London Underground
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
The London Underground is a system of electric trains operating in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest Underground railway in the world. It started running in 1863 as Metropolitan Railway. After the opening the system was copied in many other cities, for example New York and Madrid. Even though it is called the Underground about half of it is above the ground. The "Tube" is a slang name for the London Underground, because the tunnels for some of the lines are round tubes running through the ground. The Underground has now got 274 stations and over 408 km of track. Some lines and stations were also closed after a time, for example Aldwych. In 2004-2005 nearly 976 million passengers used the underground.
Underground train systems in other cities may be called metros or subways (in North America). Subway is used in Britain to refer to underground walkways.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
The Metropolitan line was the first section of the Underground. It was opened in 1863. It ran between Paddington and Farringdon. It took 40.000 passengers per day. In 1884 the circle line was finished. 1890 the first electrical line was opened. Now it belongs to the Northern Line
[edit] Into the 20th century
Because the different lines were run by different companies, changing lines was difficult. Between 1900 and 1902 Charles Yerkes bought most of the companies and formed a company named Underground Electric Railways of London Company Ltd, short UERL.
[edit] In the 1930s and 1940s
In 1933 a company was formed of all the bus, tram and underground companies, called London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). It planned to make the network longer, but the war stopped this. In the war some Underground stations were used as shelterd against bombs.
[edit] After the war
After the war more passengers used the underground. Because of that they built the Victoria Line which took over many passengers. The Piccadilly Line was built further to Heathrow Airport in 1977. The Jubilee Line was opened in 1979. In 1999 the Jubilee Line was built longer to Stratford.
[edit] Network
[edit] Trains
The system uses two kinds of trains. A big one and a small one. The big ones are used for the rectangular tunnels (District Line, Metropolitan Line, Circle Line), the small ones for the round tunnels. The underground uses trains built between 1960 and 1996
[edit] Stations
The Underground usually drives to 274 stations, but three stations are closed for fixing, Heathrow 4, Lancaster Gate and Regents Park.
14 Stations are outside of London.
[edit] Lines
Here is a list of the London Underground lines
Name | First section opened |
Name dates from |
Type | Length /km |
Length /miles |
Stations | Journeys per year (2000's) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bakerloo Line | 1906 | 1906 | Deep level | 23.2 | 14.5 | 25 | 95,947 |
Central Line | 1900 | 1900 | Deep level | 74 | 46 | 49 | 183,582 |
Circle Line | 1884 | 1949 | Sub-surface | 22.5 | 14 | 27 | 68,485 |
District Line | 1868 | 1868-1905 | Sub-surface | 64 | 40 | 60 | 172,879 |
East London Line | 1869 | 1980s | Sub-surface | 7.4 | 4.6 | 8 | 10,429 |
Hammersmith & City Line | 1863 | 1988 | Sub-surface | 26.5 | 16.5 | 28 | 45,845 |
Jubilee Line | 1879 | 1979 | Deep level | 36.2 | 22.5 | 27 | 127,584 |
Metropolitan Line | 1863 | 1863 | Sub-surface | 66.7 | 41.5 | 34 | 53,697 |
Northern Line | 1890 | 1937 | Deep level | 58 | 36 | 50 | 206,734 |
Piccadilly Line | 1906 | 1906 | Deep level | 71 | 44.3 | 52 | 176,177 |
Victoria Line | 1968 | 1968 | Deep level | 21 | 13.25 | 16 | 161,319 |
Waterloo & City Line | 1898 | 1898 | Deep level | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2 | 9,616 |
[edit] Tickets
The Underground uses zones to collect fares. Zone 1 is the most central, with a boundary just beyond the Circle Line, and Zone 6 is the outermost and includes London Heathrow Airport. Stations on the Metropolitan Line outside London are in special Zones A to D.
There are ticket offices, some open only in the rush-hour, and ticket machines, which can be used at any time. Some machines take coins only, other touch-screen machines take coins and English notes, and usually give change. These machines also take credit and debit cards: some newer machines accept cards only.
