Hetlana
Member
- Joined
- 19 Dec 2014
- Messages
- 50
Sure, we have Crossrail and the DLR, but the fact is that we haven’t built an actual new underground line since 1979.
Now, you might say that ‘oh, we’re a developed country, we’ve done all that, but the fact is that London’s population is rapidly rising and there are still corridors and areas that are unserved.
Paris built its latest metro line in 1998, and the world has built so many new metro systems since then, so why can’t we in London build a new underground line - not a light rail, not a tram but an actual line.
You may ask about money, but the way they do it in Hong Kong is that they hand over brownfield and undeveloped land to the equivalent of TFL, which builds its own shopping malls and high rise apartments to rent, and gives it a massive amount of income which it can spend on improvements to the network.
Instead of handing over our brownfield ‘opportunity areas’ to private developers to sell to outside investors, we should have, and should be, having TFL develop the lot for prifitable rent to, for example, the squeezed middle who can’t afford to buy but can’t get into council houses either.
And as in Hong Kong, this would encourage TFL to build sleek new lines between these centres.
And guess what? Hong Kong does not have to have its internal projects be subsidized by the rest of China, like the rest of the UK is paying for Crossrail.
Now, you might say that ‘oh, we’re a developed country, we’ve done all that, but the fact is that London’s population is rapidly rising and there are still corridors and areas that are unserved.
Paris built its latest metro line in 1998, and the world has built so many new metro systems since then, so why can’t we in London build a new underground line - not a light rail, not a tram but an actual line.
You may ask about money, but the way they do it in Hong Kong is that they hand over brownfield and undeveloped land to the equivalent of TFL, which builds its own shopping malls and high rise apartments to rent, and gives it a massive amount of income which it can spend on improvements to the network.
Instead of handing over our brownfield ‘opportunity areas’ to private developers to sell to outside investors, we should have, and should be, having TFL develop the lot for prifitable rent to, for example, the squeezed middle who can’t afford to buy but can’t get into council houses either.
And as in Hong Kong, this would encourage TFL to build sleek new lines between these centres.
And guess what? Hong Kong does not have to have its internal projects be subsidized by the rest of China, like the rest of the UK is paying for Crossrail.