London Underground

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

The nickname "the Tube" comes from the round tunnels some trains use.
The nickname "the Tube" comes from the round tunnels some trains use.

[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

Zone 1 (central zone) of the Underground network as it would look in real
Zone 1 (central zone) of the Underground network as it would look in real

[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


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:

The oyster card
The oyster card
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

Escalators at Bank station on the Northern Line.
Escalators at Bank station on the Northern Line.

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

Platform Screen Doors at Westminster Station.
Platform Screen Doors at Westminster Station.

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 map at Ealing Broadway station, showing the layout of the Piccadilly Line at London Heathrow Airport once the T5 Extension opens.
A map at Ealing Broadway station, showing the layout of the Piccadilly Line at London Heathrow Airport once the T5 Extension opens.

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 planned strike over staff pay.

[edit] Fares

London Underground fares are now the most expensive of any rail system around the world, including the luxorious Orient Express, and they continue to rise at very high levels.[1][2]. Concern has also been raised over the huge difference between oyster card fares and cash fares, with the criticism that the high cash fares will discourage tourists and day visitors to London from travelling around the City.[3].

[edit] Delays

Because the underground is a very old system, engineering work is often needed and often causes delays. There can be other reasons as well, for example signal failures or other breakdowns. Customers can claim a refund if their tube journey is delayed for more than 15 minutes due to problems within the control of Transport For London[4].

[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. According to a report by MPs, commuters face "a daily trauma" and are often forced to travel in "intolerable conditions"[5]

[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. London Underground and the rail unions claim to be under high pressure from the working public, private businesses and government departments.

Strike actions on the London Underground occur for a number of reasons, including health and safety, working conditions and pay levels.