grand Paris (or Greater Paris). It creates a new set of concentric rings in the inner suburbs and, for the first time, it will allow Parisians to travel around the region (via rail) without first passing through the core of the city. So it's in effect both an expansion and a stitching together of the city.
But let's put some numbers to this.
According to a recent memo by Apur, which looked at the economic composition of the station areas, about 21% of all salaried employees in Grand Paris are located next to one of the new 68 stations. As a total number, this works out to about 934,000 employees (2022 figure). And included in this figure is La Défense, which is the office district where Paris decided to put most of its tall buildings. This has the highest concentration of jobs at approximately 163,599 salaried employees (again, 2022 figure).
Another way to think about these station areas is that they represent what many are now calling New Paris. This is a part of Paris that is less encumbered with history and, therefore, more open to change and new ideas. This creates an exciting opportunity, and already we're seeing that take hold. Later this week on the blog, I'll talk about a specific project in Greater Paris that is currently under construction and that I was fortunate enough to tour on this trip.
The other day I was speaking to a Korean friend of mine and he was telling me about Seoul's new GTX-A commuter railway line. This line opened at the end of 2024 and is part of a broader Great Train eXpress initiative that includes 3 lines (A, B, and C) and that is intended to establish a new "30-minute commute zone" surrounding Seoul. A is the first line to open. C is scheduled for completion in 2030. And already, three more lines are now being planned: D, E, and F.
What this first line has accomplished is pretty extraordinary. GTX-A connects Paju in the north to Seoul in the south. Paju sits at the northern border of South Korea (and therefore houses many US and South Korean Army bases) and has a population of over half a million people. Prior to GTX-A opening, this commute used to take approximately 90 minutes by conventional subway and up to 90 minutes by car, depending on traffic.
Today it takes exactly 22 minutes! If you're interested in seeing a complete walking video of this commute, click here.
The GTX system is a higher-speed railway line. Meaning, the trains are designed to operate up to a maximum speed of 180 km/h. Average speeds vary depending on the segment and stop spacing, but it seems to operate at an average speed of
There is a school of thought that elevated rail is bad, or at least suboptimal, for cities. The thinking is that it's a visual blight, it's noisy, it disconnects neighbourhoods, and it can even reduce surrounding real estate values. Having a train passing directly in front of your window is admittedly less ideal than not having a train passing directly in front of your window.
But there is no shortage of examples from around the world where elevated rail does far more to benefit a community than detract from it. Tokyo is perhaps the obvious place to look. It is decidedly rail-oriented city with the majority of its network above ground and countless examples of active commercial spaces being tucked under and adjacent to elevated rail.
Here, for example, is a restaurant that I visited on my last trip and that was immediately adjacent to a track:
But you don't have to travel all the way to Japan to find examples where elevated rail does little to detract from the urban experience. Here's Marine Drive station in Vancouver, integrated into a newish development:
And here's what the elevated guideway looks like as it heads toward the station:
The obvious advantage of elevated rail is that it's significantly cheaper than underground rail. According to global data collected by the Transit Costs Project at New York University, underground rail tends to be at least 2x the cost — often it's even more. Are the benefits worth this additional cost, and is it worth building less overall transit with the same capital budget?
Elevated rail is not without its drawbacks, but good design and urban sensibilities can help to mitigate many of them. As is the case with a lot of urban design, what matters most is how we treat the ground plane underneath the rail. So, to the extent that it remains out there, I think it's time we get rid of any stigmas associated with elevated rail. More transit is better than less transit.
Cover photo by Daiji Sasahara on Unsplash
Paris has a massive transit project that is currently under construction called the Grand Paris Express. It consists of 4 new metro lines, 1 line extension (at both ends), 68 new stations, and 200 km of new tracks. The first phase was the extension of Line 14. That opened last year. And the new lines are planned to open in stages up until 2031. I have no idea if they're on schedule and/or on budget, but here's a map of the GPE project:
Here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing metro lines (note how concentrated they are in Paris proper and how they're clearly designed to bring people into the core):
Here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing tram lines:
And finally, here's what it looks like if you overlay all existing RER lines (suburban rail):
At this point, the map is getting visually pretty cluttered. But if you look at how the GPE lines compare to what's existing, I think you'll start to see just how important this project is for the Métropole du Grand Paris (or Greater Paris). It creates a new set of concentric rings in the inner suburbs and, for the first time, it will allow Parisians to travel around the region (via rail) without first passing through the core of the city. So it's in effect both an expansion and a stitching together of the city.
But let's put some numbers to this.
According to a recent memo by Apur, which looked at the economic composition of the station areas, about 21% of all salaried employees in Grand Paris are located next to one of the new 68 stations. As a total number, this works out to about 934,000 employees (2022 figure). And included in this figure is La Défense, which is the office district where Paris decided to put most of its tall buildings. This has the highest concentration of jobs at approximately 163,599 salaried employees (again, 2022 figure).
Another way to think about these station areas is that they represent what many are now calling New Paris. This is a part of Paris that is less encumbered with history and, therefore, more open to change and new ideas. This creates an exciting opportunity, and already we're seeing that take hold. Later this week on the blog, I'll talk about a specific project in Greater Paris that is currently under construction and that I was fortunate enough to tour on this trip.
The other day I was speaking to a Korean friend of mine and he was telling me about Seoul's new GTX-A commuter railway line. This line opened at the end of 2024 and is part of a broader Great Train eXpress initiative that includes 3 lines (A, B, and C) and that is intended to establish a new "30-minute commute zone" surrounding Seoul. A is the first line to open. C is scheduled for completion in 2030. And already, three more lines are now being planned: D, E, and F.
What this first line has accomplished is pretty extraordinary. GTX-A connects Paju in the north to Seoul in the south. Paju sits at the northern border of South Korea (and therefore houses many US and South Korean Army bases) and has a population of over half a million people. Prior to GTX-A opening, this commute used to take approximately 90 minutes by conventional subway and up to 90 minutes by car, depending on traffic.
Today it takes exactly 22 minutes! If you're interested in seeing a complete walking video of this commute, click here.
The GTX system is a higher-speed railway line. Meaning, the trains are designed to operate up to a maximum speed of 180 km/h. Average speeds vary depending on the segment and stop spacing, but it seems to operate at an average speed of
Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
Brandon Donnelly
Daily insights for city builders. Published since 2013 by Toronto-based real estate developer Brandon Donnelly.
What this also means is that, as new GTX lines continue to come online, the geography of the Seoul urban region will continue to get redrawn. Suburban regions that were previously far out, are now going to get "pulled in" and function as more integral parts of a contiguous city. This improved access should also alleviate housing pressures by effectively opening up more supply.
I mean, 22 minutes is nothing. It can take longer than this to travel 3 blocks on a Toronto streetcar during rush hour. GTX is a prime example of the magic of rail and what's possible once you accept that highways (and tunnels underneath them) aren't going to be what efficiently move the most number of people around a big global city.
Cover photo by Ethan Brooke on Unsplash
What this also means is that, as new GTX lines continue to come online, the geography of the Seoul urban region will continue to get redrawn. Suburban regions that were previously far out, are now going to get "pulled in" and function as more integral parts of a contiguous city. This improved access should also alleviate housing pressures by effectively opening up more supply.
I mean, 22 minutes is nothing. It can take longer than this to travel 3 blocks on a Toronto streetcar during rush hour. GTX is a prime example of the magic of rail and what's possible once you accept that highways (and tunnels underneath them) aren't going to be what efficiently move the most number of people around a big global city.
Cover photo by Ethan Brooke on Unsplash
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