Category talk:London Underground

Terminology

@Pi zero: I do not understand the objection to "rapid transit". It is a very generic term. Wikipedia was not listing synonyms, per se, they were listing local names. "Subway" is also not suitable because it is a distinctly North American term and also suggests it is below ground. Apparently "subway" in Britain is used for pedestrian underpasses. See: Terminology. Is it the word "rapid" which is troublesome? Is that based entirely on personal experience? Generally, I think they are called "rapid transit" because they are quicker than other mass transit types, such as buses and street cars which have to deal with other vehicular traffic and pedestrians.

If you want alternatives, we can drop "rapid" and call it a "mass transit system" though that term is a lot broader and includes buses, street cars, trains and even ferries. Another option could be "metro system" which lacks the regional dialect, though few English speaking countries actually call their systems that. --SVTCobra 04:35, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

@SVTCobra: I've never particularly liked "subway"; we'd just already eliminated everything I could think of at the time that I liked more. The term "rapid transit" is double-speak.

How about "metro rail"? --Pi zero (talk) 05:38, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

@Pi zero: Why are we reinventing the wheel? How do you figure that wikt:rapid transit is wikt:doublespeak? It's not even a neologism. The term was coined in the 1870s. It's still more rapid than other forms of metropolitan transit and just think how fast it was back then. The w:New York City Board of Transportation was originally called the Rapid Transit Commission when it was formed in 1874. The term "rapid transit" can be found in multiple articles of the 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica. Cheers, --SVTCobra 14:33, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

Only someone who knows the code would be able to interpret "rapid transit" correctly. And if these things are described differently (and usefully) in each place the investigating user looks (Wikinews, Wikipedia, Wiktionary, etc.), that's more useful than if we just repeat some other project's words.

What do you think of "metro rail"? --Pi zero (talk) 15:08, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

I think "metro rail" is redundant since all metros are on rails. Listen, we are trying to explain what the "London Underground" is, not what "rapid transit" is. It is used on all projects and in reference books all over because it is the descriptor. The assumption should be that the reader will understand what "rapid transit" is because it is the most widely used term. "Metro" is less widely known (again, according to Terminology) in English-speaking countries. We are an English language project, yes? "Rapid transit" isn't newspeak, either. I feel your objection to "rapid transit" is inadequately explained and until I understand, I don't see why I should endorse "metro rail". --SVTCobra 15:39, 7 September 2019 (UTC)