Film distributors Madman Entertainment have kindly sent us four DVDs of the BBC documentary on the London Underground: The Underground:

Underground DVD

Narrated by Julian Barrett of Mighty Boosh fame, each of the six episodes is an incredibly in-depth and unblinking look at what it takes to keep Four Million people moving under the streets of London everyday. Full of characters and extraordinary information from this unseen world.

Produced for the BBC, THE UNDERGROUND goes behind the scenes of the world’s oldest, biggest and busiest underground train network, during the biggest overhaul in its 150 year history.

The series follows key members of the Tube’s 19,000 staff – from the chief operating officer down to the litter pickers who walk miles of track every night collecting rubbish. Drivers, station staff and emergency response workers all reveal their unique perspective on the passengers. From tourists to suburban commuters to drunks getting the last train home, we capture the life of the Tube in all its guises.

To win a copy just add a comment to this post with the sentence or soundbite that you think should be used to promote Auckland’s own [but of course much smaller] version of underground; the CRL. We will choose the four best ones and send them each a copy. As well as seriously suggest to Auckland Transport that they use one of them!

Thanks to Madman Entertainment.

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58 comments

  1. Given this is about the tube being 150 years old, how about “CRL – Bringing Auckland into the 19th Century”? Somehow I can’t see me winning today…

  2. “Suitable for Mature Audiences.” Heh.

    I’ve seen this doco, and it’s a brilliant one. Worth purchasing if you have any interest in either London or mass-rapid-transit. I’d love for us to list other transport and urbanism documentaries we can watch and learn from.

  3. Hows about:

    CRL – Aucklands Next Generation Motorway

    CRL – Reconnecting Aucklands Heartland

    CRL – Aucklands Traffic Decongestant

    CRL – Costs Really Little – Delivers in Spades

    Or (somewhat tongue in cheek):

    CRL – Currently Running Late

    1. I like the fourth acronym but I think that the fifth is most apt.
      Let’s adopt: CRL – Costs Really Little – Delivers in Spades

  4. From the foothills of the Waitakeres to the shops of Newmarket to the pastures of Papakura, the City Rail Link is the beating heart of the Auckland’s rail network, keeping trains flowing and Aucklanders moving, fast and frequently to the CBD and far beyond.

  5. Quite simply, CRL is the rail equivalent of the central motorway junction. It makes the whole rail system work.

    Imagine if we had a gap in the motorway network between Fanshawe St and Khyber Pass and everyone had to drive along K Road? How well would our motorway network function?

    (Oh, and CRL is underground rather than using 35 hectares of prime inner city land like CMJ does).

    1. This is the only clever one in the whole list, and there are a million good, visually powerful things you can do with it in the marketing.

  6. Britomart Train Station along with 426m of tunnel completely transformed Downtown Auckland; imagine what 3 stations and 3500m of tunnel will do!
    Hint – The Worlds Most Livable City

  7. Why crawl (picture of motorway packed with hardly-moving cars) when you can CRL? (in the same picture a motion-blurred train, packed full of people)

  8. The CRL – the missing link in Auckland’s evolution

    The CRL – making a town a city (or a super city)

    The CRL – getting Auckland working

    The CRL – the low route to high growth

    The CRL – one short step for trains, one giant leap for Auckland

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