Architecture + Interior

Mini Metros, simplified city rail systems (Manila included)

220 metro and light rail systems from around the world shrunken and simplified

September 19, 2017

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By

Angel Yulo

With a new Metro Manila subway system underway, it would be interesting to see how our current metro railways (the LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3) compare to others around the world. One can compare facts and figures, or simply take a look at Mini Metros, a project by Wasington-DC-based graphic designer Peter Dovak.

Last year, the designer undertook the personal project of shrinking and simplifying 220 metro and light rail systems from around the world. Transit Oriented, Dovak’s blog and portfolio, is a collection of the designer’s efforts to document different modes of public transportation. Mini Metros was launched in September 2016 and has since been updated three times to match the expansions of some cities’ rail systems.

Dovak writes that the project was borne out of an attempt to make an iPhone app in which he had to design icons for navigation. The Washington Metro map, very recognizable even at its tiny scale, inspired him to create more city rail graphics.

A sample of different city rails from the Mini Metros project by Peter Dovak. Manila is represented by the graphic in lower right corner. | Source: pdovak.com

“All of the cities in the project had the same requirements: they had to fit in a 120px circle (with 10px of padding), the lines had to be 3px wide with a minimum of another 3px between the next parallel line, and all diagonals had to be 45-degrees. The systems themselves needed to be full-fledged heavy rail metro systems or light rail networks that were distinct enough from trolleys or streetcars,” he adds.

Taking it a step further, we attempt to find an estimate of how many people some city rails serve. Below is a rundown of different metro maps along with the square areas and populations of the cities they are in.

New York City | 789 sq. km | population: 8.5 million