Rapid transit or mass rapid transit ( MRT ) or heavy rail , commonly referred to as metro , is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas . A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway , tube , metro or underground . They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways , in which case some are referred to as el trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains . Rapid transit systems are railways , usually electric , that unlike buses or trams operate on an exclusive right-of-way , which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
187-655: The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube ) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire , Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Underground has its origins in the Metropolitan Railway , opening on 10 January 1863 as the world's first underground passenger railway. The Metropolitan
374-417: A Modernist style influenced or designed by Charles Holden , who was inspired by examples of Modernist architecture in mainland Europe. This influence can be seen in the bold vertical and horizontal forms, which were combined with the use of traditional materials like brick. Holden called them 'brick boxes with concrete lids'. Today, several of these Holden-designed stations are listed buildings , including
561-498: A joint committee composed of members of both Houses of Parliament reviewed the options. Proposals to extend west and then south from Paddington to South Kensington and east from Moorgate to Tower Hill were accepted and received royal assent on 29 July 1864 in the Metropolitan Railway (Notting Hill and Brompton Extension) Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxci) and the Metropolitan Railway (Tower Hill Extension) Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. cccxv) respectively. To complete
748-661: A modernist style. The schematic Tube map , designed by Harry Beck in 1931, was voted a national design icon in 2006 and now includes other transport systems besides the Underground, such as the Docklands Light Railway , London Overground , Thameslink , the Elizabeth line , and Tramlink . Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and the Johnston typeface , created by Edward Johnston in 1916. The idea of an underground railway linking
935-729: A " sanatorium for [sufferers of ...] asthma and bronchial complaints", tonsillitis could be cured with acid gas and the Twopenny Tube cured anorexia . With the advent of electric Tube services (the Waterloo and City Railway and the Great Northern and City Railway), the Volks Electric Railway , in Brighton , and competition from electric trams, the pioneering Underground companies needed modernising. In
1122-425: A body of water), which are potential congestion sites but also offer an opportunity for transfers between lines. Ring lines provide good coverage, connect between the radial lines and serve tangential trips that would otherwise need to cross the typically congested core of the network. A rough grid pattern can offer a wide variety of routes while still maintaining reasonable speed and frequency of service. A study of
1309-454: A code for its stations. Unlike that of Singapore's MRT, it is mostly numbers. Based on the line number, for example Sinyongsan station, is coded as station 429. Being on Line 4, the first number of the station code is 4. The last two numbers are the station number on that line. Interchange stations can have multiple codes. Like City Hall station in Seoul which is served by Line 1 and Line 2. It has
1496-651: A code of 132 and 201 respectively. The Line 2 is a circle line and the first stop is City Hall, therefore, City Hall has the station code of 201. For lines without a number like Bundang line it will have an alphanumeric code. Lines without a number that are operated by KORAIL will start with the letter 'K'. With widespread use of the Internet and cell phones globally, transit operators now use these technologies to present information to their users. In addition to online maps and timetables, some transit operators now offer real-time information which allows passengers to know when
1683-583: A conventional track is often provided in case of flat tires and for switching . There are also some rubber-tired systems that use a central guide rail , such as the Sapporo Municipal Subway and the NeoVal system in Rennes , France. Advocates of this system note that it is much quieter than conventional steel-wheeled trains, and allows for greater inclines given the increased traction of
1870-533: A day use District Line tracks between Wimbledon and East Putney. London Underground trains come in two sizes, larger sub-surface trains and smaller deep-tube trains. Since the early 1960s all passenger trains have been electric multiple units with sliding doors and a train last ran with a guard in 2000. All lines use fixed-length trains with between six and eight cars, except for the Waterloo & City line that uses four cars. New trains are designed for maximum number of standing passengers and for speed of access to
