Non User
Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z	Business Non User Industries Finance Tax

Home > London Underground

1 Background

Passengers wait for trains at the northbound platform at Baker Street. Note the brown signage indicating the Bakerloo Line.

Since 2003, the Tube has been part of Transport for London (TfL), which also schedules and lets contracts for the famous red double-decker buses. Previously London Transport was the holding company for London Underground.

There are currently 275 open stations and over 253 miles ( 408 km) of active lines, with three million passenger journeys made each day (927 million journeys made 1999-2000; there are a number of stations and tunnels now closedSt Mary's (Whitechapel Road) tube station shortly after its closure in 1938 Closed tube stations These stations of the London Underground and its predecessor companies (such as the Metropolitan Railway, the City and South London Railway and Underground El).

Lines on the Underground can be classified into two types: sub-surface and deep level. The sub-surface lines were dug by the cut-and-cover method, with the tracks running about 5 metres below the surface. Trains on the sub-surface lines have the same loading gaugeA loading gauge is the envelope or contoured shape within which all railway vehicles, engines, coaches and trucks must fit. It is dictated by the size of tunnels, height of bridges and shape and height of platforms. It varies between different countries a as British mainline trains. The deep-level or "tube" lines, bored using a tunnelling shieldA tunnelling shield is a protective structure used in the excavation of tunnels through soil that is too soft or fluid to remain stable during the time it takes to line the tunnel with a support structure of concrete or steel. In effect, the shield serves, run about 20 metres below the surface (although this varies considerably), with each track running in a separate tunnel lined with cast-iron rings. These tunnels can have a diameter as small as 3.56m (11ft 8.25in) and the loading gauge is thus considerably smaller than on the sub-surface lines, though standard gaugeAs railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. The eventual result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a standa track is used. Lines of both types usually emerge onto the surface outside the central area, the exceptions being the Victoria LineThe Victoria Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured light blue on the Tube map. It is a deep-level line running from the south-west to the north-east of London. It was built in the 1960s to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the which is in tunnel for its entire length save for a maintenance depot, and the 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 which, being very short, has no non-central part and no surface line.

2 Layout

The table below describes each of the lines, giving the colour presently used to represent the line on the ubiquitous Tube mapThe Tube map is the commonly-used name for the schematic diagram used to represent the lines and stations of the London Underground. A diagram rather than a map, it does not represent geography but relations; it distorts the positions of the stations conss, the date the first section opened and the type of tunnel used.

¹ The Circle Line became known as such in 1949 although a long-established service on the system. The Circle line was not built as a separate line, but was instead created as a service using parts of the District and Metropolitan Lines.
² Originally called the Metropolitan District Railway
^3a Originally a separate line operated by a consortium of companies including the Metropolitan. The line was owned by London Underground from 1948 but British Railways goods trains continued to run on it until 1966. It was for many years regarded as a branch of the Metropolitan Line, and was shown on the map as a purple and white striped line. The line gained its own identity in the late 1980s.
^3b Originally part of the Metropolitan Line, the line became known as the Hammersmith & City Line in 1990.
⁴ The busiest line on the system, with two branches in central London.
⁵ Came under control of London Transport in 1994.

The Piccadilly Line now runs to Heathrow Airport. Although it is slow (52 minutes nominal to Green Park) and often crowded, it is a far cheaper way to travel to the city centre than the Heathrow Express, which is not part of the tube network.

The Tube interchanges with the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) at several stations, including Bank, Canary Wharf and Stratford, and with the Tramlink system at Wimbledon. The Tube interchanges with international Eurostar trains at Waterloo.

The lack of lines in the south of the city is sometimes attributed of the geology of that area, the region almost being one large aquifer; additionally, it is impossible for cut and cover lines to go under the River Thames. However, this is probably not true (after all, the Northern Line manages perfectly well). Rather, the reason seems to be that during the great period of tube-building around the turn of the 19th century, South London was already well-served by the electrified and efficiently-run suburban lines of the London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, and so there was no need for tubes. Indeed, to this day, the area is well served by a large number of suburban rail services run by the South West Trains, Southern and South East Trains franchise holders (see Rail transport in the United Kingdom).

Politics	Business	Finance

Topics: London Underground Line Lines Railway Metropolitan Tube South...

---

Tube mapThe Tube map is the commonly-used name for the schematic diagram used to represent the lines and stations of the London Underground. A diagram rather than a map, it does not represent geography but relations; it distorts the positions of the stations cons TuberculosisTuberculosis is also called TB consumption (TB seemed to consume people from within with its symptoms of bloody cough, fever, pallor, and long relentless wasting), wasting disease White Plague (TB sufferers appeared markedly pale), phthisis (Greek for con Tubes and primers for ammunitionIn ancient times various devices were adopted to ignite the charge. Small guns were fired by thrusting a hot wire down the vent into the charge, or slow-burning powder was poured down the vent and ignited by a hot wire. Later the priming powder was ignite TubeA tube is hollow cylindrical shape. A collapsible tube is used as package for e. toothpaste, skin care products, shoe-polish and some foods, e. As a gimmick there are also tubes with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. For related terms see: Cathode ra TuberA tuber is a thickened part of a stem or branch, usually, though not always, subterranean, such as a potato. This should not be confused with a tuberous root such as a Jicama or Dahlia which is a similarly swollen root. See Rhizome. Tubeway ArmyTubeway Army was a British pop band formed by Gary Numan. It comprised Gary Numan (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Production), Paul Gardiner (Bass, Backing Vocals), Jess Lidyard (Drums). Gary Numan was the driving force of the band; his further albums were is Tube-dwelling spider Tube Bar prank calls Tuberous Sclerosis Tuberculate Pelagic Octopus Tuberose TUBE ALLOYS Tuberoinfundibular pathway Tubercle Tuberous root