Image courtesy of Gizmodo

gizmodo.com | Article Link | by Gerald Lynch

"I remember going on the Tube trains when I was very young, and thinking 'this is amazing'. The smell, the noise — the wooden floors, the wooden escalators of the time — incredible to think that we had those," says Paul Priestman, director and co-founder of London design agency Priestmangoode.

It's a sepia-toned memory of the London Underground, and one that stands slightly at odds with Priestmangoode's latest project, the sci-fi tinged driverless Tube trains that will roll onto the capital's transport network in the early 2020's. "I'm not one for looking back or being 'retro'. It's not a museum, it's a piece of highly efficient modern design," says Priestman. "As long as it works well, then it can look nice. Styling that doesn't work is bad design as far as I'm concerned."

Indeed, the "New Tube for London" (as the project has been dubbed) is a thoroughly modern design, drawing from Priestmangoode's extensive work in the aviation industry and its growing portfolio of overseas transport infrastructure clients.

With London's population set to rise from 8.4 million today to more than 10 million by 2030, the Tube network will soon be bursting at the seams.

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