@@davidwright873 Utility asset records and ground radar surveys, plus clever navigation protocols on the TBM. If it’s historical value you’re concerned about the archeological team has that covered.
Over budget and longer than expected is all relative. As long as there is sufficient reasoning for the delays and it wasnt due to corruption then nobody should look down on it. This is a great achievement in public infrastructure and will surely boost the quality of life for millions of people.
Most of the extra costs can be put down to government dithering for over a decade. Remember Wembley Stadium? They talked and talked for ten years! and expected it to be done in two!!!
What I appreciate the most is a CEO acknowledging their over budget and overdue, and don’t blame everyone else. He has probably been in a few hairy meetings these last years.
Normally, I would agree with you, but right now I'm not feeling it. Rail is particularly vulnerable to vandalism and terrorism. And the UK seems perfectly happy to let terrorism exist within its borders; especially "free range" terrorism.
The reality is that crossrail is good and is needed and is almost finished! Someone in the project probably knew it will cost nearly this much from the beginning (pandemic aside). But it would probably never go ahead like this if they estimated this cost upfront and said it will be 2022. Politics means that to get things going you have to low ball and say sorry later. Crossrail is good for everyone in the long term.
Plenty in the project will have known. But large projects like these are usually headed up by useless, self-absorbed tossers who are too weak to handle bad news. They only want clapping seals and party poppers.
Well, my city Ottawa spent over a decade arguing about a small mostly above ground light rail system, then spent 6 years rather than a planned 5 building it, resulting in 13 mostly above ground and essentially not weather proofed stations at a cost of over 2 billion. And that despite repurposing a lot of old rail line, and not having too much tunneling. And it broke down quite a bit both in its first year and its most recent. So while I recognize the flaws you highlight, in this line London looks to be getting far more value for money as a result of overcoming a vastly more difficult engineering challenge.
Its much easier to sell the re-use of existing and disused infrastructure. The costs of tying together all the loose ends are conveniently ignored. Util the ** hits the fam and the end result is worse than useless. NASA's white elephant SLS rocket is another example. It re-uses shuttle technology (yay) but each launch, if it ever happens, will cost $1 Billion. Meanwhile Elon starts a greenfield company and has regular flights of reusable rockets operating at a tiny fraction of anything that NASA can do.
A senior rail manager explained it to me like this. If I want a 10 metre escalator. I can phone 3 companies who will quote me a firm price and completion date guarantees. If I want a 30 Metre escalator, I have no companies so have to put it to tender. Those 3 escalator companies would rather install 100 10 metre units compared with one 30. Forget guaranteed completion dates Then you multiply this through the project.
I have heard that bridge construction companies operate under the same principle. Bridges longer than several hundred meters are concidered megaprojects and contractors either avoid those or make the government guarantee the continued support through delays, over budgeted costs and any other unforseen problems.
I am a civil engineer and have worked on manyLONDON UNDERGROUND projects. You cannot begin to imagine the difficulties involved with running such a vast network. Several friends of mine are involved in this, and the difficulties really are never ending.
Very interesting thank you for sharing! Plonking this in my miscellaneous knowledge bank very happily. It could come in useful in future. Really helpful. Good day to you sir!
As an ordinary person who spent 6-years traveling on the tubes & buses of London back in the 70s, I think Cross Rail is amazing! Yes, it's cost a stack more than they thought (they really should have doubled the projected costs!) & it's over-run, but considering all the unforeseen dramas the last few years & the enormous engineering challenges, (do watch the documentary from a few years ago of how the tunnels are bored and how ludicrously difficult were the logistics of fitting a full size train tunnel under the streets of London between all the existing infrastructure) and I honestly think it is an awesome achievement & I can't wait to see it operational. Just hope it will be a huge success.
You've got to remember than companies bid on these projects and the lowest bidder wins in almost all cases. Despite how scary that sounds. Going 'over budget' just means they're making it fit to specifications rather than just working luckily for us.
@@ip5799 Yeah, most of the 'wildlife' in the megacity of london and the famous wildlife 100m underground. Its hardly a problem even for the overground sections, maybe 40 miles of brownfield land.
@@ip5799 What are you talking about? It's a giant underground tunnel. They've created Europe's biggest wetland nature reserve with the spoil at Wallasea island. I think you might be a little confused pal.
love the closing statement about the value of infrastructure over the long time. That is often forgotten, that they are investments in the future and in the end that is all that matters
You're so right. Many here in Denver complained about cost overruns and problems with the building of Denver International Airport in the mid 90's. Today, it's one of the world's busiest airports. It was an excellent investment.
Let's not forget the overruns and delays we had with the Sydney Opera House. An overrun that eventually got the building and our beautiful harbour World Heritage status, not to mention tons of local and tourist dollars.
Like No nothing whatsoever in towns & cities in the North? I live in a city which was decimated by Thatcher nearly 40 years ago. Not for financial reasons for pure hatred of Northern Union men. We were the biggest ship building town in Europe & have built ships for over 600 years. We had just secured orders for 32 Roro ferries her own minister tasked with closing these profitable yards begged her to keep them open. She refused a management buy out. She then proceeded to sign a deal with the EU that made it illegal for Sunderland to build a ship for the next 25 years. Mwaming the loss of all tradesman all skills & the yards going to rot. No reason but pure hatred given for the crime. Now you know why Sunderland was the 1st result in to leave the EU, nothing to do with racism or being thick as was directed our way. Now think of the amount of steel from steel works & suppliers. Then a couple of years later shes left a stain that still today or today its worse than its been socially. She shit all the coal mines down. Now imagine this Sunderland & the surrounding area had a population of over 1 million people. Sunderland was basically mainly a group of Pit villages that boundaries over lapped through population growth. So now wr has a situation of the 2nd biggest mass employer being closed. By the way Sunderland football stadium is built on top of the most profitable super pit in the UK. Was I should say the most profitable. Now you'd think your own gov after committing crimes against humanity over 40 years ago would think. Maybe they deserve a little bit of cash for regeneration. Nope haven't even got a motorway here. Haven't even got signs for the area on the nearest motorway. Not even Signs can you imagine that
@@DavyRo spiteful old bag she was, but only taking orders. If the last 2 years is anything to go by, our leaders are pretenders, and all their descisions are made elsewhere.
@@DavyRo The lack of investment in the north is a joke. I say that as Londoner. There has to be significant investment in infrastructure both within the northern and midland cities, plus investment in the linking together of these cities. Not sure when it will happen though.
