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Metro Museums
Some cities take their subway's history serious and appreciate it with a dedicated museum. Here's an international list of those museums.
The list also includes railway or tram museums with significant metro/subway sections. Hours and admissions are just here to give an idea, as they are subject to change. Occasionally, museums might be closed for renovation, so check the referenced websites before visiting.
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London Transport MuseumVideos and maps in the new Metros of the World section. |
| Atlanta | Southeastern Railway Museum. The SRM hosts the MARTA Historic Collection on long term loan. Inauguration: 1970. Location: In Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. From MARTA Doraville station, take bus route 10 to Gwinnett Transit Center and walk 3 miles. Or take a car.
Address: 3595 Buford Hwy, Duluth, GA 30096.
Hours: Apr-Dec: Thu, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm. Jan-Mar: Sat 10am-5pm. Admission: $8. Features: Gift shop, guided tours, train depot, events.
Reference: srmduluth.org (official website).
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| Berlin | U-Bahn-Museum. An exhibition of signals, signage, ticket machines and other metro-related objects. Historical trains are used on special tours. Inauguration: 1999. Location: Abandoned control centre in a metro station.
Nearest metro station: Olympia-Stadion.
Hours: Only one day per month (2nd Saturday), 10:30 to 16:00. Admission: 2 EUR.
Reference: ag-berliner-u-bahn.de (official website). bvg.de.
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| | S-Bahn-Museum. An exhibition of commuter metro-related objects such as signals and signage as well as historical photos and descriptions on display charts. Inauguration: 1997. Location: Unused transformer substation.
Address: Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 203, 14482 Potsdam. Nearest metro station: Griebnitzsee (S-Bahn).
Hours: Only one weekend per month April through November (2nd weekend), Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 17:00. Admission: 1.80 EUR.
Reference: s-bahn-museum.de (official website).
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| Brussels | Musée du Transport Urbain Bruxellois. On an area of more than 1500 square meters, the museum exhibits a large collection of trams, buses, trolley buses and taxis, which covers 150 years of Brussels transport history. Inauguration: 1982. Location: Woluwe tram depot. Take the Museum Bus from Central Station.
Address: Avenue de Tervueren.
Hours: Museum is closed and is planned to re-open 4 April 2010. Admission: €5.
Reference: mtub-msvb.be (official website).
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| Budapest | Millennium Underground Museum. Exhibition about metro construction, its achievements, and future. Inauguration: 1975. Location: A disused tunnel section in the Deák Ferenc tér metro station.
Address: Budapest, Deák tér, metro station.
Hours: From 10:00 to 17:00 daily - except Mondays. Admission: 270 Ft.
Reference: bkv.hu (official website).
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| | Urban Public Transport Museum Szentendre. About Budapest public transport including the suburban railway. Inauguration: 1992.
Address: 2000 Szentendre, Dózsa György út (in a suburb of Budapest). In front of Volán bus station, to the left. Nearest metro station: Szentendre suburban.
Hours: From April to October between 10:00 and 17:00 daily, except Mondays. Admission: 270 Ft.
Reference: bkv.hu (official website).
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| Delhi | Delhi Metro Museum. The Museum showcases the genesis, history and journey of the Delhi Metro Rail, India’s first modern public transportation system. It is a collection of display panels, historical photographs and construction and operational exhibits. Inauguration: 2009. Location: in Patel Chowk metro station.
Nearest metro station: Patel Chowk.
Hours: 10:00 to 16:00 daily except Mondays.
Reference: delhimetrorail.com, newshopper.sulekha.com.
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| Glasgow | Museum of Transport. Exhibition about the history of transport, including a section about the Subway. Inauguration: 1964. Location: New building by Zaha Hadid architects under construction until 2010.
Address: 1 Bunhouse Road, G3 8DP. Nearest metro station: Kelvinhall.
Reference: glasgowmuseums.com.
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| Kiev | Metro Museum. The small museum provides some information about planning, construction, and operation of the metro. Exhibits include station models, historic photos, and tickets.
Address: Peremohy Prospekt 35. Nearest metro station: Politekhnichnyi Instytut.
Hours: Except Fridays.
Reference: de.wikipedia.org.
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| London | Museum Depot. Holds the majority of the London Transport Museum's collections which are not on display in Covent Garden. Houses over 370,000 items of all types, including many original works of art used for the Museum's celebrated poster collection, vehicles, signs, models, photographs, engineering drawings and uniforms. On 6000 square metres these form one of the most comprehensive and important records of urban transport anywhere in the world.
Address: 118-120 Gunnersbury Lane, London W3 8BQ. Nearest metro station: Acton Town.
Hours: Only during special events.
Reference: ltmuseum.co.uk (official website).