2057-405: A dedicated right-of-way are typically used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical barrier in the urban fabric that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path and have a larger physical footprint. This method of construction is the cheapest as long as land values are low. It is often used for new systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line
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#17327980156362244-782: A diameter of about 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m), with one tube for each direction. The seven deep-level lines have the exclusive use of tracks and stations along their routes with the exceptions of the Piccadilly line, which shares track with the District line, between Acton Town and Hanger Lane Junction, and with the Metropolitan line, between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge; and the Bakerloo line, which shares track with London Overground 's Watford DC Line for its above-ground section north of Queen's Park. Fifty-five per cent of
2431-400: A flat rate fare of 2 d , the District and Metropolitan together lost four million passengers between the second half of 1899 and the second half of 1900. The use of steam propulsion led to smoke-filled stations and carriages that were unpopular with passengers and electrification was seen as the way forward. However, electric traction was still in its infancy and agreement would be needed with
2618-540: A flurry of applications to Parliament in 1863 for new railways in London, many competing for similar routes. The House of Lords established a select committee that recommended an "inner circuit of railway that should abut, if not actually join, nearly all of the principal railway termini in the Metropolis". For the 1864 parliamentary session, railway schemes were presented that met the recommendation in varying ways and
2805-616: A junction connected the line to the L&;SWR's Waterloo to Reading Line just north of East Putney station. The District had running rights and extended some Putney services to Wimbledon on 3 June 1889. In 1897 the nominally independent Whitechapel and Bow Railway received permission for a link from the District Railway at Whitechapel to the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) at an above-ground junction at Bow , to
2992-418: A large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints. A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines , which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "L", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops. Geographical barriers may cause chokepoints where transit lines must converge (for example, to cross
3179-652: A large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level. In most of Britain , a subway is a pedestrian underpass . The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground . The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro , mostly overground, is known as the Metro . In Scotland , the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway . In Ireland ,
3366-452: A line is obtained by multiplying the car capacity, the train length, and the service frequency . Heavy rapid transit trains might have six to twelve cars, while lighter systems may use four or fewer. Cars have a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers, varying with the seated to standing ratio – more standing gives higher capacity. The minimum time interval between trains is shorter for rapid transit than for mainline railways owing to
3553-615: A metro. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia . In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania , Genoa , Milan , Naples , Rome and Turin also have metro lines. In Germany and Austria they rapid transit is known as U-Bahn , which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin , Hamburg , Munich and Nuremberg , while in Austria such
3740-455: A potential difference of 630 V . On the sections of line shared with mainline trains, such as the District line from East Putney to Wimbledon and Gunnersbury to Richmond, and the Bakerloo line north of Queen's Park, the centre rail is bonded to the running rails. The average speed on the Underground is 20.5 mph (33.0 km/h). Outside the tunnels of central London, many lines' trains tend to travel at over 40 mph (64 km/h) in
3927-548: A proposal to rebuild the station as a District terminus. The District proposed running trains through to Uxbridge, leading to negotiations about the charges for traction current before District services were extended to Uxbridge on 1 March 1910. In 1910 a platform was built at Mill Hill Park for the Hounslow and Uxbridge shuttles and a flying junction built north of the station to separate the Ealing and Hounslow traffic. The station
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#17327980156364114-617: A public corporation that would take control of the UERL, the Metropolitan Railway and all bus and tram operators within an area designated as the London Passenger Transport Area . The Board was a compromise – public ownership but not full nationalisation – and came into existence on 1 July 1933. On this date, ownership of the assets of the District and the other Underground companies transferred to