Great video again!! A suggestion for a video is Montenegro's massive failed highway project (that nobody makes videos about). Just if you're looking for topics
What a beautiful nation though. Just don't risk a train journey in this region (I live Serbia) deathtrap tracks, no ballast, pins missing or loose, sleepers rotten
Interesting to note that while insurance/investment/financial companies are SAYING that they're back full time, I know a lot of people in that industry are still working from home near full-time. It's almost as if there's a vested interest in the property value so they're leading the hype.
No one is going back to offices. You don’t need to waste money and time commuting into a smog filled city to do your work. That was already known pre-pandemic and it’s only geriatric dinosaurs who argue otherwise.
Honestly had no idea Bond Street was causing so many problems / has had to deal with so much! Really nice video and overview of both Crossrail and its link with HS2. Would love to hear more about this project, but I know there are so many other places you want to cover 😅
Hs2 is a fascinating adventure into how political interference and mismanagement can ruin a good idea. The media around the project is also a dumpster fire.
Elizabeth line is amazing! It's really important that we provide high quality underground transport for our wealthy ruling elite in London while people outside London (like me) walk or take the bus and are rightfully excluded!
@@engineeringvision9507 take it up with your council. vote for local MPs who will deliver the budget required to your area. i dont live in england anymore and yes i was a londoner but i took the LNER to york recently (right before pandemic) and i saw perfectly good infrastructure there even though its nowhere near london.
Currently working on the melbourne metro project. 29 kilometres of much needed underground railway! major projects are not easy…. One of my favourite YT channels 👍
I recall reading somewhere that they run into new archeological finds all the time which halts the works for months each time. Fascinating, but very unfortunate for any new building projects.
B1M, well done again. Good to see, that your channel has got "important enough" to get you access to projects more directly than ever before in the recent months. This might not have been possible on "classic media" like TV before for a kind-of special topic like this. You are really doing a great job and you are bringing your expertise and passion for construction to the world. Go on like this, please!
This channel is criminally underrated, the research and effort that goes into each and every video are greatly appreciated. My favourite infrastructure channel.
I watched the multi part docuseries on the building of the CrossRail project, and it’s a honkin’ miracle they could thread a whole new tube line right thru/above/below the hundred year old underground infrastructure of Central London, while preserving some of the most fragile and historic surface architecture in the city. The delays and overruns are LESS than on any comparable American projects like the Big Dig in Boston, and CrossRail is FAR more complex and transformative for the future of London. If the geological conditions are bad, they’re bad. That’s no one’s fault, and NO you can’t always tell from deep core samples and remote sensing methods what you’ll find until you actually dig that deep. Brits should be incredibly proud to have completed 99% of the project by now. This is no time to rush thru a stopgap solution for Bond Street just because the tabloids are yapping about engineering issues they don’t understand.
"we've built tube lines before" is such a weird take. When we built tube lines before, we mass demolished houses to make cut and cover tunnels, we had hundreds of workers become mysteriously ill and didn't bat an eye, and the most recent project, the Jubilee line extension, ran over budget and over time. There were liberties taken in the past that would be unconscionable today, and it's hardly unprecedented for a modern construction project to go over budget. It's honestly a miracle that the northern line extension went as well as it did.
There’s also the fact that the Elizabeth line has to be squeezed into an already tight underground space, especially in the central core where most of the stations are interchange with existing, old, deep level tube lines. Yes the technology is better, but the risks are greater, too! Still, fair play to them for getting it done.
I'd rather have cost overruns and delays (Though if those are bad enough, then we need to have a good look at the reasons.) than workplace deaths and injuries myself.
On a project of this scale a cost overun of this size sounds horrible but given the time line, the complexity and the unknowns/unforseen (hard to know everything about the ground you are boring in and COVID) the cost over run is not totally unreasonable. Well done in a great city! Mike 🇨🇦 🍁 👍
Lego, I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by hundreds of workers mysteriously becoming ill ... is that a common thing for people working Underground ?
Something with taxes, which you most likely also are unfamiliar with, or will hate even more than public transport. - though there is high possibility of daily close contact with nice women. If that counts as a benefit ...
All projects go over budget. It's an extremely impressive achievement; we constantly complain we can't build anything in the West anymore but I think a project like this is a testament to if there is a will to do things we can still do truly amazing things. Can't wait to ride on it next time I'm in London!
I don't comment here often, if ever at all, but I have to say I look forward to seeing what wonder is happening in the world when I see one of your videos in my queue. Your presentation is packed full of relevant information and great editing (so... its not boring). Keep up the good work... I will continue to watch.
Am I the only person here who has the biggest crush on earth on Fred? Every time he is on the video I can't pay attention in anything else but him. Also his voice... omg omg omg...
Another great B1M. What fascinates me about crossrail and other complex rail projects is the amount of effort - and time - that goes into testing, to ensure it all hangs together on day one. The scale and complexity of system testing is incredible. Would love to see a video on that.
I can only praise everyone involved in this project - from inception to finish. the way walkway inside the tunnel were provided and the way archaeology was preserved - I have no calms for delay and cost revision
Yes, we want to see more of YOU, Fred. Loved the cheeky insert of the billboard at 7:08. 😉 And another terrific video from the definitive video channel for construction 🚧 🏗
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Amazing channel, amazing analysis and Fred looks reassuringly exactly how his voice sounds. Solid and dependable. Thanks to the whole team for a brill vid
I love that the couple's masks at 0:36 are identically patterned to the seat fabric of the train. Looks like they're wearing volunteer or press badges, so probably deliberate, but threw me for a loop for a moment! Great video as always!
I like the crossrail CEO bloke, no excuses, contextualised with facts and broke down the failings and pitfalls of a project mirred in the expected city goss and gore, props my man
Mark Wild is a man of integrity and honesty. That comes across. What a project to lead. The construction and engineering involved and the minor matter of politics at all levels, is an enormous bucket of items to control. Also, sincerely, well done to all the teams involved.
I´d like to add.... yep delayed, overrun, over budget but it is a legacy project and importantly it´s been built safely. When you consider construction related deaths in Qatar in preparation for the Football World Cup, this is something to be proud of.
Well said! It has had its problems but was always an ambitious project, so it's not surprising. I agree that it really is something to be proud of and, when it does open, people will appreciate the attention to detail shown by the team, esp since Mark Wild got involved. Crossrail two will be a big beneficiary in my view.
No I disagree! The Elizabeth Line is much more major of a project. it will change lives for everyone living near it. Everyone takes good public transport for granted including Londoners. The Stadium constructions won't affect people in the long term just the short term
@@_5_675 the plan with Liverpool was always to connect HS2 to Northern Power House HS3. Not that, that will probably happen now. Regarding Newcastle it just isn't needed the lines are getting upgraded and connected instead the lines aren't near to capacity and its much more efficient upgrading there
@@dalecn2417 no, a potential link to so-called hs3 was never part of the plan as hs3 didn't even exist on paper when hs2 was announced. The plan was to swerve away to exclude the second largest conurbation in the North, and build 3 hs2 stations in Greater Manchester despite an insufficient local demand base. Where was the then Chancellor the MP for I wonder?
