Which Balkan capital city, has the best metro network?
Posted by Strange_Status_7690@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 105 comments
Sofia, Athens and Bucharest.
Three Balkan capital cities with metro underground network.
Bucharest metro started in 1979 and today has total of around 80km with 63 stations.
Sofia metro started in the 80s and opened in 1998 and has around of 50km with 47 stations.
Athens metro originally was planed in the 1950s and later opened, with today network of 65km and 68 stations.
Also Thessaloniki in Greece is the fourth to run as a non capital Balkan city.
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
Athens is decent with connection to the airport
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
We also don't consider Turkiye here, for example Istanbul is definitely out.
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
ok did I said something about it? it says the capital. Istanbul is not the capital
But in all aspects and technicaly Istanbul is a Balkan city
Yavannia@reddit
How is the Istanbul metro?
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
well 5 times the total of Athens Bucharest Sofia
why a Greek who does not need a visa not visit Istanbul?
Self-Bitter@reddit
5 times the total of the three cities? I think you write nonsense. Istanbul is 250kms , Athens 90 , Bucharest 80 and Sofia 50. Still much more but nothing like what you said...
slysmile@reddit
what a weird reply to a comment about athens
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
I mean Turkiye is more Asian by far so no Balkan city.
slysmile@reddit
Part of Turkey is of course in Balkans. "More" means nothing.
XenophonSoulis@reddit
Lines 2 and 3 of Athens are pretty good when the system doesn't shit its own pants, which it does at least once a week. It's worth mentioning that most stations have no Internet access and that the electronic signs in the stations have no clue when the next train will arrive (it's somehow worse than bus electronic signs, despite the fact that buses are affected by traffic and the metro isn't). The airport part of line 3 is served every 36 minutes, usually with a delay (that messes up the rest of the line too).
Line 1 is very old. Second oldest "metro" in Europe, functioning since 1869, newer than only London (Istanbul is third I believe). People call it the "Electric", a nickname that stems from its electrification in 1904. It's quite bad though, with infrequent trains that need maintenance and sketchy parts of its path. But it's also pretty, because most of it is open-air.
There is also a line 4 in the way, which is supposed to help many areas that are still out of the network when it opens. It's expected in 2032, instead of 2029 that was the previous official year of opening. There are also several expansions in different stages of consideration for lines 1, 2 and 4 (but not 3, as it is considered complete, going from the airport to the port of Piraeus).
The tram is one of the most beautiful transportation systems I've seen (particularly the coastal line), but it's also slow, infrequent and unreliable, with trams running every 20 minutes at times.
The suburban railway is awful, running every 30 minutes and often having skipped routes and 20+ minute delays, as well as bad signage. It also has lots of level crossings on the Piraeus branch, which slow it down a lot.
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
good thanks for the info. I liked it when travelling. busy at times but ok.
XenophonSoulis@reddit
It's good, don't get me wrong. It's a million times better than not having it. It just has room for improvement.
As far as I can judge it as a local, it's pretty easy to navigate too (apart from one idiotic issue in Syntagma station, where it sends the people to the stairs when there's also an escalator).
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
there is always room for improvement to be honest. I also used a bus line and get lost :D
I loved Syntagma even took pictures if the station itself :D
Athens is on par with Ankara. Istanbul is on another level if you visit.
XenophonSoulis@reddit
Istanbul also has almost twice as much population as Athens, Bucharest and Sofia combined (comparing metropolitan areas, not city limits). It kinda needs a big metro system. Personally my favourite is Paris, because it has a retro beauty of the early 20th century.
The most impressive thing about Athens I guess (but it doesn't really impress me because I've lived with it my whole life) is the ancient exhibits. They tend to find ancient ruins when digging for stations, but not in the tunnels, as those are deeper than the layer of Ancient Athens. So the ruins are then exhibited in the stations. Syntagma has a few.
As far as stations go, my favourite is Egaleo, because it has a massive semi-cylindrical shape, like Paris stations but several times bigger. Syntagma is a massive station (for Athens standards) that wasn't very well thought of.
The buses are a whole different beast. Those are kinda hard for tourists anywhere that I've visited. Apart from small cities of course that have like 8 bus lines.
