The best comparison line for the IBX is the London Overground. The latter upgraded the stations on underutilized orbital rail lines, added the Overground to the Tube map, and had much more ridership than the transport models calculated. One of the reasons was that it made inter- borough travel much faster and easier than taking the bus, as well as providing orbital travel to avoid going into crowded central London trains and back out again. The Overground also spurred a lot of development along its routes. Finally, frequent service meant it was effectively another Underground line. So popular was the Overground that more trains and carriages had to be ordered, to lengthen trains, to service the demand.
Indeed! Which is what makes me concerned about the choice of light rail that probably limits capacity a lot more than the mainline trains of the Overground. Its quite a complicated situation! There seems to be a systemic problem predicting ridership on such routes!
The best comparison line for the IBX is the London Overground. The latter upgraded the stations on underutilized orbital rail lines, added the Overground to the Tube map, and had much more ridership than the transport models calculated. One of the reasons was that it made inter- borough travel much faster and easier than taking the bus, as well as providing orbital travel to avoid going into crowded central London trains and back out again. The Overground also spurred a lot of development along its routes. Finally, frequent service meant it was effectively another Underground line. So popular was the Overground that more trains and carriages had to be ordered, to lengthen trains, to service the demand.
Indeed! Which is what makes me concerned about the choice of light rail that probably limits capacity a lot more than the mainline trains of the Overground. Its quite a complicated situation! There seems to be a systemic problem predicting ridership on such routes!