4 ms·

Why is this top of HN? These trains, even modernised, are years behind other underground systems like Hong Kong... And this won't even be out for years. It's n

by swombat 12y ago

Why is this top of HN? These trains, even modernised, are years behind other underground systems like Hong Kong... And this won't even be out for years. It's nice news for London commuters, but hardly "Hacker News". Flagged.

jpatokal 12y ago
Because they're modernizing a system that started operating 151 years ago? The Hong Kong MTR, by contrast, dates to the misty antiquity of 1979.
- tonyhb 12y ago
  And the Hong Kong MTR was designed by the same architect that worked on some of London's line extensions. They had a huge amount of experience and learnt lessons to pull from over the hundred years London's underground had been running.
  - NickPollard 12y ago
    Also, I don't know what Hong Kong is like, but London has been a major city for about 2000 years, and under the surface contains not only rail lines, but sewers, tunnels, underground rivers, burial pits, bunkers, luxury belgravia basements, and the detritus of two millennia of occupation. Trying to dig anything under London now is a huge effort because of all this. This is very much a 'move slow and try not to break anything' environment.
    - gsnedders 12y ago
      Case in point: the Crossrail tunnel through Tottenham Court Road has about 85cm clearance both above and below it, and had to be constructed with the Underground tunnels around it still in active service. Building new lines through relatively soft clay is really hard when you have hundreds of notable historical buildings that you cannot afford to have any subsidence (like, millimetres is enough to cause really damage), and then when you don't really even though where half the other underground pipes are exactly (many of them are hundreds of years old, and some we simply don't know exist)… It's a real challenge.
- swombat 12y ago
  Cars started 100 years ago. Are we going to announce every new Ford model? This is just a new train design similar to the trains they already have in place on the Victoria and Jubilee lines and others. The only reason this article got to the top is because of some misplaced enthusiasm by miserable British commuters. I can understand and even relate to that as a former London commuter myself, but it has no place on HN.
harel 12y ago
Because people voted it up high enough to reach the top. HN 'customers' voted this up, therefore its HN worthy...

by swombat 12y ago

jpatokal 12y ago

Because they're modernizing a system that started operating 151 years ago? The Hong Kong MTR, by contrast, dates to the misty antiquity of 1979.

tonyhb 12y ago
And the Hong Kong MTR was designed by the same architect that worked on some of London's line extensions. They had a huge amount of experience and learnt lessons to pull from over the hundred years London's underground had been running.
- NickPollard 12y ago
  Also, I don't know what Hong Kong is like, but London has been a major city for about 2000 years, and under the surface contains not only rail lines, but sewers, tunnels, underground rivers, burial pits, bunkers, luxury belgravia basements, and the detritus of two millennia of occupation. Trying to dig anything under London now is a huge effort because of all this. This is very much a 'move slow and try not to break anything' environment.
  - gsnedders 12y ago
    Case in point: the Crossrail tunnel through Tottenham Court Road has about 85cm clearance both above and below it, and had to be constructed with the Underground tunnels around it still in active service. Building new lines through relatively soft clay is really hard when you have hundreds of notable historical buildings that you cannot afford to have any subsidence (like, millimetres is enough to cause really damage), and then when you don't really even though where half the other underground pipes are exactly (many of them are hundreds of years old, and some we simply don't know exist)… It's a real challenge.
swombat 12y ago
Cars started 100 years ago. Are we going to announce every new Ford model? This is just a new train design similar to the trains they already have in place on the Victoria and Jubilee lines and others. The only reason this article got to the top is because of some misplaced enthusiasm by miserable British commuters. I can understand and even relate to that as a former London commuter myself, but it has no place on HN.

harel 12y ago

Because people voted it up high enough to reach the top. HN 'customers' voted this up, therefore its HN worthy...