Re: Worse than CityRail

[bscaro@yahoo.com (Ben Scaro)]

> 
> The London Underground is the most expensive in the world. A one-way ticket
> costs an average of £2.50. 

It is not such a bad deal if you buy a Travelcard or carnet of
tickets, as most users do.

The Tube, with its 275 stations and 255 miles of
> track, dates in large part from the 19th century. Each year it carries
> almost a billion people. The workers have already gone on strike twice this
> year. They are not demanding more money or shorter hours, but rather more
> safety both for themselves and for their passengers.

They are also demanding 'jobs for life' an ambit claim made due to
their fears for job security under a semi-privatised Tube.  The safety
issue is regarded as a bit of a furphy by many. I'm not saying it
*isn't* an issue though.


> Just as with the Millennium Dome, again it is a foreigner, Bob Kiley, who is
> meant to come to the rescue. The American has already sorted out the Boston
> and New York subways. At least he got off to a fragrant start. In future,
> the smell in the stations will be alleviated by a specially created perfume
> called Madeleine.

I do not think the perfume was a Kiley policy, it was tried out at my
local station, Victoria, before Kiley took over the Tube.
 


> 
> 
> You might think voters would try to get their revenge at the election. Far
> from it. New Labour's lead is so great that Blair's re-election seems
> certain.

Kiley has been given the Tube to silence his and Ken Livingstone's
criticisms till after the election.


Yeah, the Tube has its problems.  But worse than Cityrail ?  No way.  

On my local line, the Victoria line, trains arrive on average every 3
minutes.  And that's typical of most of London, with the notable
exception of the East London line which admittedly is pretty
infrequent.  The only stations on Cityrail with that sort of frequency
are the City Loop and Redfern.

The trains are hot and crowded.  But they do not smell of urine, or
worse.  Graffiti on trains is unusual.

Long and unexplained delays do occur, but with nowhere like the
frequency of Cityrail.

The Tube manages to function all weekend, without vast sections of the
network being closed for maintenance.

All up, I would take the Tube over Cityrail any day.

Cheers


Ben Scaro

London