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| | London Transport Museum. Conserving and explaining the capital city's transport heritage, offering an understanding of the capital's past and future development. LTM aims to be the world's leading museum of urban transport. Inauguration: 1973. Location: Historic flower market building.
Address: Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2E 7BB. Nearest metro station: Covent Garden.
Hours: Saturday to Thursday 10.00 to 18.00 (last admission 17.15), Friday 11.00 to 21.00. Admission: 10 GBP. Features: museum store, café, library, educational programmes, lectures, special events.
Reference: ltmuseum.co.uk (official website).
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| Madrid | Andén 0 Chamberí. The goal is showing the public a little piece of underground life in the capital at the start of the 20th century. The museum consists of a metro station abandoned in 1966. Forty-two years later, the station was restored to its original ceramic-tiled glory as envisioned by the first architect of the metro, Antonio Palacios. Old ticket counters and gates and old ceramic advertisements are still present, videos are on display. Inauguration: 2008. Location: Abandoned Chamberí metro station from 1919.
Address: Corner of Calle de Luchana and Calle de Sta Engracía. Nearest metro station: Iglesia, Bilbao, Rubén Darío.
Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am - 7pm. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 10am to 2pm. Admission: free.
Reference: notesfrommadrid.com, typicallyspanish.com, esmadrid.com.
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| Moscow | Moscow Metro Museum. This small museum (330 square metres) charts the history of Moscow's subway system in models and statistics. Inauguration: 1967. Location: Attached to the southern exit of Sportivnaya metro station.
Address: Ulitsa Khamovnichesky Val 36, 3rd floor, Moscow 119048, Russia. Nearest metro station: Sportivnaya.
Hours: Monday 11am - 6pm, Tuesday - Friday 9am - 4pm, closed Saturday and Sunday. Admission: 25 RB.
Reference: moscow-taxi.com, transport.chipexpo.ru, russianmuseums.info.
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| Munich | MVG Museum. Large tram museum (5000 square metres) with a small subway section and part of a subway train. Inauguration: 2007. Location: Historical tram maintainance workshop building.
Address: Ständlerstraße 20, München. At tram 27 Schwanseestraße stop.
Hours: Only Sundays about every two weeks, 11.00 - 17.00 (refer to website). Admission: 2.50 EUR.
Reference: mvg-mobil.de (official website).
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| Nagoya | Nagoya City Tram & Subway Museum. This museum is filled with vintage trains and trams, photographic history, hands-on simulators, and even giant tunneling equipment.
Address: Located on route 153, a 7-minute walk from exit 2 of Akaike Station. Nearest metro station: Akaike.
Hours: 10:00 to 16:00, closed Wednesdays and from 12/29 to 1/3. Admission: free.
Reference: nic-nagoya.or.jp.
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| New York | New York Transit Museum. Development of the greater NY metropolitan region through exhibitions, tours, educational programs, and workshops dealing with the cultural, social, and technological history of public transportation. Inauguration: In the 1970s. Location: Abandoned Court Street IND station from 1936.
Address: Corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn Heights. Nearest metro station: Borough Hall (2 3 4 5 A C F), Court St (M R), Hoyt-Schermerhorn St (A C G).
Hours: Tue – Fri 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat and Sun Noon to 5 p.m., closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission: 5 USD. Features: museum store, educational programmes, special events.
Reference: mta.info (official website).
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| Paris | AMTUIR – Musée des Transports Urbains.
Address: 163, boulevard Charles de Gaulle - 92 700 Colombes. Nearest metro station: Porte Dorée.
Hours: Currently closed.
Reference: amtuir.org (official website).
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| Prague | Public Transport Museum. Contains over 40 historical vehicles (mainly trams) and many other exhibits - models, photographs, historical documents, tickets and blueprints. Inauguration: 1993. Location: Tram depot.
Address: Patockova 4, Prague 6.
Hours: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: 25 CZK.
Reference: dpp.cz (official website).
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| Pyongyang | Pyongyang Metro Museum. Covers the events leading to the opening of the Metro in 1973, as well as operations and future plans.
Reference: pyongyang-metro.com (scroll down to 'museum').
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| Rotterdam | Openbaar Vervoer Museum. Shows the city's transportation modes including the metro.
Address: Oostplein 165, 3011 KZ Rotterdam, 0031 (0) 6 41 91 73 27. Nearest metro station: Oostplein.
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 11:00 - 17:00. Admission: 2.50 EUR. Features: Library, restaurant, films.
Reference: openbaarvervoermuseum.nl (official website). stichtingromeo.nl, rotterdam.nl.
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| Saint Louis | Museum of Transportation. Houses "..one of the largest and best collections of transportation vehicles in the world," according to the Smithsonian Institution. Includes some historic subway trains from Chicago and New York City.
Address: 3015 Barrett Station Road, St. Louis, MO 63122.
