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Time on my hands, eh?
What makes a good rail network?
Compared to similar sized American cities, Stockholm has a godly rail network. Compared to actual needs, the investments are usually 20-30 years late. Automobiles have had priority the past 70 years.
I made a rail map of the Stockholm area. It's extremely cluttered.
There is a large number of pipe dreams for replacing anemic "backbone" buslines with trams, funds never exist. I didn't draw those.
Black - Heavy rail. 16KV AC.
White - Heavy rail under construction, ready <10 years.
Gray - Heavy rail plans under analysis. Start >10 years.
Blue - Blue metro line.
Green - Green metro line.
Red - Red metro line.
Purple - Metro under construction, ready <10 years.
Pink - Recurring metro extension plans.
Yellow - Light rail, standard gauge, 750V DC. Rolling stock and platforms differ.
Orange - Light rail under construction, ready <10 years.
Brown - Light rail plans, ready <20 years.
Cyan - Roslagsbanan narrow gauge railroad.
* The moderate conservatives (current rulers) like cars. They don't hate trams, they just love cars more. The current progress is fueled by the idea that trams create more space for their auomobiles.
* The socialists hate trams, period. They had the idea that the city was populated by bourgeoisie and removed the trams from there as punishment. A metro network was built to the worker class suburbs and the streets filled with automobiles, noise and pollution.
* The greens and the communists like trams, but refuse to consider even the smallest exploration into alternate funding methods needed to build anything at all.
