Top Cities for Metro and LRT Expansion in 2026
Which cities planned the most urban rail expansion for 2026?
Tianjin ranks first with 137.5 route-kilometers, followed by Guangzhou with 113.3 kilometers and Xiamen with 107.2 kilometers. The ranking covers metro, light metro, light rail, tram and urban monorail projects listed for opening in 2026.
The project list comes from The Transport Politic’s global review published on January 20, 2026. We checked every urban area in that list, excluded regional rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit and cableways, and added the remaining project lengths for each area.
These are planned opening figures from the January review, not a record of lines that ultimately entered service. Project dates and delivered lengths can change.
Tianjin has six metro sections in the January list.
Total across the ten highest-ranked urban areas.
Seven Chinese entries contribute 692.3 kilometers.
The ranking preserves the opening expectations published on that date.
Top urban areas by planned route length
Values are ranked from highest to lowest. The full January project list was reviewed before selecting the ten largest totals under the same mode rules.
Metro, light metro, light rail, tram and urban monorail projects
| Rank | Urban area | Route-km | Projects and lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tianjin | 137.5 km | Line 8: 19.0 km; Line 11: 3.2 km; B1: 33.0 km; Z2: 38.1 km; two Z4 sections: 21.7 and 22.5 km. |
| 2 | Guangzhou | 113.3 km | Metro Lines 10, 13, 14, 18 and 24: 2.0, 25.1, 3.2, 42.8 and 30.1 km; Huangpu Tram Line 2: 10.1 km. |
| 3 | Xiamen | 107.2 km | Two Line 3 sections: 8.1 and 10.3 km; Line 4: 57.8 km; Line 6: 31.0 km. |
| 4 | Cairo | 101.3 km | East Nile Monorail: 57.8 km; West Nile Monorail: 43.5 km. |
| 5 | Nanjing | 99.2 km | Two Line 6 sections: 13.3 and 19.6 km; Line S2: 66.3 km. |
| 6 | Beijing | 85.9 km | Line 1 extension: 3.1 km; Daxing Airport Express extension: 3.2 km; interregional Pinggu Line: 79.6 km. |
| 7 | Chongqing | 83.5 km | Line 4 extension: 11.2 km; Line 15: 72.3 km. |
| 8 | Mumbai | 71.6 km | Lines 2, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 7A and 9: nine sections totaling 71.6 km. Panvel–Karjat regional rail is excluded. |
| 9 | Chennai | 70.6 km | MRTS: 4.5 km; Purple Line: 18.5 km; Red Line: 32.6 km; Yellow Line: 15.0 km. |
| 10 | Wuhan | 65.7 km | Lines 3, 6, 10, 12 and 21: 10.5, 2.8, 27.7, 22.0 and 2.7 km. |
The figures above are sums of project lengths. The January review is the common source for project names, modes, expected opening year and route length.
Planned urban rail expansion by urban area
The three leading entries account for 358.0 kilometers, or 38.3% of the combined length shown in the table.
Methodology and limitations
Metric
Combined length of metro, light metro, light rail, tram and urban monorail projects listed for opening in 2026.
Ranking rule
Project lengths were added for each urban area and sorted from highest to lowest.
Coverage
Every 2026 entry in the global review was checked before selecting the ten highest urban-area totals.
Source date
The ranking preserves the plans published on January 20, 2026 and does not substitute later opening results.
Included transport modes
- Metro and fully separated heavy rail used as urban rapid transit.
- Light metro and automated urban rail.
- Light rail and tram systems.
- Urban monorail.
Excluded transport modes
- Regional and commuter rail.
- Bus rapid transit and arterial bus projects.
- Aerial cableways.
- Projects without a published route length.
Chennai MRTS classification
For this ranking, the 4.5-kilometer Chennai MRTS extension is treated as urban rail because the January source classifies it as metro and lists it with Chennai’s rapid-transit projects. This is a methodological choice rather than a claim that MRTS is operationally identical to conventional metro.
Cross-boundary lines
Totals follow the urban-area labels used by the source. Beijing therefore includes the 79.6-kilometer Pinggu Line, which crosses the Beijing–Hebei boundary. Similar network geography affects Nanjing, Mumbai and Cairo.
Limitations
A project’s inclusion means it had a 2026 opening date in the January review. It does not guarantee that the full length entered passenger service before year-end. Route length also does not measure investment, capacity, ridership, station density, reliability or passenger benefit.
What the numbers show
The leading three account for 38.3%
Tianjin, Guangzhou and Xiamen combine for 358.0 kilometers out of the 935.8-kilometer total.
China contributes almost three quarters
The seven Chinese entries add up to 692.3 kilometers, approximately 74.0% of the table.
Single long lines can reshape the order
Beijing’s Pinggu Line contributes 92.7% of its total, while Chongqing’s Line 15 contributes 86.6%.
The spread is 71.8 kilometers
Tianjin’s figure is 71.8 kilometers higher than Wuhan’s and about 2.1 times as large.
FAQ
Which urban area ranked first for planned rail expansion in 2026?
Tianjin ranks first with 137.5 kilometers across six metro sections in the January 2026 project list.
Are these actual openings?
No. The ranking records projects that were listed for opening in 2026 when the global review was published on January 20, 2026.
How were the totals calculated?
The published lengths of the included projects were added for each urban area and then sorted in descending order.
Does the ranking include commuter rail?
No. Regional and commuter rail are excluded. The ranking includes metro, light metro, light rail, tram and urban monorail.
Does more route length mean a better transport system?
No. Route length does not measure ridership, capacity, cost, reliability, station access or the value delivered to passengers.
Sources
Global project list
The January 20 review provides the project names, expected opening year, transport modes and route lengths used for all ten entries.
https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2026/01/20/transit-project-openings-in-2026-a-global-review/
Transit Explorer methodology
This page explains the database’s urban-area field, mode categories and coverage of existing, under-construction and planned lines.
https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/transit-explorer/transit-explorer-data-and-sources/
Cairo monorail projects
The National Authority for Tunnels pages linked from the global review describe the East Nile and West Nile monorail corridors included in Cairo’s January figure.
Mumbai Metro Line 2
MMRDA project page linked from the January review for the 6.7-kilometer Line 2 section.
Mumbai Metro Lines 4 and 4A
MMRDA project information for the Green Line sections included in Mumbai’s total.
Chennai project list
The linked project tracker lists the MRTS, Purple, Red and Yellow sections used in Chennai’s 70.6-kilometer total.
https://themetrorailguy.com/chennai-metro-phase-2-information-route-maps-tenders-updates/
