Conservative politicians have long called for a fully-autonomousmetro.
In 2012, then-London Mayor Boris Johnson said Britains capital would have driverless trains within 10 years.
A decade later, he claimed the switch wouldfree people from beingprisoners of the unions.
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Transport Secretary Grant Shapps made working towards driverless trains acondition of the bailout.
Shapps repeated the call ahead of further strikes on August 19.
We cant hold back the tide of time, hetold ITV News last week.
His proposal, however, will have to overcome enormous obstacles.
Going underground
Driverless trains are a unique challenge for the worlds oldest subway system.
The Tubes age and complexity makes retrofitting automationincredibly expensive and disruptive.
A TfL report that was leaked in 2020 estimated that going driverless wouldcost over 7 billion.
(In contrast, the bodys drivers cost a total ofroughly 209 million a year.)
Aslef, the train drivers union, said the report showed driverless trains were a politically-driven fantasy.
In response, critics said the costs and concerns were being exaggerated.
Delays ahead
Another concern involves the funding model.
Unlike cities with more automated metros, TfL is expected to be financially self-sufficient.
The remainder is covered by passenger fares.
TfL, meanwhile, receives only 28% of its funding via government aid.
Our transport web connection is woefully underfunded.
They also arent immune to industrial action.
Even the more modern and driverless Docklands Light Railwayhas been ground to a haltby walkouts.
The push for further automation may be politically profitable, but it could provoke rather than prevent future strikes.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
