The London underground

One of the many global transport examples that makes Sydney transport look like a dogs breakfast

Source

The London underground (also known as the tube) is considered the oldest rapid transport system in the world, which opened in 1863. It is also known as one of the first systems to use electric traction trains. What is every similar to the opal card in Sydney, Oyster card has been around since 2003 in London. The underground set a standard for the rest of the world in terms of intercity transport, having entrances available walking distance everywhere. On top of this the trains also arrive both very frequently and extremely consistently. If a train by chance is one minute late they will repeatedly apologize over the voice announcer for the duration of the service.

Source: Wiki
-Joseph

Underground Railways in Sydney pre 2000

Sydney has a rather extensive railway network above ground, however, some of the network is located in subterranean Sydney. Small tunnels are common across the network, however, extensive tunnel portals started to become common especially in built up areas since the 1950's, during the construction of the City Circle Line. 

In the 1960's, after the demise of the Sydney Tram Network, the largest Tram network in the Southern Hemisphere at its peak, the government decided it needed a replacement in the Eastern Suburbs as Buses were not adequate for Sydney's growing population. To solve their solution the Eastern Suburbs Line was built in the 1970's from Redfern to Bondi Junction. In the 1990's, it was decided the Airport needed a rail link, so the Government built an underground train line between Central and Wolli Creek via Green Square, Mascot & Both Airport Terminals in a Public-Private ownership with Macquarie Bank, resulting in an additional Station Access Fee to use the Airport Stations. 

~ Cameron

Bullet Train - Japan

Japan’s high speed bullet trains, also known as Shinkansen trains, offer visitors an exciting experience with speeds reaching up to 320km/hr. The main lines with bullet trains include Tokaido, Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, Nagano and Kyushu. Popular bullet train journeys travel between tokyo and Osaka with people viewing the landscape of japan as they travel to these cities via bullet train.

 You must have a pass to travel on these trains which can take you around inner cities of Japan.The network presently links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, with construction of a link to the northern island of Hokkaido underway.

Nozomi is the fastest and most expensive type of Shinkansen but pass holders cannot travel on these due to all reserved seating. 


Sources: Railjpn, Wiki -Alex