4301-518: A rapid transit setting. District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway , also known as the District Railway , was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the first part of the line opened using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives . The Metropolitan Railway operated all services until
4488-600: A service to Windsor . Conflict between the Met and the District and the expense of construction delayed the completion of the inner circle . In 1874, frustrated City financiers formed the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway Company with the aim of finishing the route. The company was supported by the District railway and obtained parliamentary authority on 7 August 1874, but struggled with funding. The time allowed
4675-463: A shuttle from South Acton. The UERL's ownership of the highly profitable London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) since 1912 had enabled the UERL group, through the pooling of revenues, to use profits from the bus company to subsidise the less profitable railways. However, competition from numerous small bus companies during the early 1920s eroded the profitability of the LGOC and had a negative impact on
4862-480: A single track line from there to West Brompton on the West London Railway . There were no intermediate stations and this service initially operated as a shuttle. By summer 1869 additional tracks had been laid between South Kensington and Brompton (Gloucester Road) and from Kensington (High Street) to a junction with the line to West Brompton. During the night of 5 July 1870 the District secretly built
5049-565: A specialized transit police may be established. These security measures are normally integrated with measures to protect revenue by checking that passengers are not travelling without paying. Some subway systems, such as the Beijing Subway , which is ranked by Worldwide Rapid Transit Data as the "World's Safest Rapid Transit Network" in 2015, incorporates airport-style security checkpoints at every station. Rapid transit systems have been subject to terrorism with many casualties, such as
5236-608: A system exists in Vienna . In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small metro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system
5423-502: A terminus at Hammersmith , and was served by through trains to Mansion House. West Brompton was now served by a shuttle to Earl's Court. Earl's Court station burnt down in 1875 and a larger replacement with four tracks and two island platforms opened on 1 February 1878. This was sited to the west of the original station; to the east of the station a flying junction was built to separate traffic to Kensington (High Street) and from Gloucester Road. In December 1876, six trains per hour ran on
5610-449: A year later in 1884. Traffic was light and Hounslow Barracks was initially served by a shuttle to Osterley & Spring Grove that connected to an off-peak Hounslow Town to Mill Hill Park train. Hounslow Town station closed in 1886 and Heston Hounslow station (now Hounslow Central ) opened. From 1 March 1883 to 30 September 1885, via a connection to the GWR tracks at Ealing, the District ran
5797-801: Is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area . Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metrorail , Los Angeles Metro Rail , the Miami Metrorail , and the Montreal Metro are generally called the Metro . In Philadelphia , the term "El" is used for the Market–Frankford Line which runs mostly on an elevated track, while the term "subway" applies to the Broad Street Line which is almost entirely underground. Chicago 's commuter rail system that serves
London Underground - Misplaced Pages Continue
5984-608: Is a single corporate image for the entire transit authority, but the rapid transit uses its own logo that fits into the profile. A transit map is a topological map or schematic diagram used to show the routes and stations in a public transport system. The main components are color-coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations. Maps may show only rapid transit or also include other modes of public transport. Transit maps can be found in transit vehicles, on platforms , elsewhere in stations, and in printed timetables . Maps help users understand
6171-507: Is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares. The Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster card , a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless bank card payments were introduced in 2014, the first such use on a public transport system. The LPTB commissioned many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in
6358-506: Is built. Most rapid transit trains are electric multiple units with lengths from three to over ten cars. Crew sizes have decreased throughout history, with some modern systems now running completely unstaffed trains. Other trains continue to have drivers, even if their only role in normal operation is to open and close the doors of the trains at stations. Power is commonly delivered by a third rail or by overhead wires . The whole London Underground network uses fourth rail and others use
