What If The London Underground was in MANCHESTER??

[@VexSG]

There may be some inaccuracies or mistakes in this video, which I do apologise for.. But I did my best to try and make some form of realistic example of what it looks like haha, hope you guys enjoy it regardless 😂 ❤ EDIT: It seems that a lot of new people have been coming across this video, if you're new here, welcome! I'm trying out some new styles of content, including video essays and vlogs, so if you like that and want to see more, then make sure to subscribe! :)

[@Tzatziki53]

Remember when you did SCR Videos...

[@VexSG]

yeah i overworked and gave myself burnout from it and ended up not enjoying the game as much as i used to

[@Tzatziki53]

@@VexSGUnderstandable

[@electro_sykes]

@@VexSG at least it wasn't built in Wales, thats what I say

[@Jakegriffin2006]

Hi vex love the videos i saw you in Liverpool the other week on a 507 from lime street to new brighton! i ended up on 507001 on the return trip What was that furry rabbit head thing you guys had? looked really cool I was the 15 year old with the grandad i had a great tommy sleep out beanie on you had your classic blue baseball cap anyway was fun being on the same train as you! and you completing that line for the first time!

[@quintuscrinis]

Chesham has a half-hourly service at all times because the single track takes 7 minutes to traverse each way with a legal 10 minute break required before returning. But agree that Leyland should get a better service. Love how the circle spur gets to Trafford centre to mirror the Westfield centre in London.

[@odinnln5694]

If Manchester had an underground, it would be the Manchester underground.

[@Synnystershy]

I'm from an alternate reality where Manchester does have an underground and the video is titled "What If The Manchester Underground was in LONDON!!"

[@odinnln5694]

Then they would need biggertunnels to cope with overhead wires@@Synnystershy

[@FanxiansLeafy]

Imagine Tube trains being in Manchester Metrolink Cyan and black livery

[@odinnln5694]

Or you could have them in the tram colours@@FanxiansLeafy

[@FanxiansLeafy]

@@odinnln5694 true

[@mubzytv]

The underground would be good for around city centre cause the tram stops are heavily congested. They could move the metrolink underground in some areas. But I would expand the metrolink to all areas of Greater Manchester

[@stevieinselby]

I appreciate what you've done here, but I think trying to _overlay_ the London Underground map onto Manchester is a flawed premise, as the two cities have completely different geography, so you end up with lines going to silly places that would be impractical and/or pointless. To my mind, a more interesting exercise would be to consider what a genuine Manchester Underground could usefully look like and how it could transform the city region. (PS, what's the music 🎶 in the background for the Central Line?) (PPS, if you're using maps or satellite views that don't have north at the top, please could you think about adding a 🧭 north arrow?

[@theguiltyboy269]

It would be nice to see if they can improve the frequencies of local rail links after the bee network integration in 2030, even we dunno if the bee network will actually work at the end 😂

[@steveharvey2001]

Would passengers make eye contact and talk to each other ?

[@QuantumPulsar]

Wow that was lots of detail 😂 Great video, very interesting. You sound surprised that your version of the Metropolitan line goes off into the countryside, but you have to remember that the OG Metropolitan line went into countryside when it was originally built as the development of the suburbs around the line came later. Where would Verney Junction have been if it was still on the Metropolitan line?

[@VexSG]

Thank you so much! Yeah, the metropolitan line is partly responsible for why London has so much suburban sprawl, which drastically different to the reason why Manchester expanded its suburban area (from the fastly growing industrial revolution), which obviously makes stuff like a 'london underground-style metro network' harder to build, because a large portion of London's Suburbs were built around the tube! As for verney junction, it'd actually be located just off of the coast, past Fleetwood!

[@stuartr7785]

Nicely creative. Nicely done.

[@highpath4776]

A point is Manchester Did have a decent heavy rail system , it does have a reasonable light rail system , but (a) some outer lines were cut, ( Woodhead Routes to Sheffield ), and (b) there wasnt the kind of connection of the two (could have been three if we count Manchester Central ) main line termini like there was in London , that is where a proper circle line may have been useful. Manchester allowed places like Belle Vue to fall into disrepair ( a sort of flat equivalent to Ally Pally), and didnt really keep the connections to Old Trafford and Man City's stadiums / arenas that were needed.

[@TheTimmynatoRex]

You should do your own vision for a Manchester Underground, using the map shown in the video as a base and then change the lines into what would make more sense to you, and maybe add the Metrolink into the new system as well.

[@toddhunter3137]

I saw this map too, it was quite creative how they adapted it for Manchester, but I think the stations would be so close to each other that they would need to shorten the trains or every stop will be like the Covent Garden situation where the front car is entering the station while the last car is leaving the previous stop, I might stand to be corrected but I think it's Leicester Square on that line where the two are so close 😂😂

[@screwdriver5181]

Brilliant concept, but try turning it 90 degrees anti-clockwise and you serve some real commuter zones !

[@swtransport099]

With Birtle, you could build housing to build up the area and give the station a purpose.

[@andrewnelson4057]

What happened to Battersea Power Station Station...?

