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The shortest and longest gaps between stations in six cities

In Paris you can pass two stations in the time it takes to unfold a map. In Seoul, one hop on the airport railroad is more than 10 kilometres. We measured every gap in the game.

Wako Main Building
Photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima · CC0

We measured the straight-line distance between each pair of neighbouring stations on every line, using the coordinates in our data. Real track is a little longer, so treat every number as a lower bound. The average gap is 0.61 kilometres in Paris, 0.91 in New York, 1.07 in Tokyo, 1.18 in London, 1.31 in Singapore and 1.46 in Seoul. Paris is the densest of the six.

The shortest gaps

The shortest is on Paris Line 9, from Exelmans to Michel-Ange - Molitor, about 220 metres. Close behind are Cardinal Lemoine to Jussieu on Line 10 at 230 metres and Filles du Calvaire to Saint-Sébastien - Froissart on Line 8 at 240. In Tokyo, Ginza to Higashi-Ginza on the Hibiya Line is about 250 metres. In New York, Bowling Green to Wall Street on the 4 and 5 is about 300 metres, and in London, Monument to Cannon Street is about 310. Seoul's shortest is Saetgang to Daebang on the Sillim Line, about 430 metres, and Singapore's is Little India to Rochor on the Downtown Line, about 470.

GINZA SIX, near Ginza station
Ginza, one of the two stations in Tokyo's shortest gap.Photo: Wpcpey · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kabuki-za Theatre, near Higashi-Ginza station
The Kabuki-za Theatre at Higashi-Ginza.Photo: Tak1701d · Public domain

The longest gaps

Seoul wins by a distance. Cheongna International City to Yeongjong on the Airport Railroad Express is about 10 kilometres. Next in Seoul are Yeoncheon to Jeongok on Line 1 at 8.5, then Onam to Byeollaebyeolgaram on Line 4 at 7.8 and Cheonggyesan Entrance to Pangyo on the Sinbundang Line at 7.8. London's longest is Finchley Road to Wembley Park on the Metropolitan line, about 7.2. In New York it is Howard Beach-JFK Airport to Broad Channel on the A, about 6.0. In Singapore it is Woodlands South to Springleaf on the Thomson-East Coast Line, about 4.2 kilometres, and in Tokyo it is Motoyawata to Shinozaki on the Shinjuku Line, about 2.9. Paris's longest is Châtelet to Gare de Lyon on Line 14, about 2.5, which is a quarter of Seoul's longest gap.

Yongungsa Temple Buddha Statue, near Yeongjong station
Yongungsa Temple on Yeongjong Island, at the far end of Seoul's longest gap.Photo: Ncmi21 · CC BY-SA 4.0

What it means for the game

The game does not slow the train down for a long gap. Each station is typed in turn, so a short Paris line and a long Seoul line can feel the same on the keyboard. What changes is the map, which zooms to fit the line. Compare a Paris line and a Seoul line and the difference in spacing shows right away.

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