Transport For London’s new driverless tube trains are causing a bit of a stir, not just with tube drivers either. The trains not only threaten the jobs of drivers of current model trains, but also have been turning heads due to their sheer fanciness.
Apparently the extra roomy carriages will be a welcome change from the current offering by the tube network, whose currently running trains feature a unique spacial distortion anomaly which causes two seats to somehow only provide room for 1.5 passengers.
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Modern science has yet to explain this paradox of physics, so instead of spending huge amounts trying to work it out, higher-ups have instead decided to finance newer trains with bigger, more roomy interiors. Apparently train capacity will increase 25% on the Central and Bakerloo lines, 50% on the Waterloo line, and up to 60% on the Piccadilly.
Featuring plush interiors, shiny exteriors, more space and amazingly, air conditioning, around 250 new trains have been planned for circulation, and are headed for the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City lines, arriving around 2020. that’s if there’s no delays.. or strikes.
But wait, there may be a solution to that. The designers at TFL have gone with something a little more ambitious that simply upgrading the driver’s seat to be less uncomfortable (hence the bitterness). Instead, TFL is giving the job to robots. Well, programmable remote control trains at any rate.
Whilst the new trains will include a driver, and all the complications that arise as a consequence of employing one, some time after their 2020 release into the wild the trains may be fully automated. TFL commented that currently they are reluctant to embrace the feature fully, due to the impact it may have on people’s lives.
“We would only consider implementing full automation following extensive engagement with our customers, stakeholders, staff and trade unions.” they said in a statement.
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So, for the moment the new trains will debut with drivers, and even if some degree of automation is enabled, tube drivers will most likely stay, even if their job is reduced to sleeping at the controls whilst the train drives itself. No doubt they will find a reason to complain about that too.
(If you’re a tube driver and this article has offended you in some way, we invite you to post your opinion on our Twitter under the hashtag #NotAllTubeDrivers. Oh, and sorry for all the jokes.)
Source: TFL Youtube
Via: Techradar