Another simple truth remains: Manchester needed a train tunnel from Piccadilly to Victoria for a north-south railway system under Manchester centre but a tunnel which was a mile and a bit long was deemed to be too expensive and instead we received a second rate tram link across the city centre. London Crossrail needed 13 miles of tunnels and £16billion was provided to build it. Could there be a more manifest example of the North-South divide when it comes to government expenditure on public transport?
Marplerambler - you raise an interesting point that deserves greater exploration. Cos it's not as clear cut.
Manchester tried to get the Picc-Vic tunnel built in the 1970s. The plan was abandoned in 1977. And Metrolink build started in the 1990s.
The very first proposals for Crossrail are a little older. In fact the idea of an underground train line between Paddington and Liverpool Street was first mooted in 1941. Admittedly though, the push really started in 1974. And then it was abandoned. Then it was picked up again in 1989. And got nowhere. And in 1991. And 1994. And 2001. And 2002. And 2004.
Don't forget that the 1980s and early 1990s, the belief was that public transport would basically wither and die as being unnecessary!
Crossrail didn't get approval until 2008. And it's still not open for business.
By the way, Crossrail 2 was first mooted in the 1970s too...
Which means London has spent decades battling to get Crossrail built, where as Manchester got its (cheaper) solution through decades earlier. And is now running so successfully that the goal is to build a tunnel because there's only so many trams you can squeeze on Manchester's streets.
Yes it would have been better (and cheaper no doubt) to have built the Picc-Vic tunnel in the 1970s. But it was changing plans that meant we got something far earlier. And I strongly suspect we got a far bigger system out of it too. How many new railway lines have been opened in the UK in the last few decades? Not many. But the Metrolink's built several brand new lines, and building more now.