@@cjeam9199 no, west coast mainline serves Manchester and Liverpool perfectly well, it goes up the middle between them, there was no need to swerve the line away from the Labour voters by the coast. Newcastle would benefit from improved speeds to Leeds and Edinburgh, you are off a bit if you imagine hs2 westerly leg was capable of serving it.
I am SO impressed with how the UK and city of London made this project happen, fixed potential fire hazards, etc. The site looks so clean and organized ... kudos to all of that. We have the California high speed rail - initially set at $10B, now projected to be $100B++ ... unfortunately for me, I will likely be dead before it is completed. That's ok, my next holiday is UK based so ready to ride Elizabeth line!!
We will be glad to see you David! Want a driver eye view? Watch on you tube:- "Elizabeth Line(Crossrail) Abbey Wood to Westbourne Park" Drivers eye view. You note that each station has a glass wall at the platform edge (passenger safety) This has sliding glass panels that open directly opposite the trains doors, which open together dead in line!
@@johnchristmas7522 Agreed. It's not a capability thing. I doubt these doors are difficult to implement. It's the willingness to accept the need and spend the money.
It's incredible how the host and the CEO bent over backwards to avoid saying "the delays were caused measures we were forced to take to keep the rich residents of Mayfair happy." Despite that, great video! Subscribed.
@@cjeam9199 I guess I just have a really hard time believing that a massive public works project would be restricted to using two 9-meter holes in a less prosperous part of the city/country. It reeks of financial influence.
A senior rail manager explained it to me like this. If I want a 10 metre escalator. I can phone 3 companies who will quote me a firm price and completion date guarantees. If I want a 30 Metre escalator, I have no companies so have to put it to tender. Those 3 escalator companies would rather install 100 10 metre units compared with one 30. Forget guaranteed completion dates Then you multiply this through the project.
A construction project that does run on time and on budget may be the swansong episode for the B1M, but seriously even through I no longer work in construction this channel rocks.
I love new infrastructure projects and I'm glad that Crossrail has been built and I can't wait to ride it. There's been too much stagnation in developing new infrastructure in London and the UK generally imo. I also hope that the Crossrail 2 project gets the green light very soon.
One of the key takeaways from this video is the future value that will be felt for generations to come. Often, this is overlooked (or rather, overshadowed) when attempting to "balance the books", in particular for publicly funded projects. Nice job B1M on highlighting this. Cheers.
Nice to see my workplace in a video. As Fred says, we’re about three months behind, but considering the state of the site when we took over from Skanska, I think Crossrail has done well. If Crossrail 2 ever happens, there’s a huge amount to be learned from this one.
I love this channel, such great content. I actually visited the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station in 2018 and saw the fantastic works being undertaken at that station. Mind boggling engineering. When I also worked for TfL I had interaction with the Bond Street crossrail project office on a weekly basis. Really challenging engineering with such minute tolerances between new and running tunnels. The public will only get an inkling about the level of complexity via channels such as the B1M and the odd tv programme. Great work Cross Rail
I've worked as an electrician on Canary Wharf and Crossrail a few years ago, as in 6:34, was on the LV Switchgear. All the LV panels had to be modified as when they were installed in 2010, by 2017 although the station hadn't opened, new policies came out and had to replace over 100 switches, install metering to literally all the outgoing ways and other wiring.
Great to see you in person for this video!! I've loved seeing this channel grow in scope, and can't wait to see more of these "TV Quality" videos with you hosting! Cheers!
Years ago I moved to abbey wood 2 weeks after its crossrail station opened. Over the years since i seen buildings fall an rise. Its a nice place to move to, even before the makeover!
Roughly 4 to 5 years ago, my family and I visited London. It was a great 👍 experience and we used the subway to a limited extent. It was an adjustment, but not bad. I can only imagine after seeing 👀 this video how vast it is now. Seeing progress in a place that you have visited is always interesting 😊. Go B1M
A slick production that explained some of the many serious issues the project faced. After all the money, time, and effort, one can only hope it will earn some success. However, I doubt that I shall ever sully its polished floors. It would be more painful and costly to visit. Since retiring 20 years ago, I no longer have any need or desire to traipse through London ever again.
I recently visited London and can’t be more happy to have the Elizabeth line. It is just so convenient - linking the major hotspots with frequent service. Saved me a lot of time travelling between west and east London.
Massive respect for Mark Wild. Just watch his Update videos. No bulls***, no spin, no blame deflected, no OTT self-congratulatory comments; he just gives us the facts and proper explanations to B1M's questions.
Excellent video as usual B1M... since you cover projects around the world, can you make a video on the East West Metro in Kolkata? This is a heavily delayed project which after completion, will run below the Ganges river, first time something like this is done in India. Besides delays, this also had an issue where the machines punched through an aquifer causing the ground above to subside destroying many houses and delaying the project by more than 2 years.. but thankfully, now it seems that this will finally open in a couple of years.
Awesome video! I lived in Grosvenor Sq right there in Mayfair and was always using the Bond St station when I worked at the American embassy when it was located there
Great video. I've been catching up on the whole project recently - it really is an amazing thing. Even though I may never get to use it , I'm so glad they never gave up on it and pushed through regardless. The quality is impressive.
THis video is a year old now, have only just caught up with it. I adore the whole project, having worked inside the TFL estate as an outsourced IT engineer for the last 8 years of my career, I found it to be like a Rolls Royce in the scale of work. I absolutely loved every minute of it, and this brings back happy memories, having attended the HQ of the works organisers several times. I feel so proud of having done so, I met so many fantastic people on the way. God Bless you lot :)
"This post pandemic era" (6'15"). That says a lot about the politics that Mark Wild follows. He said that at a time when the pandemic was not over; cases and deaths were still raging throughout the UK.
Crossrail was originally intended as a east-west relief to the Metropolitan and Central Lines. It could have given most of the value at a fraction of the cost if it had been built as a tube, and it would probably have been finished five years ago. Tubes with fourth rail electrification need a much smaller hole than for full size trains with overhead wires.
@@86wellacre Yes, but it has been very costly in terms of bangs-per-buck. It will also be a less reliable service than a self-contaIned tube could have provided - it will be vulnerable to delays on two main lines.