Repulsive_Work_226@reddit
yes agree. some stations were very fancy.
yes also will be hard in Türkiye as might be complicated.
so I took the wrong bus and was too late so missed the last bus to return. had to took a taxi
radube@reddit
Sofia has also a direct metro line connection between the city center and the airport. (0.80 euro single ticket).
I can't comment on the other Balkan ones but I lived in Paris and Marseilles and I can definitely say the Sofia metro is better than the French ones : newer (first stations opened 30 years ago), more spacious, cleaner and not as crowded as in Paris.
No-Championship-4632@reddit
Quite crowded in peak hours though.
Correct_Body8532@reddit
We are missing a circle line connecting stations outside the centre. Its a pain to travel my metro if you are outside the centre and want to go to another non centre station. But yes, it is clean, new and spacious
Pozaa@reddit
I have only tried the Bucharest one. I didn't like it much because the stops are too far apart from one another.
DarthTomatoo@reddit
I kid you not, this is because of quirks of the communist rulers at the time:
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
Soviet built.
AdamBerner2002@reddit
I’m biased but I’ll say Bulgaria
OneUkranian@reddit
Judging by the schemas, IMO I would say Sofia is by far the best.
Anxious_Papaya_1805@reddit
Definitely not Skopje cause we don’t have one 😂
FatefulDonkey@reddit
You do have double decker London buses though to make up for it
dittreo@reddit
and if a skopje bus, crashes into us...
Alone-Menu-5505@reddit
People are probably gonna say I’m bias but for the balkans it’s definitely Sofia.
To be honest Sofia probably has one the best metros in Europe. Public transportation is pretty well thought out in general (only good thing I can say about the city)
IntelligentPlate5051@reddit
Tbh not many cities in the Balkans even have a metro so Sofia have one alone puts it in the contention of best.
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
Any city under 1 million can't run a metro sustainably. Too costly and too few passengers. By this logic, Belgrade is the only one missing a metro. Zagreb is close to that number (with the greater urban area included), so might be a potential future project.
Familiar_Anywhere815@reddit
Skopje and (probably)Tirana are actually not far off from 1 million (daytime) residents either. Censuses don't show it but there are ginormous amounts of people that rent in Skopje but are registered as living in their hometown, or generally commuting to the city for work. At least for Skopje, the functional metro area was estimated around 800k back in 2015. (The actual population is around 500k)
Problem is, these people, since they're not registered as living in Skopje, are not local taxpayers so in practice the city doesn't have the taxpayer base to pull it off. It also has a growth ceiling due to the small size of the country, which was probably already reached.
dittreo@reddit
Skopje also doesn't really need a metro line. The city is almost completely flat, and spacious. A tram line connecting the main Partizanski Odredi would be an amazing addition to the city imo, similar to the main tram line in Sarajevo
Mesenterium@reddit
I believe that's an universal problem in large Balkan cities. Definitely true for Sofia too.
This_Lion5856@reddit
I've lived in London for around 10 years and I lowkey prefer the Sofia metro to the London one tbf.
Yes the London one is way bigger in terms of overall coverage scale, but it is cramped af and makes you feel like a literal rat. The Sofia one is way cleaner and more spacious
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
I've used the subway in the UK, France, Italy and Germany. Berlin was OK, the rest were not a pleasant experience.
I've also used the subway in multiple American cities.
It gets the job done.That's about all I'm going to say about that...
dittreo@reddit
I haven't been to Athens, but I've taken both Sofia and Bucharest metros.
Sofia's metro is actually pretty good, I especially like that it has an airport line, where many European countries still don't have that.
Bucharest was good, but the station layouts in the change stations are crazy. Piata Unirii is a literal maze. It might be the craziest station I've been in, and I'm from Istanbul.
soviet_bias_good@reddit
Turkish Thrace is in the Balkans, so I’d be inclined to say it’s unequivocally Istanbul.
oocalan@reddit
It says “capital”. Ankara’s metro system is still a joke.
soviet_bias_good@reddit
Oh, I’m blind. mb, yeah Ankara metro is terrible.
