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• Strong economy, large population and rapid urbanizationare three basic conditions to open a subway. • It is best for thefirst subway line to be straightto connect the city center and suburbs. • A stronger correlation between line length and t urban population did emerge as the lines grew. • The length of the subway lines in the first year was related to the built-up area of the city. The number of metro lines increases every year, with most new projects being located in developing countries. Metro construction costs a huge amount of money, and it is, therefore, worthwhile to consider if the decisions related to and direction of metro construction are justified. Adopting a historical perspective, this paper selects nine global cities that constructed metro systems prior to 1913. It considers the economic and social background at their time of opening and summarizes the optimal conditions for their opening. It compares and analyzes the location, form and length of the lines in the first year, and, taking Berlin, London, New York and Paris as examples, looks into the relationship between the urban land and the expansion of the metro network. This provides insights into the key characteristics of early line networks that will help other cities to reconsider the construction of their own metros and in the future, this will help to prevent blind development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]