Is London Tube Too Fast?

A mathematical study on transport in London suggests that British capital should be wary of its trains traveling quickly.

19:16 25 September 2015

A mathematical study published in the journal Royal Society found that slowing down Tube journeys can benefit the London’s transport system. It suggested the maximum speed of approximately 13mph, lower than the current average of 21mph.

 

The model predicts that if tube journeys are too fast, relative to going by road, an increase in the overall condition is imminent as key locations outside the city centre, where people switch transport modes, will become bottlenecks.

 

Dr Marc Barthelemy, the paper's senior author, said: “The fact is that these networks are coupled to each other. Optimising something on one network can bring bad things on another network."

 

"In London there's a clear increase in the number of modes with distance," he explained. "It's a very clear effect."

 

However, Prof Michael Batty, a planning expert at University College London, pointed out: "It really is just a network model. There are no capacities on the network - it's not really a flow model, like the ones that Transport for London actually use."

 

"If you join networks together, then you get unanticipated effects," he said.

"I think the point they're making is well worth considering."