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sunday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, extended in summers. Admission: 6 USD.
Reference: transportmuseumassociation.org (official website).
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| Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg Metro Museum. Inauguration: 2005. Location: Primorskaya station building (after moving from Avtovo train depot to new location).
Address: Odoevskogo, 29. Nearest metro station: Primorskaya.
Reference: en.wikipedia.org, ru.wikipedia.org.
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| Seoul | (Planned subway museum). One of the newly built subway stations on Line No.9 will have a subway museum. The museum will show 30 years of subway history by exhibiting old railroad vehicles, train models and related books. (News from 2006.) Inauguration: 2010 (?).
Reference: korea.net/news.
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| Shanghai | Shanghai Maglev Museum. Dedicated to the history and technology of Maglev trains in the world, the museum has five themed sections: Birth of Maglev, Maglev Shanghai Line, Maglev Technology, Maglev Superiorities, Prospects for Maglev. Inauguration: 2007. Location: In the Longyang Road Maglev station at street level.
Nearest metro station: Longyang Road.
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm every day. Admission: 10 RMB.
Reference: smtdc.com (official website). gov.cn.
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| | (Planned metro museum). Exhibitions will show historic documents, pictures and articles related to the city's Metro history and demonstrate the technology of subway construction. It will also include a facility for emergency drills, simulating situations such as power cuts, earthquakes or even terror attacks. The museum will also be a Metro safety-education center. Inauguration: Planned for 2010.
Nearest metro station: Wuzhong Road.
Reference: ce.cn.
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| Stockholm | Spårvägsmuseet. Mainly trams but also a some subway exhibits, including pictures and models about art in the stations.
Address: Tegelviksgatan 22 (bus 2, 55, 66 to Sofia).
Hours: Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat–Sun 11am–4pm. Admission: 30 SKR. Features: Interactive installations, library, shop and café with play area.
Reference: sparvagsmuseet.sl.se (official website). stockholmmuseum.com.
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| Tokyo | Chikatetsu Hakubutsukan. Shows the full story of Tokyo subways in fascinating detail. Inauguration: 1986.
Address: 6-3-1 Higashi-Kasai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo 134-0084 (100 m east of Kasai station). Nearest metro station: Kasai.
Hours: Closed Mondays. Admission: 200 YEN. Features: Museum shop, lecture-hall, rest lounge, library.
Reference: chikahaku.jp (in Japanese) (official website). japaneserailwaysociety.com.
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| Vienna | Otto Wagner Pavilion. A permanent exhibition documenting the life and work of Vienna's most influential architect Otto Wagner. The exhibition includes the Stadtbahn project from 1898 that is today part of the metro network. Wagner was engaged not only in the Art Nouveau station designs but in the whole artistic vision of the urban railway, from the largest viaduct to the slimmest handrail. The exhibition also includes "non-metro" works of the architect, like the famous Postsparkasse building. Inauguration: 2005. Location: A former entrance building of Karlsplatz urban rail station.
Address: Karlsplatz, A-1040 Wien. Nearest metro station: Karlsplatz.
Hours: April to October 9:00 to 18:00 except Mondays. Closed 1 May. Admission: 2 EUR, Sundays free.
Reference: wienmuseum.at (official website).
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| | Wiener Straßenbahnmuseum. Tram museum with little reference to the subway. Inauguration: 1972. Location: Historic maintenance station.
Address: Straßenbahnremise Erdberg, Wien 3, entrance at Ludwig-Koeßler-Platz (near Stadionbrücke). Nearest metro station: Schlachthausgasse.
Hours: May through September, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays 9:00 - 16:00.
Reference: wiener-tramwaymuseum.org (official website).
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| Yokohama | Yokohama Municipal Tramway Museum. The museum preserves some Yokohama tram cars, model trains, old photos, maps, and materials including a subway train simulator, which is modeled on Yokohama Municipal Subway type 2000. Inauguration: 1973. Location: At the corner of a former tram depot.
Address: 3-1-53 Takigashira, Isogo-ku, Yokohama-shi, 235-0012. Nearest metro station: Negishi JR station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line through service train.
Hours: Telephone +81 45 754 8505.
Reference: kyouryokukai.or.jp (official website). japaneserailwaysociety.com, wcities.com.
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London Transport MuseumArchitectural models of tube stations in the new Design section. |
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New York Transit MuseumCollection of historic fare gates. |
Photos by M. Rohde. Page updated 21 Nov 2009 (database entries may be more recent).
General reference about metro/subway museums:
Reynolds, Robert: people.reed.edu/~reyn
Schleife, Hans-Werner et al.: Metros der Welt. Geschichte, Technik, Betrieb. Transpress 1992.
Schwandl, Robert: Rapid Transit Museums, urbanrail.net
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