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Crossrail can be as good as Delhi Metro, says Ken
Ross Lydall, City Hall Editor20 Nov 2007
Londoners should travel to Delhi if they want a preview of what Crossrail will be like, Ken Livingstone said.
The Mayor believes the Indian capital's modern underground system is the perfect model for the £16 billion high-speed line that is due to open in 2017.
Mr Livingstone and transport commissioner Peter Hendy were impressed when they toured the Delhi Metro this morning as part of their week-long visit to India.
The system, which carries 600,000 passengers a day - compared with four million on the Tube - boasts air-conditioned trains, spacious stations, smart-card ticketing, security scanners, armed guards, CCTV cameras, 100 per cent punctuality and some of the cheapest fares in the world.
Banks of TV screens on station platforms continually show a one-minute security video containing footage of the 7 July and 11 September terror attacks and the Madrid train bombings.
Fares range from six to 22 rupees, around 7p to 27p, with trains every four minutes at peak times.
Mr Livingstone said: "This is exactly the model we would want for Crossrail - much bigger, wider trains running on really smooth surfaces. This is what we will see in London when we open Crossrail in 10 years. It's just so much more comfortable."
He contrasted the speed of construction of the Delhi Metro with the 30 years it had taken to convince government of the need for Crossrail, which will link Heathrow with the City, Canary Wharf and beyond.
However he said it was unlikely such tight security could ever be introduced in London. "This is in a society where most people don't have mobile phones, where most people are not carrying a bag or a backpack," he said.
Delhi's first stations opened in December 2002 and a major expansion will be completed in time for the arrival of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Mr Hendy denied it was embarrassing that experts from London had to travel to a Third World country to see a 21st-century public transport system in operation.
He said: "One of the lessons is that when we are building a modern system we should build it for growth. The Victoria line was built very cheaply. If we look at the Victoria line stations, they're already full of people.
"Look at the spaciousness of this. They have four-coach trains. It's built for a doubling to eight. Crossrail will be built not only to carry the load we expect it to have in 2017 but actually for future expansion."
To read Ross Lydall's blog about the Mayor's tour of India, click here
Reader views (6)
@ Squiz, Islington. The Delhi Metro in India WAS carrying 600,000 with only 65km of line network. London Tube has 400km network, so obviously the number of commuters are much more. But with the Delhi Metro now expanding to 380km, it will easily beat the number of London Tube commuters, simply because it is far better, cheaper and the people in Delhi have less alternative choices.
- Haris, Phoenix, 23/02/2010 21:47
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Mr Shah - if India is such a 'global powerhouse' who come it can't feed or cloth all it's people, why is Britain full of Indians and not the other way round, and why does this tube only carry 600,000 passengers a day whereas our tube carries 4 million ?
- Squiz, Islington, 23/11/2007 13:43
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India is doing better than Britain in a lot of areas. It is now a global powerhouse.
I would like to see how Britain would cope with a billion people to accommodate.
- T Shah, Aberdeen, 21/11/2007 10:33
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I'm all for adopting the Delhi model, especially if the fares are the same and punctuality is guaranteed 100%. Somehow, I'm not holding ny breath.
- Paul, London, 21/11/2007 02:52
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I can just see them bringing in Crossrail with fares at this level. More like £7 to £27.
- Adam, Harrow, Uk, 21/11/2007 00:02
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Most of our transport system already looks like the developing world on a good day! Glad to see Red Ken admitting that.
- Mark, London, UK, 20/11/2007 23:39
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