6545-759: Is identified by a letter (such as S Stock , used on the Metropolitan line ), while tube stock is identified by the year of intended introduction (for example, 1996 Stock , used on the Jubilee line). The Underground is served by the following depots: In the years since the first parts of the London Underground opened, many stations and routes have been closed. Some stations were closed because of low passenger numbers rendering them uneconomical; some became redundant after lines were re-routed or replacements were constructed; and others are no longer served by
6732-416: Is necessary, rolling stock with a smaller loading gauge from one sub network may be transported along other lines that use larger trains. On some networks such operations are part of normal services. Most rapid transit systems use conventional standard gauge railway track . Since tracks in subway tunnels are not exposed to rain , snow , or other forms of precipitation , they are often fixed directly to
6919-605: Is now part of the Circle , District , Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines . The first line to operate underground electric traction trains , the City & South London Railway in 1890, is now part of the Northern line . The network has expanded to 11 lines with 250 miles (400 km) of track. However, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London ; there are only 33 Underground stations south of
7106-555: Is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L (New York City Subway service) refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are
7293-412: Is serviced by at least one specific route with trains stopping at all or some of the line's stations. Most systems operate several routes, and distinguish them by colors, names, numbering, or a combination thereof. Some lines may share track with each other for a portion of their route or operate solely on their own right-of-way. Often a line running through the city center forks into two or more branches in
7480-748: Is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts ; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway , underground , Untergrundbahn ( U-Bahn ) in German, or the Tunnelbana (T-bana) in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated ( L or el ), skytrain , overhead , overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if
7667-634: The Brill Tramway in 1935, and the line from Quainton Road to Verney Junction in 1936. The 1935–40 New Works Programme included the extension of the Central and Northern lines and the Bakerloo line to take over the Metropolitan's Stanmore branch. The Second World War suspended these plans after the Bakerloo line had reached Stanmore and the Northern line High Barnet and Mill Hill East in 1941. Following bombing in 1940, passenger services over
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7854-560: The Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway with authority for a tube from South Kensington to Piccadilly Circus . These plans were combined with those of the Great Northern and Strand Railway , a tube railway with permission to build a line from Strand to Wood Green , to create the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR). The section of the District's deep-level tube from South Kensington to Mansion house
8041-606: The Central London Railway in 1900, known as the "twopenny tube". These two ran electric trains in circular tunnels having diameters between 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) and 12 feet 2.5 inches (3.72 m), whereas the Great Northern and City Railway , which opened in 1904, was built to take main line trains from Finsbury Park to a Moorgate terminus in the City and had 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter tunnels. While steam locomotives were in use on
8228-480: The Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and cover method. Both railways expanded, the District building five branches to the west reaching Ealing , Hounslow , Uxbridge , Richmond and Wimbledon and the Metropolitan eventually extended as far as Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire – more than 50 miles (80 km) from Baker Street and the centre of London. For the first deep-level tube line,
8415-472: The City and South London Railway , two 10 feet 2 inches (3.10 m) diameter circular tunnels were dug between King William Street (close to today's Monument station ) and Stockwell , under the roads to avoid the need for agreement with owners of property on the surface. This opened in 1890 with electric locomotives that hauled carriages with small opaque windows, nicknamed padded cells . The Waterloo and City Railway opened in 1898, followed by
8602-701: The City of London with the urban centre was proposed in the 1830s, and the Metropolitan Railway was granted permission to build such a line in 1854. To prepare construction, a short test tunnel was built in 1855 in Kibblesworth , a small town with geological properties similar to London. This test tunnel was used for two years in the development of the first underground train, and was later, in 1861, filled up. The world's first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It
8789-507: The Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act 1929 ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5 . c. 7), construction started in 1930. Two additional tracks were built from west of Turnham Green to Northfields on the Hounslow branch. East of Turnham Green a freight loop was built for eastbound coal trains from Richmond to Kensington. Acton Town was rebuilt with five platforms, and a depot was built west of Northfields station. Several stations were rebuilt in
