A subway, tube train or underground monorail was a type of train that traveled underground along a track or tracks. Some subway engines used electric or biofuel propulsion, while others used maglev technology.
The Stampede Tubetrain was a maglev-powered subway which traveled 900 kph and levitated five centimeters above the ground. It was considered the fastest train in North America. Its route had stops in Omaha, Nebraska; Bremerton, Oregon; and South America. (TOS novel: Best Destiny)
A subway network interconnected wedges of the circular Paragon Colony to reduce surface traffic. (TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1)
The asteroid Protus was tunneled throughout with underground monorails and conduits. (TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 2)
History
Subway lines were added to New York City on Earth in the early 20th century. (DS9 novelization: Far Beyond the Stars)
In 1930 in a timeline created when Leonard McCoy saved the life of Edith Keeler, McCoy watched the trains while in Brooklyn and often rode the subway, considering it an affordable and convenient means of transportation. (TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows)
On 6 May, 1994, the Channel Tunnel opened between England and France when Queen Elizabeth II rode the $15 billion subway train to Calais.
In 1995, terrorists released sarin gas into Tokyo's subway trains during rush hour, killing dozens.
In 1996, an underground monorail linked Area 51 with the facility constructing the DY-100 spacecraft.
In 2270, Kirk rode the Paragon Colony's subway with Masako Clarke. (TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2)
In 2173, geneticist Antaak unleashed a retrovirus into the air around the tube train lines on Qu'Vat which killed more than 10,000 QuchHa' Klingons. (TOS novel: Excelsior: Forged in Fire)
In 2269, Lactrans captured Kirk, Spock and McCoy in a zoo habitat on Lactra VII. They physically carried them for a while, then traveled the rest of the way to their city in a subway. (TAS novelization: The Eye of the Beholder)
Kell Perim visited a monorail station on Osedah. (TNG - A Time to... novel: A Time to Hate)
In 2371, while trying to escape from deep underground in a moon belonging to the Furies, B'Elanna Torres spotted a subway on mag-lev tracks through a shaft. When the vehicle stopped momentarily, she and Sam Redbay boarded the engine car. When it took off, it traveled five kilometers per second, and the acceleration shoved Torres back into her seat. They rode it nearly to the surface before an electromagnetic pulse shorted out the power circuits. (VOY - Invasion! novel: The Final Fury)
Underground maglev trains linked all of the major cities on the Breen planet Salavat. In 2382, Julian Bashir and Sarina Douglas rode one of these subways from Rasiuk to Utyrak, a seven-hour trip. (ST - Typhon Pact novel: Zero Sum Game)
Subway station locations
- Area 51
- Bremerton, Oregon
- Brooklyn
- England
- Calais, France
- Heathrow
- Lactra VII
- New York City
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Osedah
- Pacifica
- Paragon Colony
- Protus
- Qu'Vat
- South America
- Tokyo
- Utyrak and Rasiuk, Salavat
Subways
- Channel Tunnel
- Stampede Tubetrain
Appendices
Appearances
- TAS novelization: The Eye of the Beholder
- TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows
- TOS novel: Excelsior: Forged in Fire
- TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1
- TOS - The Eugenics Wars novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2
- TNG - A Time to... novel: A Time to Hate
- TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 2
- VOY - Invasion! novel: The Final Fury
- ST - Typhon Pact novel: Zero Sum Game