Crossrail has a passenger capacity that is IMMENSELY higher than what a tube line has. You could have built it as a tube, if you were okay with only getting a third of the passenger capacity. Furthermore, the wider tunnel of the Crossrail line provides much greater safety in case an evacuation is needed, since passengers can leave through the side doors. In a tube train, all passengers must leave through one of the driver cabs, which means that the train cannot be evacuated quickly.
@@wasmic5z One-third of the capacity? How do you work that out? The Jubilee Line operates 30 trains per hour. Operating on the main line leads a less reliable service. We have seen this for decades on Thameslink. A disruption at Luton leads to disruptions at Preston Park a couple of hours later, and vice versa. It is the well known effect of joining separate networks together: disruption is propagated from one network to the other. The most reliable routes are simple end-to-end lines such as the Victoria Line. A mostly underground line inside London will not be prone to the vagaries of the weather. Overhead electrification adds another source of unreliability. If you look through the list of accidents on the tube, there appears to be not a single fatality due to the inability to evacuate trains through the side doors. The majority of fatal accidents on London Underground have occurred in the open air sections. The worst accident involving a tube train undergound appears to have been the high speed collision at Moorgate in 1975. Being able to evacuate through side doors would not have prevented any fatalities in that case. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_London_Underground_accidents
great update - covers all the salient points succintly. would love to see the opposite end of the spectrum - projects that are abandoned/failed/white elephants from all over the world.
I'm sorry but coming from the city that has taken 90+ years to build 1 line, and is happy with completing 1/3 of it. This is not bad. Lol good job London
Fantastic! I really enjoy the development of the channel more to a public-media-documentary-style. Keep it up! Also I would like to mention the finishing of the U5 in Berlin that took place last year. A few years ago I was part of the planning team for the underground stations :) Three new stations and a few kilometers of digging below the river Spree took about 10 years.
A few billion extra on an infrastructure project in such a busy place isn't anything to worry about. When it's fully operational those overruns will be payed back in a matter of months, and it'll keep doing that for a hundred years. Infrastructure plans that are reasonably planned out and qualitatively well made have a habit of paying themselves off a lot sooner than their huge up front costs imply.
My family visited from Sacramento, Ca and stayed in Hayes May 25th 2022 for 3 days ahead of a cruise from Southampton and absolutely loved the new Elizabeth Line. I wish the US had such great ways to travel in our large cities, we are too in love with automobiles. Not our first trip to the UK but certainly the best. Londoners should feel proud that they have the best inter-city travel choices of anywhere in the world, IMHO.
Did anyone else notice the poster at 7:09? Nice touch B1M!
youre right!
Boooooommm!
🤔 Gee, do you all think that was just a coincidence? 😆
Yeah !
Oh waw
Fred is a cut above normal TH-cam personalities…. Makes you think and care about things you would otherwise take for granted.
Also v fit! 🔥
@@rioter007 Bringing big guns to a construction channel
True, but have you ever heard about Tom Scott?
Speaking of which, I think he got a haircut
The amount of access and the quality of production makes this channel is simply clean and professional
It’s all stock footage and renders, other channels actually go to places
how do they know that they are not boring thru anything important?
China could've have built this in 5 years the British are so slow
@@davidwright873 Utility asset records and ground radar surveys, plus clever navigation protocols on the TBM.
If it’s historical value you’re concerned about the archeological team has that covered.
@@danwiddon3854 I was thinking mostly utilities...or water i gues..But Im guessing it's pretty damn deep before the go horizontal huh?
Over budget and longer than expected is all relative. As long as there is sufficient reasoning for the delays and it wasnt due to corruption then nobody should look down on it. This is a great achievement in public infrastructure and will surely boost the quality of life for millions of people.
Most of the extra costs can be put down to government dithering for over a decade. Remember Wembley Stadium? They talked and talked for ten years! and expected it to be done in two!!!
Once it is up and running, people won't even know what they've got.
They will just complain when a train is 3 minutes late.
Well said.
Transportation projects are (almost) always a good investment. Not just my opinion, history has shown us.
What I appreciate the most is a CEO acknowledging their over budget and overdue, and don’t blame everyone else. He has probably been in a few hairy meetings these last years.
Ah he put that down to (rightly or wrongly, perhaps with justification) before his tenure at Crossrail, so he was talking about someone else.
Why should he be worried he’s still getting paid his huge salary for doing fuck all
he doesn't take any responsibility at all
Why does the CEO's home like a cheap rental flat for a college student? I thought he'd be living in a palace given the salary he earns.
@@dennisd9914 well London has high property value ig
The production value of these videos are pretty nice. More videos about trains please. :)
Normally, I would agree with you, but right now I'm not feeling it. Rail is particularly vulnerable to vandalism and terrorism. And the UK seems perfectly happy to let terrorism exist within its borders; especially "free range" terrorism.
It’s a video producing company. Come on. It’s not 2 guys with an iPhone. It’s a content farm.
“pretty nice” more like incredible and AndyRob get a grip of yourself
Agree, same from me
@@justaskin8523 The only way to overcome adversaries is to move forward without them
The reality is that crossrail is good and is needed and is almost finished! Someone in the project probably knew it will cost nearly this much from the beginning (pandemic aside). But it would probably never go ahead like this if they estimated this cost upfront and said it will be 2022. Politics means that to get things going you have to low ball and say sorry later. Crossrail is good for everyone in the long term.
Savvy comment. 👍
Good for people in London …….not the rest of the UK (HS2 cancelled past Birmingham)
@@triumphman Thought Phase 2 was still a go for the stretch from Birmingham to Manchester? Granted schedules have been pushed back a bit...
Plenty in the project will have known. But large projects like these are usually headed up by useless, self-absorbed tossers who are too weak to handle bad news. They only want clapping seals and party poppers.
@@triumphman I'd never go to Birmingham
Well, my city Ottawa spent over a decade arguing about a small mostly above ground light rail system, then spent 6 years rather than a planned 5 building it, resulting in 13 mostly above ground and essentially not weather proofed stations at a cost of over 2 billion. And that despite repurposing a lot of old rail line, and not having too much tunneling. And it broke down quite a bit both in its first year and its most recent. So while I recognize the flaws you highlight, in this line London looks to be getting far more value for money as a result of overcoming a vastly more difficult engineering challenge.
Well said.
I agree. I also live in Ottawa and very embarrassed by our amateur councillors and incomplete contractors
This is a common situation in small cities which are not experienced in larger infrastructure builds compounded by hiring the wrong companies.
Its much easier to sell the re-use of existing and disused infrastructure. The costs of tying together all the loose ends are conveniently ignored. Util the ** hits the fam and the end result is worse than useless. NASA's white elephant SLS rocket is another example. It re-uses shuttle technology (yay) but each launch, if it ever happens, will cost $1 Billion. Meanwhile Elon starts a greenfield company and has regular flights of reusable rockets operating at a tiny fraction of anything that NASA can do.