8976-627: The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways. In France, large cities, such as Paris , Marseille and Lyon , feature a Métro . Also the smaller cities of Lille Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands have metro systems in place. Several Southern European contries also have
9163-609: The Great Northern & City Railway and the East London Railway , and the Waterloo & City Railway , by then owned by the main line London and South Western Railway , remained outside the Underground Group's control. A joint marketing agreement between most of the companies in the early years of the 20th century included maps, joint publicity, through ticketing and U NDERGROUN D signs, incorporating
9350-739: The Greater London Council (GLC), and the London Transport Board was abolished. The London Transport brand continued to be used by the GLC. On 28 February 1975, a southbound train on the Northern City Line failed to stop at its Moorgate terminus and crashed into the wall at the end of the tunnel, in the Moorgate tube crash . There were 43 deaths and 74 injuries, the greatest loss of life during peacetime on
9537-752: The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad K-series cars from 1958, the New York City Subway R38 and R42 cars from the late-1960s, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series , Osaka Municipal Subway 10 series and MTR M-Train EMUs from the 1970s, were generally only made possible largely due to the relatively generous loading gauges of these systems and also adequate open-air sections to dissipate hot air from these air conditioning units. Especially in some rapid transit systems such as
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#17327980156369724-660: The Kensington and Richmond line . The route headed north from Addison Road on the West London Railway before curving round to serve Hammersmith at a station at Hammersmith (Grove Road) (linked to the Hammersmith & City Railway station by footbridge), Turnham Green , Brentford Road ( Gunnersbury from 1871) and Kew Gardens and Richmond . The line opened on 1 January 1869, the L&SWR running services from Waterloo and Ludgate Hill via Addison Road, and
9911-672: The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games , the Underground saw record passenger numbers, with over 4.3 million people using the Tube on some days. This record was subsequently beaten in later years, with 4.82 million passengers in December 2015. In 2013, the Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary, with celebratory events such as steam trains and installation of a unique Labyrinth artwork at each station. Under TfL, London's public transport network became more unified, with existing suburban rail lines across London upgraded and rebranded as London Overground from 2007, with
10098-597: The London Blitz , a bomb penetrated the booking hall of Bank Station , the blast from which killed 111 people, many of whom were sleeping in passageways and on platforms. On 3 March 1943, a test of the air-raid warning sirens, together with the firing of a new type of anti-aircraft rocket, resulted in a crush of people attempting to take shelter in Bethnal Green Underground station . A total of 173 people, including 62 children, died, making this both
10285-677: The London Passenger Transport Board , which used the London Transport brand . The Waterloo & City Railway , which was by then in the ownership of the main line Southern Railway , remained with its existing owners. In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, Harry Beck 's diagrammatic tube map first appeared. In the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed,
10472-429: The London Underground . In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway , initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines . As of 2021 , China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world – 40 in number, running on over 4,500 km (2,800 mi) of track – and was responsible for most of the world's rapid-transit expansion in
10659-525: The M25 London Orbital motorway ( Amersham , Chalfont & Latimer , Chesham , and Chorleywood on the Metropolitan line and Epping on the Central). Of the thirty-two London boroughs , six ( Bexley , Bromley , Croydon , Kingston , Lewisham and Sutton ) are not served by the Underground network, while Hackney has Old Street (on the Northern line Bank branch) and Manor House (on
10846-415: The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met ) opened the world's first underground railway. The line was built from Paddington beneath the New Road , connecting the main line railway termini at Paddington , Euston and King's Cross . Then it followed Farringdon Road to a station at Farringdon Street in Smithfield , near the capital's financial heart in the City . The Met's early success prompted
