London Underground (Guide)

The London Underground, also known by its nickname as the Tube, or just the Underground, is a public rapid transit system type that serves the London region in England and some other parts of the nearest counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex in the United Kingdom.

Information

Stations

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

Lines

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.

Schedule

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

More about London Underground (Guide)

London Underground (Guide)

The London Underground, also known by its nickname as the Tube, or just the Underground, is a public rapid transit system type that serves the London region in England and some other parts of the nearest counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex in the United Kingdom.

Capacity

During the years 2017 and 2018, London Underground carried over 1.357 billion passengers, which make the Tube being the 12th-busiest metro system worldwide. The Tube has 11 lines, which handle up to 5 million passengers per day. The underground network has overal 270 stations and about 250 miles (400 km) of the track.

Interestingly, only 45% of the system is Underground in tunnels, and much of the network is available on the outer surface of London. Besides, the Underground does not cover most southern regions of London, and only 29 stations are accessible on the south of the River Thames.

The statistics of 2015 show 92% of operational expenditure, which is covered by passenger fares.

Facts

History

The initial idea of an underground railway connecting the City of London with its urban regions was proposed in the 1830s. Later, in 1854, the Metropolitan Railway was granted to build such a line, and soon they started to prepare construction. The first, short test tunnel was established in Kibblesworth, in the 1855s. The test-tunnel, which was in use for two years, was situated in a small town that had similar geological properties as London had.

The world's first underground railway, which opened in 1863, is situated between Paddington and Farringdon. The railway used gas-lit wooden carriages, which was hauled by steam locomotives. On an opening day, the rail carried around 38,000 passengers and borrowing trains from another railway system to enhance the service. This Underground is now part of the Hammersmith City, Circle, and Metropolitan lines.

Concerning the ticketing issues, in 1983, the first Travelcard ticket was introduced; Later in 2003, a new, contactless ticketing system emerged, known as Oyster. In 2014, people were provided with a new contactless card payment, that at the same time, made the Underground the first public transport system worldwide, which started to use contactless card payments.

By using our site you agree to our use of cookies to deliver a better site experience.