A senior rail manager explained it to me like this. If I want a 10 metre escalator. I can phone 3 companies who will quote me a firm price and completion date guarantees.
If I want a 30 Metre escalator, I have no companies so have to put it to tender. Those 3 escalator companies would rather install 100 10 metre units compared with one 30.
Forget guaranteed completion dates
Then you multiply this through the project.
I have heard that bridge construction companies operate under the same principle. Bridges longer than several hundred meters are concidered megaprojects and contractors either avoid those or make the government guarantee the continued support through delays, over budgeted costs and any other unforseen problems.
@@oditeomnes Absolutely with almost any stressed structure.
Over a certain point you are pretty much faced with the square law on cost.
I am a civil engineer and have worked on manyLONDON UNDERGROUND projects.
You cannot begin to imagine the difficulties involved with running such a vast network.
Several friends of mine are involved in this, and the difficulties really are never ending.
@@stevefowler3398 Even the primitive projects. Circle line, estimate the bricks ouch!
Very interesting thank you for sharing! Plonking this in my miscellaneous knowledge bank very happily. It could come in useful in future. Really helpful. Good day to you sir!
As an ordinary person who spent 6-years traveling on the tubes & buses of London back in the 70s, I think Cross Rail is amazing! Yes, it's cost a stack more than they thought (they really should have doubled the projected costs!) & it's over-run, but considering all the unforeseen dramas the last few years & the enormous engineering challenges, (do watch the documentary from a few years ago of how the tunnels are bored and how ludicrously difficult were the logistics of fitting a full size train tunnel under the streets of London between all the existing infrastructure) and I honestly think it is an awesome achievement & I can't wait to see it operational. Just hope it will be a huge success.
it’s a completely waste of money. also destroyed an astounding amount of irreplaceable wildlife
You've got to remember than companies bid on these projects and the lowest bidder wins in almost all cases. Despite how scary that sounds.
Going 'over budget' just means they're making it fit to specifications rather than just working luckily for us.
@@ip5799 Yeah, most of the 'wildlife' in the megacity of london and the famous wildlife 100m underground. Its hardly a problem even for the overground sections, maybe 40 miles of brownfield land.
Has anyone ever heard of a mega project that was delivered on time and within budget?
@@ip5799
What are you talking about?
It's a giant underground tunnel.
They've created Europe's biggest wetland nature reserve with the spoil at Wallasea island.
I think you might be a little confused pal.
love the closing statement about the value of infrastructure over the long time. That is often forgotten, that they are investments in the future and in the end that is all that matters
You're so right. Many here in Denver complained about cost overruns and problems with the building of Denver International Airport in the mid 90's. Today, it's one of the world's busiest airports. It was an excellent investment.
Let's not forget the overruns and delays we had with the Sydney Opera House. An overrun that eventually got the building and our beautiful harbour World Heritage status, not to mention tons of local and tourist dollars.
I’d say a “nightmare station” is better than no station.
Every London station can claim that title anyway
Like No nothing whatsoever in towns & cities in the North?
I live in a city which was decimated by Thatcher nearly 40 years ago. Not for financial reasons for pure hatred of Northern Union men. We were the biggest ship building town in Europe & have built ships for over 600 years. We had just secured orders for 32 Roro ferries her own minister tasked with closing these profitable yards begged her to keep them open. She refused a management buy out. She then proceeded to sign a deal with the EU that made it illegal for Sunderland to build a ship for the next 25 years.
Mwaming the loss of all tradesman all skills & the yards going to rot. No reason but pure hatred given for the crime. Now you know why Sunderland was the 1st result in to leave the EU, nothing to do with racism or being thick as was directed our way. Now think of the amount of steel from steel works & suppliers. Then a couple of years later shes left a stain that still today or today its worse than its been socially. She shit all the coal mines down. Now imagine this Sunderland & the surrounding area had a population of over 1 million people. Sunderland was basically mainly a group of Pit villages that boundaries over lapped through population growth. So now wr has a situation of the 2nd biggest mass employer being closed. By the way Sunderland football stadium is built on top of the most profitable super pit in the UK. Was I should say the most profitable. Now you'd think your own gov after committing crimes against humanity over 40 years ago would think. Maybe they deserve a little bit of cash for regeneration. Nope haven't even got a motorway here. Haven't even got signs for the area on the nearest motorway. Not even Signs can you imagine that
@@DavyRo spiteful old bag she was, but only taking orders. If the last 2 years is anything to go by, our leaders are pretenders, and all their descisions are made elsewhere.
@@DavyRo The lack of investment in the north is a joke. I say that as Londoner. There has to be significant investment in infrastructure both within the northern and midland cities, plus investment in the linking together of these cities. Not sure when it will happen though.
Crossrail has been fully operational for over a year. Yet wont be fully operational for another year, or more….. Sounds legit…
Great video again!! A suggestion for a video is Montenegro's massive failed highway project (that nobody makes videos about). Just if you're looking for topics
What a beautiful nation though. Just don't risk a train journey in this region (I live Serbia) deathtrap tracks, no ballast, pins missing or loose, sleepers rotten
Interesting to note that while insurance/investment/financial companies are SAYING that they're back full time, I know a lot of people in that industry are still working from home near full-time.
It's almost as if there's a vested interest in the property value so they're leading the hype.
Who will keep Pret afloat if office workers prefer home working
Yup
No one is going back to offices. You don’t need to waste money and time commuting into a smog filled city to do your work. That was already known pre-pandemic and it’s only geriatric dinosaurs who argue otherwise.
I can’t any reason I would want to go back into the office.
Honestly had no idea Bond Street was causing so many problems / has had to deal with so much! Really nice video and overview of both Crossrail and its link with HS2. Would love to hear more about this project, but I know there are so many other places you want to cover 😅
Hs2 is a fascinating adventure into how political interference and mismanagement can ruin a good idea.
The media around the project is also a dumpster fire.
Elizabeth line is amazing! It's really important that we provide high quality underground transport for our wealthy ruling elite in London while people outside London (like me) walk or take the bus and are rightfully excluded!
@@engineeringvision9507 dam right peasant, why do you need to get off your lord's manor
I’m still trying to get over that a subway line was named Jubilee. It’s anything but!
@@engineeringvision9507 take it up with your council. vote for local MPs who will deliver the budget required to your area. i dont live in england anymore and yes i was a londoner but i took the LNER to york recently (right before pandemic) and i saw perfectly good infrastructure there even though its nowhere near london.
