Joined up global thinking: A growing international club of city rail revolutionaries

Around the world a range of urban areas are seeking to get more out of their rail network. New Transit looks at some of the most innovative projects

Hong Kong Rail station

Hong Kong Rail station

Tram trains are allowing smaller cities such as Nantes, France, to develop new rail links, though the city had no choice but to allow state railway operator SNCF to run services

Tram trains are allowing smaller cities such as Nantes, France, to develop new rail links, though the city had no choice but to allow state railway operator SNCF to run services

Sydney CityRail: new trains, but lagging behind in other areas

Sydney CityRail: new trains, but lagging behind in other areas

The tunnel system at Piccadilly Circus illustrated by Gavin Dunn from 1989

The tunnel system at Piccadilly Circus illustrated by Gavin Dunn from 1989

Though Paris and London have attracted attention by developing their regional heavy rail networks to supplement existing tube/metro lines through new cross-city tunnels, they are not the only cities who have taken their city railways beyond the traditional model of large stations at surface level.

Elsewhere in Europe Vienna is replacing its South terminal station with a new central Hauptbahnhof station which will link together the routes which converge on Vienna, including international...