Robin May wrote:
"Richard J." wrote the following in:

This is typical of the ignorant and illogical comments coming out
of Richmond at present. If the base option is built, passengers
from Richmond would get to Paddington faster than they currently
get to Hammersmith, and their journey from Paddington to Heathrow
would also be quicker than the Piccadilly line.

But the Heathrow Express costs a bomb. Would it still be so expensive
after Crossrail?

Exactly. And at best you'd be paying for two extra zones.

More to the point, why clog up overloaded radial lines with orbital
passengers?

One reason why zone 1 is so busy is the number of journeys that are
currently fastest via zone 1 because there is no usable more direct
route.

For example, several of my co-workers near Ealing Broadway seem to live
in the Swiss Cottage area. Unless they use a cycle to replace
non-existent interchanges, their fastest route is via zone 1.

Colin McKenzie