[TuringNYC]

I cant speak to all this, but as an American doing a lot of work in London, wow transportation is incredibly great. Shockingly impressive. Traveling to London, and getting around London, and doing a lot of meetings in a small trip, is easier than anywhere in the US now because of how beautifully their transit system works (despite occasional delays which can be expected.)

The rollout of the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow airport is also eye-opening. In NYC we speak about new subways lines with hundred-year plans (recall the 2nd ave subway extension) but in London the smoothly operating Elizabeth Line seemed to be introduced out of thin air.

[pjc50]

The Elizabeth Line, formerly known as Crossrail, is a lot more similar to the hundred year plan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossrail

My dad was a tunnels engineer and worked on Crossrail feasibility studies at several points in his career across decades.

London is is many ways one of the less impressive subway systems simply because much of it is so old, with small trains running in Victorian era tunnels. Not as bad as the Glasgow one, which feels like travelling on a 2/3 scale model of a subway with alarmingly narrow platforms.

It is however a point of contention within the UK that London public transport is better than public transport in almost every other city, due to being properly nationalized.

[rmccue]

> Not as bad as the Glasgow one, which feels like travelling on a 2/3 scale model of a subway with alarmingly narrow platforms.

For anyone who's not aware, the Glasgow Subway is literally smaller - the track gauge is 4ft (85% of standard gauge), and the rolling stock (trains) is similarly scaled down, to the point that you probably have to duck if you're over 6ft.

[nialv7]

Very true. If you really want to see rail lines materialise out of thin air, go to any major cities in China.

[kakacik]

To americans, London public transport feels amazing. To rest of Europe, its lets say OKish

[ghaff]

It's a pretty extensive system and the pretty new Elizabeth Line is great. But if you take something like the Piccadilly Line in from the airport, you probably shouldn't have a lot of luggage because a lot of stations just have stairs and platforms are often at a significant offset from the underground cars. (The double decker busses also work pretty well although they're not generally my default.)

[marssaxman]

I'll be visiting Glasgow in May, and very much hope I'll have a chance to visit the miniature subway. Third ever built, first to be called a "subway", never expanded since it opened in 1896 - how can you not love a system like that?

[sjhuda]

Thin air? It was delivered 3 years late and cost £5bn more than it should have. While projects like HS2 to the North are scaled back. The UK uses other parts of the county as a piggy bank to fund London projects.

I have a dog in this fight as I'm quite close to the public transport industry in the North and it's pretty disheartening to see politicans use us as some sort of "policy win" and then never follow through with it. Manchester only recently got devolved powers meaning the region did not have to get approval from Westminster on how they use their money and the bus and tram system has completely improved in the sapce of a couple of years (unified tickets, tap and go) with the suburban rail to come into that this year.

What is also interesting is that London's productivity growth is falling compared to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. So those cities that aren't getting the fancy new train lines are actually performing better.

[blibble]

> The UK uses other parts of the county as a piggy bank to fund London projects.

it's the exact opposite

[tenzo]

> What is also interesting is that London's productivity growth is falling compared to Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. So those cities that aren't getting the fancy new train lines are actually performing better.

What data is this based on?

[matt-p]

3 years late is practically early in UK infrastructure! HS2 was originally due to open in December! We're a decade off at least.

[PunchyHamster]

I feel that's more "US public transport being bad"

[nervousvarun]

Right as an American this reads like "American who's never been to large Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing etc..

[s_dev]

A big problem in America is the entrenchment that is happening. People are becoming so polarised there is no common ground left for discussions and people aren't open to new ideas or thinking.

I genuinely feel I can't even discuss this with many Americans. They stalwartly believe car culture is superior in every single aspect, any deviation from this narrative is simply met with 'you don't understand'.

I recall in Ireland they asked an American on public TV what he thought of one of the few pedestrians only streets in Dublin (Liffey Street). He pointed out that he would be sorry for the loss of the trade on that street for the business involved compared to if cars were allowed to drive on it. It's then pointed out they make way more money since the transition as it's a city centre location with enormous footfall.

