Third rail railways predominantly operates in urban areas. Notable exceptions are (or were) mainline electrics of the former Southern Region of British Railways and a few interurban railways in the US. In Europe top contact third rail tends to be limited to early electrified urban railways (the current conductor is normally left naked on top), contrary to North America where it usually has a protecting cover. Considered safe, the covered top contact conductor also appeared at most North American systems built relatively recently. Modern European systems predominantly make use of bottom or side contact power rails.
There are numerous urban rail systems, including these running mostly in tunnels, which do not use third rail at all. Such systems can be found in Asia, which may have been influenced by the overhead power supply formula followed by Tokyo Metro after 1960. All South Korean systems use overhead wires (or rigid conductors), as do most modern mainland Chinese metros. In Europe all significant Spanish systems now have overhead power supply. Modern Latin America urban rail also uses overhead wires, though with some important exceptions.
Special group of bottom power supplied railways are rubber-tyred systems. In fact, it may be difficult to classify them beyond any doubt. They may be trains but are they still railways? And do they still have 'third' rails? Despite doubts, such guided systems have been included in the list below.
The list does not include conduit system trams (trolleys), once quite popular in some countries, but none survive.
| Notes: | ||
|---|---|---|
| t/c | top contact; others have bottom or side contact power rails (or rail type not known) | |
| gr/c | combined with guiding rail on rubber-tyred systems (including light metros such as VAL) | |
| b/c | b/c – bottom contact |
| Country | Location | Name of System | Notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | Yerevan | Yerevan Metro | ||
| Austria | Vienna | Vienna U-Bahn | (b/c) Except line U6 | |
| Azerbaijan | Baku | Baku Metro | ||
| Belarus | Minsk | Minsk Metro | ||
| Belgium | Brussels | Brussels Métro/Metro (STIB-MIVB) | STIB-MIVB | |
| Bulgaria | Sofia | Sofia Metro | ||
| Czech Republic | Prague | Prague Metro | (b/c) | |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | Copenhagen Metro | Metro | |
| Finland | Helsinki | Helsinki Metro | ||
| France | Paris | Paris Métro | (all lines on rails: t/c) (all lines on tyres: gr/c) | |
| Orlyval | (gr/c) | |||
| Culoz–Modane railway | (gr/c) | 1925–1976 | ||
| Lyon | Lyon Métro | Line C is a rack railway and thus uses overhead wires | ||
| Marseille | Marseilles Métro | (gr/c) | ||
| Rennes | Rennes VAL | (gr/c) | ||
| Toulouse | Toulouse VAL | (gr/c) | ||
| Lille | Lille VAL | (gr/c) | ||
| Bordeaux | Tramway de Bordeaux | (partly) | ||
| Villefranche-de-Conflent | Yellow Train | (t/c) | ||
| (t/c, covered occasionally) | ||||
| Germany | Berlin | Berlin S-Bahn | ||
| (small profile lines: t/c) | ||||
| Hamburg | Hamburg S-Bahn | (side contact) | ||
| Hamburg U-Bahn | ||||
| Munich | Munich U-Bahn | |||
| Nuremberg | Nuremberg U-Bahn | |||
| Frankfurt | Frankfurt/Main Airport PM | (gr/c) | ||
| Greece | Athens | Athens Metro | ||
| Hungary | Budapest | Budapest Metro | (t/c) except 'Földalatti' (now Line M1) | |
| Italy | Brescia | Brescia Metro | AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro | |
| Milan | Milan metro line 1 | 4 rails | ||
| Milan metro line 5 | AnsaldoBreda Driverless Metro | |||
| Ferrovie Varesine | Former System (1901–1951), t/c) | |||
