It's a huge achievement considering both the technical challenges (which other comments explain) but also that anything actually got done considering the UK's economic and political disaster.
Well fortunately New Tube for London (this new train design) all got signed-off a decade ago. Buuuuuut, TFL only bought the trains necessary for the Piccadilly line, with "options" to buy trains later for the other lines. However, post-Covid they don't have enough money to buy them anymore, and would need the government to pay for them, which it likely won't. So I won't be holding my breath for any further improvements :-(
I don't think it's a myth. The UK is actually two economies. It's basically southern Italy with NYC bolted onto it. The average numbers like those you've posted include London and look basically OK, but the London effect is hiding a lot.
Take out London and the rest of the UK is an economic basket case with low education levels, high rents, rapidly aging citizens, low wages, low investment, low productivity, a small tax base and a public estate in poor condition.
This was a really interesting piece on the matter, in fact most of Murdoch's work for the FT is excellent
London itself is very divided. There's plenty of money in a few select areas, but wastelands of poverty around them.
The UK has a huge reservoir of natural talent which it's doing its best to destroy. Plastic populism suits the ruling class much better than invention and originality.
> There's plenty of money in a few select areas, but wastelands of poverty around them
You can find the wealth and the poverty very close by, even at the same London address. i.e. a flats with huge book value, privately owned; and rented out to struggling people who will never be able to afford to buy their own flat.
> It's basically southern Italy with NYC bolted onto it.
More like "basically Romania with Vlad Tepes bolted onto it". The London-driven finance-first economy (to which I partake, btw) inevitably sucks the blood out of the rest of the country.