11033-560: The Metropolitan Railway opened publicly in London in 1863. High capacity monorails with larger and longer trains can be classified as rapid transit systems. Such monorail systems recently started operating in Chongqing and São Paulo . Light metro is a subclass of rapid transit that has the speed and grade separation of a "full metro" but is designed for smaller passenger numbers. It often has smaller loading gauges, lighter train cars and smaller consists of typically two to four cars. Light metros are typically used as feeder lines into
11220-414: The Midland Railway operated a circular service from St Pancras to Earl's Court via Dudding Hill, Acton and the L&SWR to Hammersmith. In 1879 the District opened a junction west of L&SWR's Turnham Green station for a 3 miles (4.8 km) line to Ealing. With stations at Acton Green (now Chiswick Park ), Mill Hill Park (now Acton Town ), Ealing Common and Ealing Broadway , the Ealing station
11407-578: The Montreal Metro (opened 1966) and Sapporo Municipal Subway (opened 1971), their entirely enclosed nature due to their use of rubber-tyred technology to cope with heavy snowfall experienced by both cities in winter precludes any air-conditioning retrofits of rolling stock due to the risk of heating the tunnels to temperatures that would be too hot for passengers and for train operations. In many cities, metro networks consist of lines operating different sizes and types of vehicles. Although these sub-networks may not often be connected by track, in cases when it
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#173279801563611594-411: The Northern line from Kennington to Battersea Power Station via Nine Elms . The extension was privately funded, with contributions from developments across the Battersea Power Station , Vauxhall and Nine Elms areas. As of 2021, the Underground serves 272 stations . Sixteen stations (eight on each of the Metropolitan and Central lines) are outside the London region , with five of those beyond
11781-469: The Prague Metro . The London Underground and Paris Métro are densely built systems with a matrix of crisscrossing lines throughout the cities. The Chicago 'L' has most of its lines converging on The Loop , the main business, financial, and cultural area. Some systems have a circular line around the city center connecting to radially arranged outward lines, such as the Moscow Metro 's Koltsevaya Line and Beijing Subway 's Line 10 . The capacity of
11968-420: The River Thames . The system's 272 stations collectively accommodate up to 5million passenger journeys a day. In 2023/24 it was used for 1.181billion passenger journeys. The system's first tunnels were built just below the ground, using the cut-and-cover method; later, smaller, roughly circular tunnels—which gave rise to its nickname, the Tube—were dug through at a deeper level. Despite its name, only 45% of
12155-399: The Secretary of State for Transport , still retaining the London Transport brand. One person operation had been planned in 1968, but conflict with the trade unions delayed introduction until the 1980s. On 18 November 1987, fire broke out in an escalator at King's Cross St Pancras tube station . The resulting fire cost the lives of 31 people and injured a further 100. London Underground
12342-428: The Singapore MRT , Changi Airport MRT station has the alphanumeric code CG2, indicating its position as the 2nd station on the Changi Airport branch of the East West Line. Interchange stations have at least two codes, for example, Raffles Place MRT station has two codes, NS26 and EW14, the 26th station on the North South Line and the 14th station on the East West Line. The Seoul Metro is another example that utilizes
12529-422: The West London line were suspended, leaving Olympia exhibition centre without a railway service until a District line shuttle from Earl's Court began after the war. After work restarted on the Central line extensions in east and west London, these were completed in 1949. During the war many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters. They were not always a guarantee of safety however; on 11 January 1941 during
12716-450: The deep tube lines . Historically, rapid transit trains used ceiling fans and openable windows to provide fresh air and piston-effect wind cooling to riders. From the 1950s to the 1990s (and in most of Europe until the 2000s), many rapid transit trains from that era were also fitted with forced-air ventilation systems in carriage ceiling units for passenger comfort. Early rapid transit rolling stock fitted with air conditioning , such as
12903-470: The inner circle between Mansion House and Aldgate. The District operated four trains per hour from Mansion House to Hammersmith. Also leaving every hour from Mansion House were two GWR middle circle services to Aldgate via Addison Road and two L&NWR services to Broad Street via Willesden Junction. Three services an hour travelled between West Brompton and Earl's Court. In 1864 the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) had obtained permission for
13090-402: The inner circle service was eight trains an hour, completing the 13 miles (21 kilometres) circuit in 81–84 minutes, but this proved impossible to maintain and service was reduced to six trains an hour with a 70-minute timing in 1885. Initially guards were permitted no relief breaks during their shift until September 1885 when they were permitted three 20-minute breaks. Several schemes to cross