| Turin | Turin VAL | (gr/c) | ||
| Superga Rack Railway | ||||
| Naples | "metropolitana FS" | Former system (1925–1935), t/c | ||
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Metro | (b/c) Except Sneltram alignments | |
| Rotterdam | Rotterdam Metro | (b/c) Except Sneltram alignments | ||
| Norway | Oslo T-bane | T-bane | ||
| Poland | Warsaw | Warsaw Metro | (b/c) | |
| Portugal | Lisbon | Lisbon Metro | (t/c) | |
| Romania | Bucharest | Bucharest Metro | (b/c), except sidings where overhead wire is used | |
| Russia | Moscow | Moscow Metro | ||
| Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg Metro | |||
| Novosibirsk | Novosibirsk Metro | |||
| Kazan Metro | ||||
| Yekaterinburg Metro | ||||
| Nizhny Novgorod Metro | ||||
| Omsk Metro | ||||
| Samara Metro | ||||
| Spain | Madrid | Madrid Barajas International Airport PM | (gr/c) | |
| Barcelona | Barcelona Metro | Former System (until 2002): Line 1 (t/c, covered) and lines 3 and 4 (b/c) | ||
| Sweden | Stockholm | Stockholm T-bana | (t/c, covered) | |
| Switzerland | Chemin de Fer de Martigny au Châtelard | partly 3rd rail | ||
| Turkey | İzmir | İzmir Metro | ||
| Ankara | Ankara Metro | |||
| Istanbul | Istanbul Metro | |||
| Ukraine | Kyiv | Kyiv Metro | ||
| Kharkiv | Kharkiv Metro | |||
| Dnipro | Dnipro Metro | |||
| United Kingdom | Brighton | (t/c) | ||
| Glasgow | (t/c) | |||
| Hythe | Hythe Pier Railway | |||
| London | (b/c) | |||
| (four-rail, t/c) | ||||
| (four-rail, t/c at inception, but now three-rail, t-c between Harrow & Wealdstone and Watford Junction, three-rail, t-c between Acton Central and Gunnersbury, third-rail, t-c between Shoreditch and Highbury & Islington, and overhead electrified between Dalston and Acton Central. Adjacent sections of overhead and third rail, t-c between Dalston and Highbury & Islington. Still four-rail, t-c on sections shared with London Underground (Gunnersbury-Richmond, Queens Park-Harrow & Wealdstone). Shoreditch to Broad Street section now closed) | ||||
| (t/c) | ||||
| Liverpool | (t/c) | |||
| Southern England | (t/c), (large area covering most of the current South Western, Island Line, Southern and Southeastern TOCs) | |||
| Airport people mover | Transfer between terminals | |||
United Kingdom
Former:
Switzerland
Former:
| Country | Location | Name of System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| t/c, covered | |||
| t/c | |||
| b/c | |||
| b/c | |||
| b/c | |||
| b/c | |||
| b/c | |||
| Japan | Hiroshima | Astram Line | (gr/c) |
| Kobe | Portliner | (gr/c) | |
| Rokkoliner | (gr/c) | ||
| Nagoya | Nagoya Municipal Subway | Higashiyama, Meijō and Meikō lines | |
| Osaka | Osaka Municipal Subway | Midōsuji, Tanimachi, Yotsubashi, Chūō and Sennichimae lines | |
| Kita-Osaka Kyūkō Railway | reciprocal service with Midōsuji Line | ||
| Keihanna Line | reciprocal service with Chūō Line | ||
| New Tram | (gr/c) | ||
| Sapporo | Sapporo Municipal Subway | Namboku Line | |
| Tokyo | Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line | (gr/c) | |
| Tokyo Metro | Ginza and Marunouchi Lines (t/c, covered) | ||
| Yurikamome Line | (gr/c) | ||
| Seibu Yamaguchi Line | (gr/c) | ||
| Saitama New Shuttle | (gr/c) | ||
| Yokohama | Yokohama Municipal Subway | Blue Line | |
| Kanazawa Seaside Line | (gr/c) | ||
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Ampang Line | |
| Kelana Jaya Line | |||
| North Korea | Pyongyang | Pyongyang Metro | |
| Philippines | Metro Manila | MRT-7 | Under construction;; |
