London Underground (Guide)

Founded in 1863, the London Underground is located in the city of London, the United Kingdom. The Underground serves the London region, England, and some of its parts from the adjacent counties of Essex, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire in the UK.

In 1933, the London Underground map was devised by Harry Beck, which is a 20th-century design classic. The Underground Map is beneficial since it indicates the general directions, routes, lines, zones that are used to designate trains of north, east, south, or westbound routes. Besides, the map shows all the interchanges of the tube transport system.

The official Tube Map provides the latest official Transport for London map, which is based on the iconic design of Harry Beck's map. Passengers should download the app to get the detailed Tube Map information and ready-routes to go.

The London Underground system comprises intro 11 lines, including Bakerloo, Central, Circle, Metropolitan, Northern, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Piccadilly, Waterloo & City, Victoria that serve overall 270 stations, which are operated by the Transport for London, coded as TfL. The Underground serves around 270 stations, from which 16 Underground stations are accessible outside the London region: 8 can be reached on the Metropolitan line and other eight on the Central line. Five out of these stations serve Amersham, Chalfont, Latimer, Chorleywood, and Chesham on the Metropolitan line, while Epping serves on the Central line; Those stations are beyond the 'M25 London Orbital' motorway. The rest 32 stations serve London boroughs; 6 stations serve Bexley, Croydon, Bromley, Kingston, Sutton, and Lewisham; However, these six stations are not provided by the Underground network, while the Hackney has Old Street, right on the Northern line Bank branch, and Manor House, available on the Piccadilly Line, is open only inside of its boundaries. Lewisham was served via the East London Line, which had stations at New Cross and New Cross Gate. However, later the station and its line were transferred to the London Overground network in the 2010s. The Busiest London Underground Stations King's Cross St. Pancras was ranked as the busiest station on the network in 2017, which was used by 97 million passengers, while Roding Valley was the least used station, with only 368,413 passengers. The total number of annu

London Underground consists of 11 lines, with a total of 402 kilometers (250 mi) in length, which makes the Underground being the fourth-longest metro system worldwide. Underground lines are made up of the deep-tube lines and the sub-surface network lines. Around 55% of the line system runs on the surface. London Underground has 93 miles (150 km) of the tube tunnel and about 20 miles (32 km) of the cut-and-cover tunnel. The Underground lines are electrified with a four-rail DC system. A conductor rail among the rails is energized at -210 V; Another rail outside the running tracks is excited at +420 V, which gives a difference of about 630 V in general. The average speed on the Underground reaches 20.5 mph (33.0 km/h); While the outside tunnels of central London run at over 40 mph (64 km/h), mostly in the countryside and suburban areas. The Metropolitan line of London can reach the maximum speeds of 62 mph (100 km/h). Sub-surface Network Lines The Circle, Metropolitan, District, and Hammersmith & City lines are part of the sub-surface network. These lines have a circular bi-directional loop around zone 1. The Circle Line and the Hammersmith & City share stations, the most of their track, along with the district and the Metropolitan lines. The Circle Line is designated with Yellow color and is 27.2 km (17.0 mi) length. The line serves 36 stations, has seven cars, and depending on the statistics of 2017, it reached an average of 257,391-weekday ridership. The District Line is marked with Green color. It is around 64.

Hours of Operation The London Underground opening hours vary from line to line, while the first London subway trains generally start operation at 5:00 am, and the last until after 01:00 am. Trains work from Monday to Saturday, along with the reduced working hours on Sunday. The London metro system trains usually run until midnight. However, passengers are recommended to check the timing information with staff at the particular tube station to find out the exact details on when the last train runs. Furthermore, the London Underground runs with a limited service on special days, mainly during holidays. For instance, on Christmas Eve, some lines are usually closing early, and do not operate on Christmas Day. Also, on Boxing Day, there is a limited rail service available. Night Tube Schedule Besides, the London Underground transit system launched a 24-hour underground service which operates on certain lines. The Night Tube service operates on the following London Underground Lines: Central line - between Hainault and Ealing Broadway and via Newbury Park and Loughton. Also, between Hainault and Woodford via Grange Hill and between Loughton and Epping. There is no service available on the West Ruislip branch. Northern line - between Edgware / High Barnet and Morden via Charing Cross. There is no service available on Bank branches and Mill Hill East. Piccadilly line - runs between Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5, and Cockfosters. There is no service available between Uxbridge and Acton Town and to Terminal 4 as well. Jubilee

There are various ways for ticketing and payment options at the London Underground system. Passengers can use paper tickets, contactless cards, Oyster cards, contactless credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Android Pay smartphones, and watches for travel. Besides, there are single and return tickets available, but Travelcards, (seasonal tickets), are used for longer times than a day. Travelcards are available on Oyster cards. The Oyster card should be 'touched in' at the entrance and exit of travel. In 2014, TfL became the 1st public transport who accepted payment from contactless bank cards, since September 2014. Later, the UK Underground adopted Apple Pay and Android Pay options that allow passengers to pay via using a contactless-enabled smartwatch or phone. London Councils manage a fare scheme for residents who are disabled, with special needs or meet specific age criteria. For instance, the UK residents aged above 66, can use a card called a "Freedom Pass," which allows free travel on TfL-operated lines at all times. The card is valid on some National Rail services within London. The card is valid at weekends and from Monday to Friday after 09:30. The Underground also provides a proof-of-payment system. The system is guarded by both plain-clothes and uniformed inspectors equipped with hand-held Oyster-card readers.

The Underground received around £2.669 billion in fares for the years 2016/17. The London Underground uses for London Transport's Zonal fare system to calculate service fares. The Underground has nine Zones, Zone 1 is the central Zone, where all sights and the hotels are located, it also consists of the loop of the Circle line along with a few stations on the south of River Thames. In Zone 6, Heathrow Airport is located, while the furthest Zone out nine is - Zone 9. Underground fares The fares vary depending on which Zone you are using. The Underground has different fares for a single journey ticket passengers, which differentiates adults and children ticket fares. Besides, there are different costs for Oyster or other contactless payment cardholders. Passengers without a valid ticket Under the Transport for London Byelaws and the Regulation of Railways Act (1889), those passengers who are traveling without a valid ticket will be demanded to pay a penalty fare of £80. However, if the fare is paid in 21 days period, the passenger will pay £40 instead of £80. However, children under 11 years can travel free via the London Underground.