This was the world’s first underground railway, and dates back to 1863. Today, London Underground is a major business with three million passenger journeys made a day, serving 275 stations over 408 km (253 miles) of railway. In 2004-2005, London Underground trains ran a total of 69.4 million kilometres in passenger service.

The Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway was the first company to build a ‘tube’ line, the inaugural stretch of six kms running between Paddington (Bishop’s Road) and Farringdon Street, creating quick steam locomotive connections from main line over-ground stations to the City. Streets along the route were dug up, tracks laid in a trench, covered with a brick-lined tunnel and the road surface replaced. Known as the ’cut and cover’ method, this was quick and effective but created as many problems as it was designed to solve - causing congestion during construction - and was abandoned towards the end of the 19th century.

The Circle Line
By then, however, the Metropolitan was stretching ever further outwards: across Middlesex, through Hertfordshire and into Buckinghamshire. Other companies were keen to exploit this new market and by Christmas 1868, the Metropolitan District had opened a line between Westminster and South Kensington. This linked with a branch line from the original ’Met’, built at Edgware Road and eastward extensions by both railway companies completed the Circle Line of today by 1884.

The Brunel legacy
For further expansion., companies looked eastwards, where the oldest section of today’s Underground had already been built. Twenty years before the ’Met’ steamed into history, Sir Marc Brunel and his famous son Isambard, had built the Thames Tunnel between Rotherhithe and Wapping. This was the first under water tunnel in the world and it is doubly remarkable that no major refurbishment to the tunnel was needed until the 1990s. Originally designed for horse-drawn traffic, it opened in 1843 for pedestrians, became a railway tunnel in 1869 and now carries the East London Line. The method adopted was similar to coal mining, sinking vertical shafts and then excavating the tunnels from within a metal shield.

Deep level lines
After the drawbacks of the ’cut and cover’ method became apparent, from the 1880’s lines in central London and the inner suburbs were built in twin tunnels, some 20 metres under ground, where a layer of clay made excavation relatively simple. The City and South London Railway was the first, running for 5.2 km from King William Street in the City and under the Thames to Stockwell. Planned as a cable-hauled railway, it opened in 1890 as the world’s first deep-level electric railway.

The Waterloo & City Railway, also passing under the river, opened in 1898, followed two years later by the Central London Railway from Shepherd’s Bush to Bank [see picture]. In 1906, the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway (Bakerloo) opened, as did the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway, now part of the Piccadilly Line. In 1907, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway opened, now part of the Northern Line.

Inter war expansion
The Underground expanded rapidly between the wars, reaching Ealing Broadway in 1920, Edgware in 1924 and Morden in 1926. 1932 and 1933 saw the Piccadilly extended to Uxbridge and Cockfosters, and the District to Upminster. The Metropolitan reached Watford in 1925 and Stanmore in 1932. A single authority, popularly known as London Transport, was set up in 1933 and immediately began formulating plans to expand the Underground further, both by building new extensions and by incorporating existing suburban lines.

The Second World War stopped those proposals in their tracks. Instead, eight km of tunnel on the uncompleted eastern extension of the Central Line became an underground aircraft component factory and many Tube stations were used as shelters during bombing raids. After the war, the Central Line scheme was completed, with new tunnels to Newbury Park opening in 1947, and extensions to West Ruislip and Epping opening in 1948 and 1949.

New lines
The first new Tube line in central London since 1907, the Victoria Line, was opened in 1969, with the southern extension to Brixton following in 1971. In December 1977, an extension of the Piccadilly line beyond Hounslow West to Heathrow Airport was opened, with a further single-track loop to serve the airport’s new Terminal 4 opened in 1986. The Jubilee Line was opened in 1979, with a 16 km extension started in December 1993, from Green Park to Stratford, and completed in November 1999.

James Henry Greathead
James Henry Greathead (1844 - 1896) became synonymous with underground railways. Born in South Africa he moved to Britain in 1859 to continue his education. In 1864 he began working with Peter W. Barlow; then in 1867 working with Peter’s brother William, as assistant engineer on the Midland Railway. In 1869, he rejoined Peter and they began work on designs for the Tower Subway, a tunnel under the river Thames in central London. This began a long fascination with the challenges of tunnelling through soft, waterlogged soil, and today Greathead is particularly remembered for his pioneering work in relation to tunnelling shield techniques.

He was Chief Engineer on the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern Line, opened in 1890), and, shortly before his death in Streatham, London, began work on the Central Line (opened 1900) with Sir Benjamin Baker. He was also a consultant for the construction of the Blackwall Tunnel and the Waterloo and City Line, both completed after his death. An English Heritage blue plaque marks his home in Barnes, south-west London, 3 St Mary’s Grove, where he lived between 1885 and 1889. A statue of Greathead was erected in Cornhill, London EC3.

Here is some further reading about the world’s first underground passenger railway.

'Mr Beck's Underground Map'


'Mr Beck's Underground Map' by Ken Garland. Publishers Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1854141682

The definitive book on Harry Beck’s classic diagram. Beautifully illustrated colour diagrams of the various maps issued from 1908-1964, mainly about Beck’s diagrams from his original sketch in 1931 until his last diagram in 1964.

'The London Underground: A diagrammatic history'


'The London Underground: A diagrammatic history' by Douglas Rose. Publisher Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1854142191

An annotated map of the London Underground showing exactly when every line (and segment of line) and every station was opened and any subsequent closures, as well as all the changes in station names.

'The Story of London's Underground'


'The Story of London's Underground' by John Day & John Reed. Publisher Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1854142894.

Excellent illustrations and a good historical sweep through the first century or so of the history of the London Underground.

'London's Disused Underground Stations'


'London's Disused Underground Stations' by J E Connor. Publisher Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 978-1854142504.

The author describes the life histories of 21 Tube stations that have been taken off-line since 1900.

The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever'


The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever' by Christian Wolmar. Publisher Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1843540236

Charting foundation and growth of one history’s boldest engineering projects, it is full of fascinating revelations about London, its people, its politics, its demands and its ever-increasing needs. Conveys well the sense of a secret world beneath our feet.

'London's Underground - An Illustrated History'


'London's Underground - An Illustrated History' by John Glover. Publisher Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 978-0711029354.

Practically everything that you want to know about the system is covered, from it's beginnings in 1863 to the Jubilee line extension in 2000 and the forming of Transport for London and the contraversial PPP scheme.One of the most authoritative books about the network.

'Underground Train File - Tube Stock 1933 - 1959'


'Underground Train File - Tube Stock 1933 - 1959' by Brian Hardy. Publisher Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1 85414 235 6.

Covers the Tube Stock fleet during the period 1933 to 1959. Its contents include Standard Tube Stock, 1938 Tube Stock and 1956/59 Tube Stock.

'The Underground Pioneers'


'The Underground Pioneers' by Andrew Emmerson. Publisher Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 1 85414 225 9

The construction of the Metropolitan and Metropolitan and District Railways was the wonder of the mid-Victorian period. In words and engravings of the time, this book shows us how the new railways were regarded.

Useful Links
Here are some useful links relating to London’s underground railways:

1959 Tube Stock - 40 years of working on the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Northern Lines

Beary’s Underground

Clive’s Underground Line Guides

London’s Abandoned Tube Stations

London’s Transport Museum Online

London Underground History

London Underground Railway Society

The Tube Prune

The Ultimate Guide to the London Underground

Under London Ground