London’s Underground celebrates its 150th anniversary this month and the future for the transit system looks brighter than at any time since the suburban expansion that began in the 1930s. Then, the system once viewed as the best in the world was starved of investment and allowed to decline, and as car ownership grew the consensus was that public transport was no longer needed.
But today lines are being upgraded to expand capacity, and there are new trains, signaling systems and control centers, and tunnels are being built for the major new railway named Crossrail, Europe’s largest construction project. These improvements may barely keep pace with the demand fueled by London’s rapid population growth, however, and these investments depend substantially on fare revenue — suggesting that bigger and bolder solutions are needed.
Read this story about the Tube on Dave Hill’s London blog.
But today lines are being upgraded to expand capacity, and there are new trains, signaling systems and control centers, and tunnels are being built for the major new railway named Crossrail, Europe’s largest construction project. These improvements may barely keep pace with the demand fueled by London’s rapid population growth, however, and these investments depend substantially on fare revenue — suggesting that bigger and bolder solutions are needed.
Read this story about the Tube on Dave Hill’s London blog.
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