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Air conditioning coming soon to London's Underground
London's Underground is a marvel, yet it relatively cramped spaces -- they don't call it the Tube for nothing -- means that temperatures can often rise down below even on a typically cool, damp British day.London Mayor Boris Johnson today unveiled a new Underground train model, which for the first time will come with air conditioning.
The new trains are to debut on the Metropolitan line in 2010 and will get phased in on other lines up until 2015.
"I can assure passengers who will use them that we hope, rather than arriving at their destinations drenched in perspiration, they will emerge cool as cucumbers and ready to enjoy all that the capital offers," Johnson tells the Associated Press.
Why the Metropolitan line first, you might ask? The plan is to gradually replace many of the existing subway cars, starting with the city's oldest subway lines first.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ron (Elect Eng) Sep 25th 2008 3:34PM
There is as has been pointed out a few flaws in Boris idea . Air-conditioning works by transferring heat from the inside of a building or in this case train to the outside. The problem is where does all the transferred heat & the heat from the energy to transfer it go? Answer: To the air in the tunnel. the air temperature in the stations and tunnels is already very high in the summer so adding heat from the trains is only going to make it far worse. A person will get out of a cool carriage and be hit by the high temperature and humidity of the station, while at the same time the cool air will escape from the carriage being replaced by the hot air outside! this will use even more energy once the train gets going to cool it down again, making the tunnels & stations even hotter The cycle goes on...
Back to the drawing board.
Cool the stations and tunnels & the trains will be bearable.How you may ask not a big problem (send cheque in post for my ideas) The problem is the COST but probably cheaper in the long run than changing all the trains & all the problems of maintaining the on-board air conditioning units against that of maintaining the much bigger static units which would be installed on the underground network. but again it is the cost of installation power consumption & maintenance which is the problem. cancel the 2012 Olympics & using the money will give you some idea & better way to spend the money long term!
Nikos Katsikanis Oct 12th 2008 3:25PM
very good ron you have some valid points
Dogpro Mar 14th 2009 7:17PM
The subsurface lines aren't that deep. Also they were originally run by steam train and have adequate ventilation.