He just counters that's not possible and cited some example in the US.

[johnisgood]

I think it is widely known that public transport in the US is god awful. Public transportation is lovely in most European countries, IMO.

[rorylawless]

It isn’t universally awful in the US. Washington, DC’s system is great and should be the cornerstone of any revitalization that isn’t so reliant on the federal government.

[eloisant]

It's pretty good in NYC. I heard it's nice in Boston too.

[oceansky]

I've visited Paris and London a few months ago as a tourist.

I am really impressed by London public transport, both the classical red double deck buses and the subway.

[pdpi]

Some bits about the service can be pretty astounding.

I used to live near the Central line. The station near home was open air and the exit was at the very end of the platform, so I always wanted to make sure I entered the train from the correct end. Service on the Central line is frequent enough (24 trains per hour off-peak), that, if I hopped off the train from the wrong end, the time it took me to walk the length of the platform was long enough for the next train to arrive.

[mft_]

Hah, the joys of optimising your morning commute on the Underground.

“If I stand here on the platform, then the door will open right in front of me, and I’ll be exactly at the exit of the next platform where I need to change…”

[martypitt]

I've lived in London for a decade, and feel incredibly lucky to have access to the transit here - having lived in Aus, NZ and Canada previously.

It's not perfect. It's late sometimes, pollution sucks, and often crowded - but people here who like to criticise it really don't recognise how much better they have it than lots of other places.

Same with travel from here to Europe (by train), is just awesome.

[anonymous908213]

> Under the project name of Crossrail, the system was approved in 2007, and construction began in 2009. Originally planned to open in 2018, the project was repeatedly delayed [...] The service is named after Queen Elizabeth II, who officially opened the line on 17 May 2022[...].

I wouldn't say thin air, exactly.

[TuringNYC]

>> I wouldn't say thin air, exactly.

Fair but have you seen how long things take in the US? The original proposal for the 2nd ave line was in 1920 and they have only managed to deploy four stops. I read about it in the news when I was in 5th grade and still read about it now, 40yrs later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway

Similar for the Hudson tunnel which is supposed to allow commuter trains to function w/o the current madness...

[amadeuspagel]

When I visited London for the first time (from germany) I was impressed by how you can pay for the tube by swiping your credit card at the entry and exit. It's not just a great experience for the rider, but it also gives the transit agency the resources and the incentive to improve. A new line is not a question of politics, it's just profitable.

[philipallstar]

The Elizabeth Line was unbelievably expensive to build; that's how the UK did it.

[TuringNYC]

>> The Elizabeth Line was unbelievably expensive to build; that's how the UK did it.

Fair. But what is also expensive is every single citizen taking $100 Uber rides to the airport, like in NYC. In NJ, the transit service has become so volatile and sporadic and opaque that people have reduced NJTransit use for Newark airport in favor of simply driving.

[flurdy]

But it is also really good. I love the completely enclosed platforms, ie shielded from the track and train by a glass wall/doors, like the Jubilee line, but all the way to the ceiling. This makes it both safe and very quiet.

Though the platforms are huge, as the trains are long, you have to really make a conscious decision on which exit to use as they come up very far from each other. Unlike other tube stations, where if you don't pick the most optimal exit, you just have to cross the road.

[chpatrick]

It's a massive investment in the areas near its stations.

[techterrier]

having done a lot of work on it in a previous career, I can confirm that it was born out or no shortage of blood, sweat and signalling snafus.

[interludead]

And for a city that wants to be a global startup hub, that kind of frictionless mobility matters way more than people realize

[direwolf20]

Many European cities have this. London has the biggest, though. And Asian cities. Paris has a metro, Berlin has a metro, Tokyo has a metro, many cities in China but that information is a bit less accessible.

China built an entire national high speed rail network while America was waiting to see if the Hyperloop was anything.