London and New York are competing to be the world's premier financial
centre and both have realised that they have to tackle travel
congestion to succeed.
City authorities on both
sides of the Atlantic are looking to rail to keep people and their
regional economies moving. The similarities can be seen in two recent
announcements.
The latest Structure Plan for the New York region states: "Critical
segments of the transportation network...are calling into question the
region's very image as a world-class destination. We are being
challenged as never before to address issues associated with
congestion."
Back home, London Mayor Ken Livingstone declared on 28 March: "London
is challenging New York as the world's most important financial centre
and an effective transport system places a critical role in London's
success."
On 12 April work started on New York's 27th subway line, which will run
the length of Manhattan below 2nd Avenue with 16 new stations.
Completion of the first, £1.93 billion, stage is planned for 2013.
In London, in the same period, the hope, because nothing yet has been
approved, is a £3.5 billion upgrade for the cross-river Thameslink. The
£10 billion-plus Crossrail would be at best another two years on. The
New York region takes in a population of just over 17 million, broadly
similar to London and the Home Counties.
But despite the similarities in population and plans, there are big
differences. In London and South East England there is no single body
responsible for co-ordinating policy across all modes of transport.
However, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey acts for the two
state governors and controls regional transport policy. Although there
are a number of different operations in the region - including Long
Island Railroad, Metro North Railroad, New Jersey Transit, New York
Subway and PATH, the Port Authority Trans Hudson tunnel - all are
publicly owned and vertically integrated.
There are plans to extend PATH to Newark Liberty Airport, owned by the Port Authority.
In turn the Port Authority has plans to extend its JFK Airport
'Airtrain' back to Manhattan, with President Bush proposing to
contribute up to £1 billion in tax credits.
The Port Authority also wants to construct a rail link to La Guardia
airport, and to a proposed fourth airport. The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority has plans for a link under the East River for
LIRR trains.
In all, the plans for the New York area total spending of £6.5 billion.
London's plans for Thameslink, Crossrail and other projects like the
North and East London lines are actually far bigger, totalling between
£18 and £24 billion.
What remains to be seen, of course, is whether the big ones, Thameslink and Crossrail, come to fruition.