transit makes density possible

The New Wembley stadium opened in London on March 24, 2007 with a soccer match between the under-21 squads of England and Italy. When everything is finalized, the massive stadium will hold over 90,000 people. Even with this large number of spectators, there will be no general parking at New Wembley. What makes this density possible? Transit. During soccer matches, the stadium will be served by over 100 trains an hour. 3 Tube lines and 2 national rail lines serve the stadium, and have the capacity to transport a whopping 70,000 persons per hour. The stadium is also served by an extensive network of buses.

In other news, the Tube carried more than 1 billion passengers last year! The Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, maintained that this strong transit ridership reflected the health of London's economy: "This new record of one billion passengers shows the strength of London's economy and how crucial the Tube is to that economic success."

transit poems: station victoria

station victoria

on the subway back in
Boston dad always preferred
the journey to Auditorium
something about the name called
over loudspeaker declaring itself
in the present tense of time
here I am in London and I
might venture to Embankment
but Canada Water lures me with promises
of refreshments and Saskatchewan natives
I know I’m in Europe not because
no one knows my name but
no one knows I’m American until
I open my mouth and the secret’s exposed
and no one cares except for the
few who understand that they’re
being bought by our culture
I buy into yours while you buy into mine
yet in the long run we all know
that those who derive pleasure from the
stately ambiguity of subway stops

will ultimately diminish to haze