SoulEkko@reddit
I would add this map for Bucharest since it includes the train connection to the airport (the blue line), and connections with tram lines. Plus it has a more sleek design.
Awkward-Noise1964@reddit
Romanian one is so good that they had to increase the cost of one travel from 3 Ron to 7 Ron (basically from 0.59 euros to 1.38) in only a year and a half, which is 133% increase while the inflation as they say it is only at 10%... (This is fake too but thats what we get from institutions).
Own-Substance-8580@reddit
noone asked
mihai_cosmin@reddit
Where could we find the original image?
SoulEkko@reddit
Studio Leverin. Just take into account that the image I posted is the same on their website.
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
does the line is operational now? I see underground one being planned as a separate metro.
SoulEkko@reddit
The purple line is a separate metro line under construction (line 6), the cyan line is a train which you can take from Gara de Nord and goes directly to Henri Coanda airport (Otopeni).
MartinBP@reddit
Nice. It reminds me of our airport station.
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
wow looks quite great really I didn't know this
Mocha4040@reddit
Not Athens, you need to change 50 different busses and metro lines to go anywhere from anywhere.
sokorsognarf@reddit
Probably Sofia. And I say that as someone who disliked the city more generally.
I’ve lived in Athens, I have family who live there still, I go there frequently - the metro is OK and I’m definitely glad it exists (I lived there when it didn’t, apart from Line 1).
But train frequency is lousy, especially to the airport, and the earliest generation of stations on Lines 2 and 3 that opened in 2000 are showing their age, because Greece sucks at maintenance
NBApundit@reddit
Athens, although it needs an extra line because the city is large.
PavelKringa55@reddit
Zagreb!
There are zero delays and complains in Zagreb metro.
Because Zagreb has no metro :( Sniff :(
FantasticQuartet@reddit
Belgrade
Neradomir@reddit
Serbia taking number 1 spot yet again😎 Like candy from baby
AnalkinSkyfuker@reddit
Not balkan
Alex_1729@reddit
Ah yes, not the one in the US, maybe that confused you.
7amdrei7@reddit
Lol
theDivic@reddit
It’s so efficient that you can’t even see or hear it, stop being jealous!
hihimorius@reddit
Yes, they have one very nice metro station
ivan_the_gr@reddit
I don’t think Athens is one of the cities with good transport network, as a Greek I can point out that the suburban rail of Athens since 2004 is only operating partially, sections that should have been delivered decades ago have no. Same as the Rail Transport, it lays in Ruins, my country is still paying fines to the EU for not implementing construction works. Instead they put all those money in their pockets… and every time a great public is about to happen we Greeks hold our breath and wait for how long until the contraction is abandoned and the money as well.
Ok-Brother-5714@reddit
Belgrade metro! Ask our macho mayor!!!
Friday3333@reddit
Cluj Napoca
Only-Salamander4052@reddit
Well if you believe local politicans that would be Belgrade 🤣 either now or in couple of year xD
X-East@reddit
I moved to Sofia last year from Slovenia and sold my car because it does not make sense to have one when a yearly ticket for all city transport not just metro is around 180eur. And so far most places I've been too i could use metro for. The blindspots are covered by buses and trams.
ILikeOldFilms@reddit
Istanbul of course, wtf?
(Turkey is not Balkan, but Istanbul is.)
oocalan@reddit
It says “capital”. Including Istanbul in any of these comparisons is not fair to the other cities anyways.
ILikeOldFilms@reddit
Istanbul is the ACTUAL capital of Turkey.
Change my mind.
Turkish_Teacher@reddit
Economically and culturally, yes.
Administratively, no.
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
Istanbul is not the capital.
ILikeOldFilms@reddit
Yes, it's not.
At least not de jure. But it is de facto.
pumpay2@reddit
Belgrade - we have metro with flying engines for virtual years! The Best! Ever!
el_matador_rr_dibres@reddit
Tirana
Nikoschalkis1@reddit
Very subjective but Athens metro, while good, has always been so uncomfortable for me. Look at Peristeri and Aigaleo station. Two of the biggest municipalities in Athens, about 1km distance to each other, and NO connecting medium. Only bus and traffic. CRAZY work. You have to do back flips and summersaults to go from one to the other.6
Downtown_Ad_8508@reddit
Bucharest of course
powerexcess@reddit
Thesaloniki punks
No-Championship-4632@reddit
Are Georgi Asparuhov/Trakia/Vladimir Vazov open already?
toshu@reddit
No, they'll be opened in June
ScorpionMillion@reddit
Bulgaria
CtrlAltDesolate@reddit
Sofia's has pretty solid coverage with exception to a couple of major neighborhoods.