[edit] Summary of ticket types
The following tickets are available from London Underground and TfL ticket offices to use on the Underground:
Ticket | Paper | Oyster | Off peak version | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Single | Yes | Yes | Yes (on Oyster) | Paper tickets are more expensive. |
Day Travelcard | Yes | No | Yes | The maximum daily spend on Oyster is capped at 50p below the Travelcard price. |
3-day Travelcard | Yes | No | Yes | |
Weekly Travelcard | No | Yes | No | |
Monthly Travelcard | No | Yes | No | Requires registration. |
Annual Travelcard | No | Yes | No | Requires registration. |
[edit] Station access
In the time most of the stations on the London Underground were built, they didn't think of handicapped people. That's why many stations cannot be reached by people in wheelchairs. but stations that were built a short time ago can be reached by handicaped people. Many old stations that have lifts cannot be used by disabled peole, because often there are more stairs between the platform and the lift.
TfL has a map that shows, which stations are accessible, and the new (2004) maps marks stations with a wheelchair symbol that have step-free access from street level. Step height from platform to train is up to 200 mm, and there can be a large gap between the train and curved platforms. Only the [[|Jubilee Line|Jubilee Line Extension]] is fully accessible. TfL's plan is that by 2020 there should be a network of over 100 fully accessible stations. This consists of those already accessible (recently built or rebuilt, and a handful of suburban stations that happen to have level access) along with selected 'key stations', which will be rebuilt. These key stations have been chosen because they are often used or used by many lines. After the finishing of this program nearly to 75% of journeys can be made step-free.
While many stations above ground only have a few steps to reach the platform, nearly all underground stations use some of the system's 410 escalators, 112 lifts, or both.
The escalators in Underground stations are some of the longest in Europe. They run 20 hours a day, 364 days a year and are used by 13,000 people per hour, with 95% of them running at one time. there are many signs that say to 'stand on the right-hand side, and to walk on the left.
[edit] Safety
[edit] Accidents
The tube has had very few accidents. Most happen if people fall onto the track. This happens if too many people are in the station. Some stations stop letting people in if they get too many. In some stations there are pits in the middle of the track to stop people being injured if they fall onto the track. Some people call them suicide pits. All stations of the new part of the Jubilee line have platform edge doors. These are doors, which only open when a train stops and prevent people from falling onto the track.
[edit] Bomb Attacks
In the 30s, 70s and 90s the underground was bombed many times by the IRA. In July the 7th 2005 there were three attacks by radical islamic Terrorists on two Circle Line trains and on one Picadilly Line train.
[edit] Smoking
Smoking is not allowed in any part of the underground. This ban happened after a Fire in King's Cross Station in 1987.
[edit] The future
[edit] Piccadilly Line extension to Terminal 5
A new station is being built on the Piccadilly Line for the new Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. The new part is called the PiccEx. It has two-platform station, two sidings where trains can be put, a ventilation shaft and two escape shafts. Building of the two tunnels, the ventilation shaft, one escape shaft and parts of T5 station have been finished and tracks are being layed. The junction between PiccEx and the Heathrow Loop is being built. This work required that the tunnel between Terminal 4 and Terminals 1,2,3 could not be used until 17 September 2006. The extension will open in 2008.
[edit] East London Line extension
There are plans to extend the East London Line (ELL) to the north and the south.Shoreditch station was closed in June 2006 and the line north of Whitechapel will run on the old Broad Street viaduct to Dalston and along the North London Line to Highbury & Islington, for a interchange with the Victoria Line. To the south, two branches are planned, using railway lines, that are already built. The first will run to West Croydon, the second to Clapham Junction.
The new stations north of Whitechapel will be:
- Shoreditch High Street
- Hoxton
- Haggerston
- Dalston Junction
The East London Line will become a more important line, and when the extension is open it will be run as part of the London Overground.
[edit] Criticism
The commuters of London often complain about the Underground. Even newspapers, especially the Evening Standard, often criticises the system. .
Usually the complaints are about delays, overcrowding and the fares. Sometimes even strikes happen among London Underground Staff. An example is the recent strike about the management structure and funding for the network.
[edit] Delays
Because the underground is a very old system, engineering work is often needed and often causes delays. There can be other reasons aswell, for example signal failures or other breakdowns.
[edit] Overcrowding
Because much more commuters use the underground then planned, overcrowding often happens. This can cause stress and frustration with the underground system among commuters.
[edit] Industrial action
Because so many passengers travel on the London Underground network every day, strikes or industrial actions on the Underground network have a very high impact on London's traffic and can impact on London's economy. That's why London Underground and the rail unions are open to high pressure from the working public, private businesses and government departments.
Most subjects of strike actions on the London Underground are very serious (health and safety, working conditions, etc.). But many commuters think that many strikes only happen for a pay-rise.