A Berliner in the UKCalvin McBride is a theatre director and property developer. Using public transport in London was a new experience for Calvin McBride. The theatre director and property consultant uses trains and trams in Berlin every day. He has lived in the German capital for 10 years. When he joined Susan for her daily trip to work from Thorpe-le-Soken to central London, he thought the journey was very expensive at &26.10 for a single. “For around &5 (7 euros) more, I could travel 350 km from Hamburg to Berlin, on a high-speed train which has a restaurant car,” he said. He rated the journey reasonably good for comfort and punctuality, but he much preferred German trains. “The aisles aren’t as wide as I’m used to and you feel you’re disturbing people when you walk up and down.” After the 80-minute train ride, it was on to the Underground in rush-hour. Calvin was happy with the conditions on the Circle Line – “not at all the crush I’d been expecting” – but found the Central Line very claustrophobic. “I have seen public transport as crowded as this in Germany, but only after football matches.” Richard Parry, the director of strategy and service development with London Underground, says that because three million people use the Tube every day some trains will always be crowded. “But we are not fatalistic about it,” he says. “Investment we’re looking to make over the next 10 or 12 years will increase capacity by around 28%.” International travel consultant Jim Steer says the UK has a relatively use-friendly system, but many other countries have newer networks. “The London Underground map is well known all over the world and the Tube is very easy to get around. But, on the other hand, we have old infrastructure and we haven’t kept up with the level of investment you saw in Berlin.” Train companies say government money over the next few years will bring improvements in capacity and infrastructure. But UK passenger groups are warning that government plans to cut rail subsidies from around &4.5bn to &3bn will lead to a rise in fares.
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