[@VexSG]

If I remember correctly, Ed Howe when making this map couldn't find a high quality current map that he could use, so the one he resorted to using was the 2010 map. This means that there's also other extensions missing, notably the Overground through south and north london, as well as the Romford to Upminster line

[@aaronsmith9209]

Really interesting video, shows how much geography can get in the way of infrastructure. In some places, the tube overlaying Manchester made a lot of sense and would properly improve public transport, especially for the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. I wonder if when the mayor and the city gets to the point of taking over local rail services to integrate with bus and tram, could the Northern Rail commuter services become more like Merseyrail or London Overground? Also had no idea that Greater Manchester was that big in population! I was in Manchester last week and thought the trams were impressive but felt something was missing in the centre and there should be more to the system. It could do with a metro I think, the trams are as slow as the bus in the city centre, this problem doesn't exist for the tube. Victoria to Piccadilly shouldn't take over 10 minutes! I used the tram as far as Heaton Park and out there trams felt more like a train and ironically some of the trams had more carriages (East Midlands and Crosscountry trains in particular are terrible!). The Manchester area has potential but a lot of work needs to be done. I stayed in Chester and went all over the region by train from there recently and Manchester was where the trains would always end up delayed for seemingly no reason, I guess there's a bottleneck near Oxford Road. There needs to be more regional connectivity (the disconnect from Yorkshire in particular is stark, they need to reopen the Woodhead Line or something similar) and obviously cancelling HS2 was a stitch up. Also I live just outside of London and getting into the centre is the only real convenient and fast journey, going to the neighbouring town centre is slow and orbital routes are lacking, this is especially bad in the home counties where bus routes have been decimated and no rail link exists. In Hertfordshire, every railway goes North from London and none are very east to west which makes it hard to get around it. I think in most places, public transport needs far more resources and the idea of creating a whole network and that how what works in London for the tube wouldn't make much sense elsewhere as other cities would ideally build to where their centres are and connect up neighbouring towns. In an ideal world, Merseyrail would meet with Manchester's rail at Preston, Warrington and Wigan and there would be a tram or metro connecting Wigan to Rochdale directly. When I was in Liverpool, I thought it could do with a tram system and in Manchester I thought they needed the frequency of Merseyrail on top of what each place has currently which I found amusing. I am sure there's no shortage of ideas of where to expand upon with Metrolink.

[@allenwilliams1306]

A harmless conceit that only highlights the fact that the Underground is only concerned with London transport north of the river. Even then, this superimposition leaves out not only Rochdale, but Wigan and Bolton, too. Stockport, Cheadle, and Altrincham are also omitted entirely.

[@benthewheel30]

The Piccadilly line is by far the biggest line!

[@spike_davis]

What about stockport

[@VexSG]

In London there's nowhere on the tube map that is in the same place geographically that Stockport would be

[@pablodelnorte9746]

It's the Croydon of Manchester

[@Anonymoususer_8823]

Very interesting to know about if Manchester had its very own Underground network just like London. Unfortunately Manchester is lot different from London and only has Metrolink trams and National Rail (mostly Northern operating local services in and around Manchester).

[@citizen0101]

The victorians started building a Machester underground but didnt finish. Search it. Great map though.

[@A-Trainspotter-From-Berkshire]

I think the 1970s PicVic idea is much better for Manchester than superimposed London underground style system on Manchester.

[@highpath4776]

Perhaps if the map were shifted 10 miles east you could have Liverpool on one edge and Manchester on the other

[@Someone36991]

West* :)

[@daliverpoolfan69]

for greater anglia you could've asked me lol they run my local

[@mattevans4377]

So basically, we need to think about the entire Northern Metropolitan area, not just Manchester.

[@Taiku__]

good video vexsg

[@geoffwalsh8864]

Blackley is pronounced Blakeley.

[@VexSG]

17 years of living in Manchester and having passed through blackley numerous times, it's my first time actually having to pronounce it 😂 not really the most attractive place to be in! And probably one of many mispronounced towns and suburbs haha

[@networkerfan]

next what if the underground was in glasgow

[@ElliexUwU]

wooo vexsg upload!!!

[@TFW-507]

Surely it should be the Manchester underground?

[@bauds09]

geography gcse came in clutch

[@TheTrueOtto]

Great vid, this must be the earliest I saw it, last time I was this early Constantine XI was a toddler. Anyways, w h a t a b o u t t h e g e o l o g y as in, London has a soil basically made of clay, Manchester iirc is sandstone and silt

[@VexSG]

Mostly sand and sandstone here yes, forgot to cover that haha

[@Croz89]

@@VexSG Sandstone is actually even better for tunnelling than clay, it tends not to collapse as easily.

[@VexSG]

But sand isn't as good, there have been a few houses around Manchester that have been built on sand and are in awful condition, close to collapsing

[@Croz89]

@@VexSG The sand likely won't go that deep, so you could tunnel underneath it. All in all Manchester doesn't have bad geology for tunnelling, just the usual obstructions any city has, culverts, utilities, a massive bomb shelter (OK, the last one is a bit unusual...)

[@johnwalker6736]

Wot if? Life is full of “What if’s” ,eh? What if we had a reliable surface public transport system?

[@razkhan-i9k]

Manchester will not have HS2? London more expensive to live in? I live in Manchester over 30 years? London will have the HS2 compare to Manchester

[@willscottytv]

So many painfully incorrect pronunciations of places 😢