It is 150 Years and is still running!

Source: www.google.com

Last Thursday marked the 150th Anniversary of the London Underground, which is also the first tube in the world.

On January 10, 1863 the first underground journey was made between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Line. The vehicle was built by the Metropolitan Railway, a company formed to reduce congestion on central London roads and that served the capital until 1933.

At that time there were around 25,000 passengers a day using the Underground.

It now carries more than 1 million travellers a year, serves 270 stations and has 249 miles of track.

The ongoing upgrade programme, that was started in 2006, is one of the largest and most complex engineering projects in the world and will carry on for the next nine years.  

There have been major improvements to the system so far. Stations like Blackfriars, King’s Cross and Green Park have been rebuild and others will be renovated soon  (i.e. Tottenham Court Road and Victoria).

Capacity and service frequencies have been boosted on the Jubilee and Victoria Line and later in 2013 there will be higher frequency services on the Central line.

Transportfor London (TFL) was created in 2000 to replace the London Regional Transport and is the local Government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system both in London and in England.

London Underground plays a very significant role in most Londoners’ lives, not to mention the tourists.

Without the Tube, special events such as last summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games would not have been the massive success that they actually were.

A wide range of celebratory events and activities will be held throughout 2013 to explore the Tube’s fascinating history.

For more information visit:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/25979.aspx

Did you know? The word “Underground” and the rounded station logo first appeared in 1908.