| Singapore | Singapore | Light Rail Transit (LRT) | Three separate systems |
| Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) | Except North East Line | ||
| South Korea | Busan | Busan-Gimhae Light Rail Transit | (b/c) |
| Seoul | (b/c) | ||
| Uijeongbu | (gr/c) | ||
| Yongin | Everline | (t/c) | |
| Taiwan | Taipei | Taipei MRT | (VAL Line: gr/c) |
| Kaohsiung | Kaohsiung MRT | ||
| Thailand | Bangkok | MRT | |
| BTS skytrain | |||
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai | Dubai Metro | |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent | Tashkent Metro | |
Japan
Former:
| Country | Location | Name of System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Cairo | Cairo Metro | Line 2 (Shobra - El Mounib) Line 3 (Attaba - Al Ahram) |
| Nigeria | Lagos | Lagos Rail Mass Transit | Blue Line |
| Country | Location | Name of System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Montreal | Montreal Métro | (gr/c) |
| Toronto | Toronto subway and RT | (t/c, covered) | |
| Vancouver | Vancouver SkyTrain | (t/c, covered) | |
| Mexico | Mexico City | Mexico City Metro | All lines (gr/c), except Line A (overhead) |
| United States | Chicago | Chicago 'L' | Chicago 'L' and Subway, (t/c) |
| New York City | Airtrain JFK | ||
| Amtrak | Penn Station complex, north and east river tunnels on Northeast Corridor, Empire tunnel and Sunnyside Yard for diesel/electric engines and LIRR service to Penn Station (t/c, covered) | ||
| Long Island Rail Road | NYC commuter system (t/c, covered); (Portions run on diesel & diesel/electric hybrid) | ||
| Metro-North Railroad | NYC commuter system (b/c); (Portions run on diesel & diesel/electric hybrid); (New Haven Line trains switch between third rail and overhead catenary power between Mount Vernon East and Pelham, at speed) | ||
| New York City Subway | (t/c, covered) | ||
| PATH | (t/c, covered) | ||
| Staten Island Railway | (t/c, covered) | ||
| San Francisco | BART | (t/c, covered) | |
| AirTrain SFO | (gr/c) | ||
| Washington DC | Washington Metro | (t/c, covered) | |
| Boston | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) | Red, Orange and Blue (partly) Lines (t/c) | |
| Philadelphia | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) | Market-Frankford Line: (b/c, covered), Broad St Line, Route 100 to Norristown: (t/c, covered) | |
| PATCO | (t/c, covered) | ||
| Atlanta | MARTA | (t/c, covered) | |
| Atlanta International Airport PM | (gr/c) | ||
| Los Angeles | Metro Rail | Red Line (t/c, covered) | |
| Miami | Miami Metrorail | (t/c, covered) | |
| Miami Metromover | (gr/c) | ||
| Baltimore | Baltimore Metro Subway | (t/c, covered) | |
| Detroit | Detroit People Mover | ||
| Chicago | O'Hare International Airport | Transit System (gr/c) | |
| Tampa | Tampa International Airport PM | (gr/c) | |
| Denver | Denver International Airport PM | (gr/c) | |
| Seattle | Satellite Transit System PM in Airport | (gr/c) | |
| Dallas | Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport PM | (gr/c) | |
| San Juan, Puerto Rico | Tren Urbano | Semi-suspended inverted collector rail[1] (b/c?) | |
United States
Former:
| Country | Location | Name of System | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Mitre and Sarmiento railways | ||
| Urquiza railway, Buenos Aires subway line B (t/c, covered) | |||
| São Paulo Metro | (b/c), except Line 5 (overhead) and 15 (monorail) | ||
| (t/c, partly covered) | |||
| (b/c) | |||
| Line 1, Line 2 and Line 5 (gr/c), Line 4 and Line 4A (t/c) | |||
| Venezuela | Caracas | Caracas Metro | |