Thanks for posting high quality videos. Always a good day when B1M uploads
Currently working on the melbourne metro project. 29 kilometres of much needed underground railway! major projects are not easy…. One of my favourite YT channels 👍
Me, a Brit living in Italy, regularly seeing Italian infrastructure projects 20 years behind schedule
Ah yes...Classic Italian Infrastructure project schedules.
I’m still waiting for the Mona Lisa to be finished
@@rik8809 Hahaha!
I recall reading somewhere that they run into new archeological finds all the time which halts the works for months each time. Fascinating, but very unfortunate for any new building projects.
@@Silveirias The gossip was that when the third metro line was being built in Rome, archaeological finds were ignored after a time
B1M, well done again. Good to see, that your channel has got "important enough" to get you access to projects more directly than ever before in the recent months. This might not have been possible on "classic media" like TV before for a kind-of special topic like this. You are really doing a great job and you are bringing your expertise and passion for construction to the world.
Go on like this, please!
This channel is criminally underrated, the research and effort that goes into each and every video are greatly appreciated. My favourite infrastructure channel.
I watched the multi part docuseries on the building of the CrossRail project, and it’s a honkin’ miracle they could thread a whole new tube line right thru/above/below the hundred year old underground infrastructure of Central London, while preserving some of the most fragile and historic surface architecture in the city.
The delays and overruns are LESS than on any comparable American projects like the Big Dig in Boston, and CrossRail is FAR more complex and transformative for the future of London.
If the geological conditions are bad, they’re bad. That’s no one’s fault, and NO you can’t always tell from deep core samples and remote sensing methods what you’ll find until you actually dig that deep.
Brits should be incredibly proud to have completed 99% of the project by now. This is no time to rush thru a stopgap solution for Bond Street just because the tabloids are yapping about engineering issues they don’t understand.
"we've built tube lines before" is such a weird take. When we built tube lines before, we mass demolished houses to make cut and cover tunnels, we had hundreds of workers become mysteriously ill and didn't bat an eye, and the most recent project, the Jubilee line extension, ran over budget and over time. There were liberties taken in the past that would be unconscionable today, and it's hardly unprecedented for a modern construction project to go over budget. It's honestly a miracle that the northern line extension went as well as it did.
There’s also the fact that the Elizabeth line has to be squeezed into an already tight underground space, especially in the central core where most of the stations are interchange with existing, old, deep level tube lines. Yes the technology is better, but the risks are greater, too! Still, fair play to them for getting it done.
I'd rather have cost overruns and delays (Though if those are bad enough, then we need to have a good look at the reasons.) than workplace deaths and injuries myself.
@LegosheepIsAwsome good point there!
On a project of this scale a cost overun of this size sounds horrible but given the time line, the complexity and the unknowns/unforseen (hard to know everything about the ground you are boring in and COVID) the cost over run is not totally unreasonable.
Well done in a great city!
Mike 🇨🇦 🍁 👍
Lego, I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by hundreds of workers mysteriously becoming ill ... is that a common thing for people working Underground ?
As an American I only have one question. What’s public transportation?
It is some socialist plot to divert funds away from global conquest for gasoline.
Come to the UK and find out (not necessarily London, any reasonably large conurbation - there are many here)
A thing Republicans are afraid of.
One of many.
Something with taxes, which you most likely also are unfamiliar with, or will hate even more than public transport. - though there is high possibility of daily close contact with nice women. If that counts as a benefit ...
Public transport is an industry which employs vast numbers of featherbedded Union members and confiscates vast amount of public money .
Can we talk about how beautiful the line is, it's so consistent with London's unique skyscraper architecture.
All projects go over budget. It's an extremely impressive achievement; we constantly complain we can't build anything in the West anymore but I think a project like this is a testament to if there is a will to do things we can still do truly amazing things. Can't wait to ride on it next time I'm in London!
I don't comment here often, if ever at all, but I have to say I look forward to seeing what wonder is happening in the world when I see one of your videos in my queue. Your presentation is packed full of relevant information and great editing (so... its not boring). Keep up the good work... I will continue to watch.
Am I the only person here who has the biggest crush on earth on Fred? Every time he is on the video I can't pay attention in anything else but him. Also his voice... omg omg omg...
Another great B1M. What fascinates me about crossrail and other complex rail projects is the amount of effort - and time - that goes into testing, to ensure it all hangs together on day one. The scale and complexity of system testing is incredible. Would love to see a video on that.
I worked at the cross rail project in Bond Street in 2015 when I was a uni student on my summer holidays as a labourer.
I can only praise everyone involved in this project - from inception to finish. the way walkway inside the tunnel were provided and the way archaeology was preserved - I have no calms for delay and cost revision
Yes, we want to see more of YOU, Fred.
Loved the cheeky insert of the billboard at 7:08. 😉 And another terrific video from the definitive video channel for construction 🚧 🏗
Thanks
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Amazing channel, amazing analysis and Fred looks reassuringly exactly how his voice sounds. Solid and dependable. Thanks to the whole team for a brill vid
I love that the couple's masks at 0:36 are identically patterned to the seat fabric of the train. Looks like they're wearing volunteer or press badges, so probably deliberate, but threw me for a loop for a moment!
Great video as always!
I like the crossrail CEO bloke, no excuses, contextualised with facts and broke down the failings and pitfalls of a project mirred in the expected city goss and gore, props my man
Charles Lynch.
He wasn’t in charge when things were going wrong.
@@oldman1734 oh that explains a lot actually 🧐
@@oldman1734 Well said. It’s nice to hear the facts.
Mark Wild is a man of integrity and honesty.
Mark Wild is a man of integrity and honesty. That comes across. What a project to lead. The construction and engineering involved and the minor matter of politics at all levels, is an enormous bucket of items to control. Also, sincerely, well done to all the teams involved.
I´d like to add.... yep delayed, overrun, over budget but it is a legacy project and importantly it´s been built safely. When you consider construction related deaths in Qatar in preparation for the Football World Cup, this is something to be proud of.
Well said! It has had its problems but was always an ambitious project, so it's not surprising. I agree that it really is something to be proud of and, when it does open, people will appreciate the attention to detail shown by the team, esp since Mark Wild got involved. Crossrail two will be a big beneficiary in my view.
Or workplace/on-site deaths with the stadium for the Tokyo Olympics.
No I disagree! The Elizabeth Line is much more major of a project. it will change lives for everyone living near it. Everyone takes good public transport for granted including Londoners. The Stadium constructions won't affect people in the long term just the short term
Thanks!
woah
"between London and the midlands"
says it all, since it was originally meant to be between london and the north...
