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The Circle Line of the London Underground became known as such in 1949. The Circle line was not built as a separate line, but was instead created by joining parts of the District and Metropolitan lines as a service. Only two small sections of track are unique to the Circle Line - a tiny connecting section between Aldgate and Tower Hill stations (which is so small that trains turning off onto the District Line can see the platforms at Aldgate and vice-versa) and another connection between Gloucester Road and High Street Kensington.
Pre-1949 this route was known as the Inner Circle, there being an Outer Circle route which diverted along the Hammersmith & City Line from Paddington to Latimer Road, then via a station at Uxbridge Road to Addison Road, now known as Kensington (Olympia), rejoining the Inner Circle at South Kensington. The Outer Circle closed in 1940 when both Uxbridge Road and the track between Latimer Road and Addison Road were closed. However the route continued to appear on the tube map for another seven years until Addison Road was renamed Kensington (Olympia).
In the north, east and west of central London, the Circle Line approximately outlines Zone 1 of the Underground (though in the south there is a substantial portion of the Zone outside of the area enclosed by the Circle Line) and is the only line (apart from the two stop Waterloo & City LineThe Waterloo & City Line is a short underground metro line in London, formally opened on 11 July 1898. It has only two stations, Waterloo and Bank (formerly called "City" hence the name of the line), between which it passes under the River Thames. It exis) that is completely contained within it.
As the name implies, trains runs continuously on the line. A complete journey around the line (a rarity as there are usually quicker routes between the stations on other lines) lasts approximately one hour. The line has 27 stations and 22.5 km of track.
A popular pub crawl is to visit each of the Circle Line tube stations in turn, drinking a half pint or short in a pub near to each.
There have, so far [2004] been three occurrences of a " Circle Line PartyA Circle Line Party is a planned sponteneity similar to a flash mob but with fun and revelry as its main purpose. Circle Line parties arre parties held on the moving trains of the London Underground train system's Circle Line. Though the time and place of". These were promoted by grassroots organisations such as the Space HijackersThe Space Hijackers define themselves as "an international band of anarchitects who battle to save our streets, towns and cities from the evils of Urban Planners, Architects, Multinationals and other hoodlums. Formed in 1999 their first major action was a, and involve the "hijacking" of a circle line train. Alcohol and snacks are freely distributed, and music is played. SambaSamba may have one of the following meanings. Samba is a genre of afro- Brazilian music. Samba is an afro-Brazilian folk dance based on Samba music. Samba software is a free, open implementation of Microsoft's networking protocols. bands have also featured as part of the Circle Line Party.
