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Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc. |
The railway known as Sydney Metro serves 13 stations. For a length of 36 km, that's an average of 3 km between stations. Note that there is 6.5 km of track between Chatswood and North Ryde; the beeline distance is 4km. Epping and Cherrybrook stations are 6 km apart. These distances are far greater than those of metro systems in London, Tokyo, Moscow, New York and (particularly) Paris. There is a table of metro systems at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metro_systems. Paris Métro has 214 km of track and 302 stations; the average distance between stations is therefore about 700 metres.
Anyone who's lived in a large city should understand the difference between short trips and long trips. Yes, their lengths. But the longer trips benefit more from speed and adequate seats. Shorter trips need wider aisles and doorways so dwell times at the frequent stops don't accumulate.
It's logical that there be separate names for railways serving shorter trips. The obvious name is "metro".
What makes it a metro? Not the type of carriage used. Not whatever politicians and their flaks call it. No, it's the type of trips it serves. Ignore stupid definitions like having separate tracks.
