COMMENTS made by Howard Collins, the London rail executive who will head up Sydney Trains when RailCorp is disbanded, had me a little concerned.
He said the congestion in Sydney, road-wise, makes London look a ‘‘very quiet place’’.
‘‘There’s traffic everywhere and people spend so much time sitting in their cars.’’
If the man responsible for looking after London’s underground rail system thinks that, we’re in trouble.
When I was working in London 10 years ago, their transport system blew me away.
I couldn’t fathom that a city hundreds of years older than ours could have such an efficient set-up and yet here in Sydney it’s a mess.
I’ve always thought I would hate to be a tourist in this city.
We are a young city that should be learning from the mistakes of other cities and leading the way — but we’re probably one of the worst in the world.
While Londoners constantly complained about their transport conditions, I was in awe.
A bus every three minutes. A [Tube] train along every two to three minutes: fabulous.
Mr Collins has a job on his hands, and I initially thought that if the man in control of London’s Tube can get it working, ours would be easy.
It appears even he agrees he has a challenge on his hands.
Yesterday’s announcement 60 morning peak buses from The Hills into the city will be rerouted via the Cahill Expressway to try to relieve congestion will hopefully work.