Bits of the north....it even avoided some of the biggest cities like Liverpool and Newcastle
@@_5_675 the plan with Liverpool was always to connect HS2 to Northern Power House HS3. Not that, that will probably happen now. Regarding Newcastle it just isn't needed the lines are getting upgraded and connected instead the lines aren't near to capacity and its much more efficient upgrading there
@@dalecn2417 no, a potential link to so-called hs3 was never part of the plan as hs3 didn't even exist on paper when hs2 was announced. The plan was to swerve away to exclude the second largest conurbation in the North, and build 3 hs2 stations in Greater Manchester despite an insufficient local demand base. Where was the then Chancellor the MP for I wonder?
@@_5_675 serving Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle requires a bit of a swerve no? Surely by then you’d be looking at other lines and interchanges.
@@cjeam9199 no, west coast mainline serves Manchester and Liverpool perfectly well, it goes up the middle between them, there was no need to swerve the line away from the Labour voters by the coast. Newcastle would benefit from improved speeds to Leeds and Edinburgh, you are off a bit if you imagine hs2 westerly leg was capable of serving it.
Still can't believe how much The B1M has grown since I started watching them
I am SO impressed with how the UK and city of London made this project happen, fixed potential fire hazards, etc. The site looks so clean and organized ... kudos to all of that. We have the California high speed rail - initially set at $10B, now projected to be $100B++ ... unfortunately for me, I will likely be dead before it is completed. That's ok, my next holiday is UK based so ready to ride Elizabeth line!!
We will be glad to see you David! Want a driver eye view? Watch on you tube:- "Elizabeth Line(Crossrail) Abbey Wood to Westbourne Park" Drivers eye view.
You note that each station has a glass wall at the platform edge (passenger safety) This has sliding glass panels that open directly opposite the trains doors, which open together dead in line!
@@johnchristmas7522 What you refer to are known as Paltform Screen Doors. These are pretty common now on new metro transit systems in Europe and Asia.
@@milesarcher. Well, we to ,are quite capable, its just that our government still lives in Victorian times. So its exciting when things catch up.
@@johnchristmas7522 Agreed. It's not a capability thing. I doubt these doors are difficult to implement. It's the willingness to accept the need and spend the money.
It's incredible how the host and the CEO bent over backwards to avoid saying "the delays were caused measures we were forced to take to keep the rich residents of Mayfair happy."
Despite that, great video! Subscribed.
Welllll I’m sure that’s not the only thing. Every complaint and consultation causes delays, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do them.
@@cjeam9199 I guess I just have a really hard time believing that a massive public works project would be restricted to using two 9-meter holes in a less prosperous part of the city/country. It reeks of financial influence.
@@Kindhamster …..yeahhh that is probably true as well. Fair point.
Elizabeth line about 3 years behind schedule?
NYC Second Avenue Subway: "Hold my beer"
A senior rail manager explained it to me like this. If I want a 10 metre escalator. I can phone 3 companies who will quote me a firm price and completion date guarantees.
If I want a 30 Metre escalator, I have no companies so have to put it to tender. Those 3 escalator companies would rather install 100 10 metre units compared with one 30.
Forget guaranteed completion dates
Then you multiply this through the project.
Toronto Eglinton LRT: “Hold my beer”
best day of the week when the B1M releases another video.
Phenomenal video about a once in a lifetime project that'll have so much impact. Really interesting, thank you
What a great presenter. Lovely to watch & hear someone present with a great tone to his voice.
Nailed it as always. Your content just keeps getting better and better.
A construction project that does run on time and on budget may be the swansong episode for the B1M, but seriously even through I no longer work in construction this channel rocks.
Excellent video - top quality. Well done, and with great information for someone who loves public transport but lives on the other side of the pond...
I love your reporting on these bigger videos. Great video again! All the best.
I love new infrastructure projects and I'm glad that Crossrail has been built and I can't wait to ride it. There's been too much stagnation in developing new infrastructure in London and the UK generally imo. I also hope that the Crossrail 2 project gets the green light very soon.
One of the key takeaways from this video is the future value that will be felt for generations to come.
Often, this is overlooked (or rather, overshadowed) when attempting to "balance the books", in particular for publicly funded projects.
Nice job B1M on highlighting this. Cheers.
It is really a fantastic project and I can't wait to use it The quality remains long after the cost is forgotten.
I cannot wait to get back to London.
The B1m is the my favourite you tube channel
Nice to see my workplace in a video. As Fred says, we’re about three months behind, but considering the state of the site when we took over from Skanska, I think Crossrail has done well. If Crossrail 2 ever happens, there’s a huge amount to be learned from this one.
And, to boot, London will finally have a tube station that is on par with Asian metro stations, at least from a visual and safety perspective!
Wait, only one of the 41 Crossrail stations is going to have modern safety features like trackside doors?
@@krashd no. its on all underground Crossrail stations. overground ones won't because I don't know
I love this channel, such great content. I actually visited the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Station in 2018 and saw the fantastic works being undertaken at that station. Mind boggling engineering. When I also worked for TfL I had interaction with the Bond Street crossrail project office on a weekly basis. Really challenging engineering with such minute tolerances between new and running tunnels. The public will only get an inkling about the level of complexity via channels such as the B1M and the odd tv programme. Great work Cross Rail
SF spent about the same amount of money and they got less than one city block of new subway and it took them nearly 4 times longer to build.
SF spent $20B ???
6:39 this is definitely noticeable. its so nice and quiet even when the platform is packed or when the train is coming into the station
Very interesting and informative video. Well done.
I've worked as an electrician on Canary Wharf and Crossrail a few years ago, as in 6:34, was on the LV Switchgear. All the LV panels had to be modified as when they were installed in 2010, by 2017 although the station hadn't opened, new policies came out and had to replace over 100 switches, install metering to literally all the outgoing ways and other wiring.
Read the title. Thought "Oooh, new Jago Hazzard video." Suddenly! unexpected B1M Fred.
Same here!
Great to see you in person for this video!! I've loved seeing this channel grow in scope, and can't wait to see more of these "TV Quality" videos with you hosting! Cheers!
I'm honestly impressed by the time and effort you put into these videos. Keep it up! 👏
Years ago I moved to abbey wood 2 weeks after its crossrail station opened.
Over the years since i seen buildings fall an rise.
Its a nice place to move to, even before the makeover!
Roughly 4 to 5 years ago, my family and I visited London. It was a great 👍 experience and we used the subway to a limited extent. It was an adjustment, but not bad. I can only imagine after seeing 👀 this video how vast it is now. Seeing progress in a place that you have visited is always interesting 😊. Go B1M
Yes it is also are u from North America?
@@Mgameing123 yes.