It's definitely been cleverly planned out with future development in mind and interested to see how it looks in another 20/30 years.
The public transport network (while dated in terms of some of the vehicles themselves) is miles ahead of pretty much any other capital I've visited. Not the biggest city but so easy to get from point A to B without more than 1 change.
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
Have you been to Bucharest? It’s much larger than Sofia’s metro…
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
Bigger doesn't mean better, though, to be fair, I haven't used the Bucharest metro, so I can't actually compare.
Ours is pretty new, so it's still mostly shiny. That could be a factor.
Istanbul isn't a capital, though.
Archaeopteryx111@reddit
The Bucharest metro is definitely expanding pretty quickly… but I’m sure Sofia’s is too.
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
Okay
Correct_Body8532@reddit
We are missing a circle line connecting the outskirt stations together. Its a pain if you are not traveling to or from the centre.
MartinBP@reddit
We're struggling to finish the ring road, let alone a circle line lol.
sunkysunny@reddit
The green line in the map goes only from hadzhi dimitar to gorna banya. The rest of it are being built as we speak. The metro in Sofia is good. However, timing is shit- at peak sometimes need to wait around 8 minutes, weekends and late hours every 10 minutes. Doesn't work 24/7, rather stops at around 12-1am. Which sucks, especially if you come from the airport.
kirk_sillywobbles@reddit
God forbid you need to WAIT a few minutes at a metro station.
The horror
zara_anwar@reddit
Sofia, clean reliable and well planned. If Belgrade manages to pull off its metro plan, it might turn out to be the best in the Balkans
iheartloud420@reddit
Lol maybe in 2070
Greek_Bodybuilder995@reddit
Cybermetro 2077
This_Lion5856@reddit
Fully renewable, powered by rakija and turbofolk
Mysterious-Put1459@reddit
I've tried all 3, to be fair I don't get the Sofia metro hype but I guess that's just on me.
WorldlinessRadiant77@reddit
I haven’t used the Athens one, but between Sofia and Bucharest it’s not even close.
Sofia is just miles ahead and clearly better designed. Bucharest seems almost deliberately confusing, but I think it’s because the system itself is older.
dragecs@reddit
Easy. Skopje.
Strange_Status_7690@reddit (OP)
Where is that ?
Substantial-Peach-90@reddit
Athens has a very good and easy to navigate Metro system. It’s very complete overall, they build one more big line as well that will be completed in 2030 or around that time period. Blue and red line too tier, better than most metros I visited in Europe. Only the green line sucks plenty, which is the older line and goes through the worst parts of the capital.
Bulgaria too has a nice metro, I’ve taken the metro there, very comfy and calm. I just don’t know how complete it is.
name2sayMKD@reddit
Skopje🤣🤣🤣
ThickCaterpillar9867@reddit
Tirana
Substratas@reddit
Saetab22@reddit
Istanbul?
TheLonelyPrincess741@reddit
We can only dream of a metro :(
tamzhebuduiya@reddit
Sofia by far
Inevitable-Pie-8020@reddit
I can say one thing about the Bucharest metro, it is very solid and does the job, i use it everyday, it is always on time but has some drawbacks.
The older stations are a bit dilapidated and need a renovation. The extention plans are painfully slow, but that's more of a goverment thing than the metro itself as a system Some major neighborhoods (usually the poorer ones) are not properly covered. It doesn't exit the city at all, it would be great to extend it a bit to the outer towns, it would relieve trafic, but i know, it is massively expensive
Successful-Biggy@reddit
Istanbul probably
TinyAsianMachine@reddit
I like Sofia's one a lot, very aesthetic too. Athens one is nice too.
Fantastic-Reading-78@reddit
Pristina :D