Public transportation is an intrinsic part of every modern city. Many big cities have an underground rail system as their centerpiece. Three of the biggest and busiest underground rail systems in Europe are in London, Paris, and Moscow. The character of each city imprints its railways.
The first of these subways was London’s Underground, which opened in 1863. By that time, horses and pedestrians had so clogged the streets of London that city government ruled that no railroads could enter the city except underground. The method used for laying the first underground tracks is called “cut and cover,” meaning the streets were dug up, the track was laid, a tunnel was built, and then everything was buried. Although the method was disruptive, it worked. Steam engines chugged under London, releasing steam through vents along the city streets. In its initial day of operation, the London Underground carried 30,000 passengers.
This cut-and-cover method caused massive disruptions in the city and required the destruction of the structures above the tunnel. A better means of expanding the original Underground was needed, and builders did not have to look far to find it. London was also home to the first underwater tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel that had been built under the Thames River in 1825, made possible by the engineer Marc Brunel. He had devised a way of supporting the tunnel while the workers dug, called the Brunel Shield. Two young engineers improved the Brunel Shield for use in expanding the London Underground. The new Harlow-Greathead Shield carved a circular tube more than seven feet in diameter, which is why the London Underground is called the Tube. By then, the tunnels could be deeper than the original ones because electric train engines had become available. These trains did not have to be close to the surface to release steam. The shield could be used to dig deeper tunnels without destroying the surface structures above them.
Paris started designing an underground rail service to rival London’s. The first part of its system was not opened until the World’s Fair and Olympics were held in that city in 1900. The Paris Metro is shorter than London’s, but it carries more passengers every day, second in Europe only to Moscow. Whereas London’s Underground is known for its engineering, Paris’s Metro is known for its beauty. The stations and entrances are examples of art nouveau architecture, and they are decorated with mosaics, sculptures, paintings, and innovative doors and walls.
The Moscow Metro opened in 1935. It was based on the design of the London Tube, except much of the track is above ground. When Stalin...