It always amazes me how well made these videos are, the kind of thing you would expect from a documentary.
A slick production that explained some of the many serious issues the project faced. After all the money, time, and effort, one can only hope it will earn some success. However, I doubt that I shall ever sully its polished floors. It would be more painful and costly to visit. Since retiring 20 years ago, I no longer have any need or desire to traipse through London ever again.
I recently visited London and can’t be more happy to have the Elizabeth line. It is just so convenient - linking the major hotspots with frequent service. Saved me a lot of time travelling between west and east London.
Phew! I was worried this would be a tour of JazzFM
These videos are so good, informative, crisp and clean.
Fred, you're an engaging narrator behind the screen and just as good in person. I'm sure no one would mind more videos of you presenting in person LOL
I love his voice and accent!!
Massive respect for Mark Wild. Just watch his Update videos. No bulls***, no spin, no blame deflected, no OTT self-congratulatory comments; he just gives us the facts and proper explanations to B1M's questions.
As ALWAYS interesting and another view of what’s going on in engineering, bldg’s and how it can make life better. Great job!
The presentation of this video is excellent. Good job!
The B1m is the best of you tube
the quality of these videos, content and production, continues to skyrocket. keep killin it guys. love this channel.
Excellent video as usual B1M... since you cover projects around the world, can you make a video on the East West Metro in Kolkata? This is a heavily delayed project which after completion, will run below the Ganges river, first time something like this is done in India. Besides delays, this also had an issue where the machines punched through an aquifer causing the ground above to subside destroying many houses and delaying the project by more than 2 years.. but thankfully, now it seems that this will finally open in a couple of years.
I honestly have no idea how hard it is to scope and do estimates on a project like this. Respect the openness
A city is wise to undertake such projects, and to stick to them despite setbacks. We simply cannot have great cities without them.
Awesome video! I lived in Grosvenor Sq right there in Mayfair and was always using the Bond St station when I worked at the American embassy when it was located there
would love too see a vid on the current metro build going on in melbouren australia :)
Great video. I've been catching up on the whole project recently - it really is an amazing thing. Even though I may never get to use it , I'm so glad they never gave up on it and pushed through regardless. The quality is impressive.
If you compare with the high speed train project in California you'll see that this delay and over budget is nothing
THis video is a year old now, have only just caught up with it. I adore the whole project, having worked inside the TFL estate as an outsourced IT engineer for the last 8 years of my career, I found it to be like a Rolls Royce in the scale of work. I absolutely loved every minute of it, and this brings back happy memories, having attended the HQ of the works organisers several times. I feel so proud of having done so, I met so many fantastic people on the way. God Bless you lot :)
"This post pandemic era" (6'15").
That says a lot about the politics that Mark Wild follows. He said that at a time when the pandemic was not over; cases and deaths were still raging throughout the UK.
All lies
Thanks Fred It's good to hear from a ceo who doesn't talk crap, must be pleasant demeanour to get it out of 'em , keep up the good work .
Crossrail was originally intended as a east-west relief to the Metropolitan and Central Lines. It could have given most of the value at a fraction of the cost if it had been built as a tube, and it would probably have been finished five years ago. Tubes with fourth rail electrification need a much smaller hole than for full size trains with overhead wires.
I think they wanted to have the quality of space rather them being the same size as some of the old tube lines.
@@86wellacre Yes, but it has been very costly in terms of bangs-per-buck. It will also be a less reliable service than a self-contaIned tube could have provided - it will be vulnerable to delays on two main lines.
You know that Crossrail a) has much higher capacity b) it can extend much further out of the city
Crossrail has a passenger capacity that is IMMENSELY higher than what a tube line has. You could have built it as a tube, if you were okay with only getting a third of the passenger capacity.
Furthermore, the wider tunnel of the Crossrail line provides much greater safety in case an evacuation is needed, since passengers can leave through the side doors. In a tube train, all passengers must leave through one of the driver cabs, which means that the train cannot be evacuated quickly.
@@wasmic5z One-third of the capacity? How do you work that out? The Jubilee Line operates 30 trains per hour.
Operating on the main line leads a less reliable service. We have seen this for decades on Thameslink. A disruption at Luton leads to disruptions at Preston Park a couple of hours later, and vice versa. It is the well known effect of joining separate networks together: disruption is propagated from one network to the other. The most reliable routes are simple end-to-end lines such as the Victoria Line.
A mostly underground line inside London will not be prone to the vagaries of the weather. Overhead electrification adds another source of unreliability.
If you look through the list of accidents on the tube, there appears to be not a single fatality due to the inability to evacuate trains through the side doors. The majority of fatal accidents on London Underground have occurred in the open air sections. The worst accident involving a tube train undergound appears to have been the high speed collision at Moorgate in 1975. Being able to evacuate through side doors would not have prevented any fatalities in that case.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_London_Underground_accidents
Fred, you have every reason to show your billboard a lot longer! You really earned it!
great update - covers all the salient points succintly. would love to see the opposite end of the spectrum - projects that are abandoned/failed/white elephants from all over the world.
B1M = magnificent content on the tube that is you.
_FRED MILLS: “…YOU WANNA SEE MORE OF ME…” 😎 - US: “YES, PLEASE.”_ ❤️🔥♥️🥵
You can tell how excited Fred is to be out and about 😂. Also great quality video as always - love the channel!
I'm sorry but coming from the city that has taken 90+ years to build 1 line, and is happy with completing 1/3 of it.
This is not bad. Lol good job London
Love the production quality and best voice ever
Another train video 👍
Fantastic! I really enjoy the development of the channel more to a public-media-documentary-style. Keep it up!
Also I would like to mention the finishing of the U5 in Berlin that took place last year. A few years ago I was part of the planning team for the underground stations :)
Three new stations and a few kilometers of digging below the river Spree took about 10 years.
A few billion extra on an infrastructure project in such a busy place isn't anything to worry about. When it's fully operational those overruns will be payed back in a matter of months, and it'll keep doing that for a hundred years.
Infrastructure plans that are reasonably planned out and qualitatively well made have a habit of paying themselves off a lot sooner than their huge up front costs imply.
My family visited from Sacramento, Ca and stayed in Hayes May 25th 2022 for 3 days ahead of a cruise from Southampton and absolutely loved the new Elizabeth Line. I wish the US had such great ways to travel in our large cities, we are too in love with automobiles. Not our first trip to the UK but certainly the best. Londoners should feel proud that they have the best inter-city travel choices of anywhere in the world, IMHO.
You meant "inter-city" or "inner-city"? For incomparably better inter-city connections go to Germany or Netherlands!
@@Byezbozhnik I meant what I said.