London Underground has recently inaugurated the new Elizabeth Line, an new underground branch that will connect outer suburbs directly to new stations in central London. Many commuters will be able to go directly from their home station to one within walking distance of their office, or to substantially cut transit time.
In the same days, however, on the other side of the ocean, New Yorkis devising a plan to implement the bicycle transport system, while there is also talk of the utopian option of converting 25 per cent of streets into squares and cycle lanes. Similarly, Paris also dreams of reducing the main thoroughfare in the city centre from 4 to 2 lanes.
Urban transport, and the attempt to minimise car traffic, is thus the main goal of international metropolises to keep pollution and carbon dioxide emissions in check. But any strategy that looks good on paper needs major investment in order to build a new infrastructure capable of imagining new ways of urban living.
Between successful experiments, construction delays and future projects, we offer here a selection of some of the most interesting metropolitan transport projects.