13277-418: The inner circle service was ten trains per hour in each direction, but this frequency of service caused problems. A reduction to eight would leave the Kensington High Street to Edgware Road section with too few trains. However the Metropolitan had recently rebuilt it with four platforms as part of an abandoned plan for a tube to Kilburn. The District extended its Putney to High Street service to Edgware Road and
13464-409: The linear motor for propulsion. Some urban rail lines are built to a loading gauge as large as that of main-line railways ; others are built to a smaller one and have tunnels that restrict the size and sometimes the shape of the train compartments. One example is most of the London Underground , which has acquired the informal term "tube train" due to the cylindrical shape of the trains used on
13651-484: The "Bakerloo" was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified "gutter title". By 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines. In January 1913, the UERL acquired the Central London Railway and the City & South London Railway , as well as many of London's bus and tram operators. Only the Metropolitan Railway , along with its subsidiaries
13838-432: The 15 world largest subway systems suggested a universal shape composed of a dense core with branches radiating from it. Rapid transit operators have often built up strong brands , often focused on easy recognition – to allow quick identification even in the vast array of signage found in large cities – combined with the desire to communicate speed, safety, and authority. In many cities, there
14025-419: The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and the 2005 " 7/7 " terrorist bombings on the London Underground. Some rapid transport trains have extra features such as wall sockets, cellular reception, typically using a leaky feeder in tunnels and DAS antennas in stations, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The first metro system in the world to enable full mobile phone reception in underground stations and tunnels
14212-681: The 2010s. The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro . The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472 stations in total) is the New York City Subway . The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Shanghai Metro, Tokyo subway system , Seoul Metro and the Moscow Metro . The term Metro
14399-532: The 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system . Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities , agglomerations , and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency . The extent of
14586-471: The Central line east of St Paul's station); or trains run on the right (for example on the Victoria line between Warren Street and King's Cross St. Pancras, to allow cross-platform interchange with the Northern line at Euston ). The lines are electrified with a four-rail DC system: a conductor rail between the rails is energised at −210 V and a rail outside the running rails at +420 V , giving
14773-583: The District Railway and his experiences in the United States led him to favour DC with a track level conductor rail similar to that in use on the City & South London Railway and Central London Railway. After arbitration by the Board of Trade , the DC system was adopted. The District had permission for a deep-level tube beneath the sub-surface line between Earl's Court and Mansion House and in 1898 bought
14960-563: The District Railway introduced its own trains in 1871. The railway was soon extended westwards through Earl's Court to Fulham , Richmond , Ealing and Hounslow . After completing the inner circle and reaching Whitechapel in 1884, it was extended to Upminster in Essex in 1902. To finance electrification at the beginning of the 20th century, American financier Charles Yerkes took it over and made it part of his Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) group. Electric propulsion
15147-526: The District Railway needed its own locomotives, they ordered twenty four condensing steam locomotives from Beyer Peacock similar to the A Class locomotives the Metropolitan Railway was using on the route. As they were intended for an underground railway, the locomotives did not have cabs, but had a weatherboard with a bent-back top. The back plate of the bunker was raised to provide protection when running bunker first. A total of fifty four locomotives were purchased. They were still in service in 1905 when
15334-481: The District began running its own trains. From this date, the two companies operated a joint inner circle service between Mansion House and Moorgate Street via South Kensington and Edgware Road that ran every ten minutes. This was supplemented by a District service every ten minutes between Mansion House and West Brompton, and Hammersmith & City Railway and Great Western Railway (GWR) suburban services between Edgware Road and Moorgate Street. The permissions for
15521-464: The District lines and the underground lines planned. Work began in 1902 at Lots Road, by Chelsea Creek and in February 1905 Lots Road Power Station began generating electricity at 11 kV 33 + 1 ⁄ 3 Hz, conveyed by high voltage cables to substations that converted this to approximately 550V DC. While the power station was being built, the District electrified the Ealing to Harrow line that
15708-468: The District refused to sell tickets to the station. After opening the District service from New Cross four trains an hour ran alternately to Hammersmith or Putney, but as passenger demand was low after a month this was reduced to two trains an hour to Ealing. Four trains an hour went from Whitechapel, two to Putney, one to Hammersmith and one to Richmond. The middle and outer circle services continued operating from Mansion House at two per hour each. Initially
15895-472: The District shared the tracks with LT&SR steam engines and widening the railway to East Ham was considered essential. Four tracks were laid and two electrified as far as Barking, where the Tilbury and Upminster routes separated. On 1 April 1908 District trains were extended through to Barking and the work was largely finished in July 1908. After 2 May 1909 trains no longer reversed at Hounslow Town after
16082-497: The District tracks. In November 1912 a bill was published that included a plan to extend the Piccadilly tube tracks westwards from Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR's Richmond branch tracks. The bill passed as the London Electric Railway Act 1913 ( 3 & 4 Geo. 5 . c. xcvii) on 15 August 1913, although the advent of World War I prevented work on the extension. Powers were renewed in 1926 for
16269-783: The District were running electric services on all remaining routes. From December 1905 the L&NWR service was hauled by electric locomotives from Mansion House to Earl's Court, where a L&NWR steam locomotive took over. In 1907 the weekday off-peak service was four trains per hour from East Ham to Ealing Broadway, four per hour from Mansion House to alternately Richmond and Wimbledon and two per hour from Wimbledon to High Street Kensington and Ealing Broadway to Whitechapel. Four trains per hour ran from Putney Bridge to Earl's Court, two continuing to High Street Kensington. From South Harrow there were two trains per hour to Mill Hill Park, and four trains per hour from Hounslow Barracks to Mill Hill Park, two of these continuing to South Acton. Meanwhile,
16456-623: The District's electric locomotives that were no longer needed for the L&NWR's outer circle service, and east of Barking by steam locomotive. From 1912 two specially built sets of saloon coaches with retention toilets were used. In the 1920s the off-peak weekday service was a train every ten minutes from Wimbledon and Ealing and every fifteen minutes from Richmond. Six trains per hour ran from Putney Bridge to High Street Kensington. Trains from Hounslow left every 6–8 minutes, terminating at Acton Town or South Acton. Six trains per hour left Hammersmith for South Harrow, three continuing to Uxbridge. In 1925
16643-649: The East London Railway to SER's New Cross station . After an official opening ceremony on 17 September and trial running, a circular service started on Monday 6 October 1884. On the same day the District extended its services to Whitechapel and over the ELR to New Cross, calling at new joint stations at Aldgate East and St Mary's. Joint stations opened on the circle line at Cannon Street , Eastcheap ( Monument from 1 November 1884) and Mark Lane . The Met's Tower of London station closed on 12 October 1884 after
16830-482: The GWR's middle circle having started at Earl's Court from 1900. The District sought to serve Harrow and Uxbridge and in 1892 a route from Ealing to Roxeth (South Harrow) was surveyed and a bill presented in the name of the nominally independent Ealing and South Harrow Railway (E&SHR), becoming law as the Ealing and South Harrow Railway Act 1894 ( 57 & 58 Vict. c. ccxv). Construction started in 1897 and by
17017-483: The L&NWR running services from Broad Street to Richmond from a link at Brentford Road to the North London Line at South Acton. Stations opened on the line at Shaftesbury Road ( Ravenscourt Park from 1888) and Shepherds Bush on 1 May 1874. In 1875 permission was given for a 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (0.80 km) link from the District station at Hammersmith to a junction just east of Ravenscourt Park. As
17204-429: The L&SWR line was on a viaduct and the District line in a cutting, the line rose steeply. On 1 June 1877, the Hammersmith branch was extended to Richmond , initially with a service of one train an hour to Mansion House. The Met and GWR Hammersmith & City line had access by a link just north of their Hammersmith station and diverted a service to Richmond from 1 October 1877. From 1 May 1878 to 30 September 1880,
17391-611: The LPTB. The railway became the District line of London Transport . From 23 October 1933 a Piccadilly line service replaced the Harrow to Uxbridge District shuttle. In 1923 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) had taken over the L&NWR railway's outer circle service from Earl's Court and by the Second World War this had been cut back to an electrified Earl's Court to Willesden Junction shuttle. Following bombing of
17578-709: The London Underground. In 1976, the Northern City Line was taken over by British Rail and linked up with the main line railway at Finsbury Park , a transfer that had already been planned prior to the accident. In 1979, another new tube, the Jubilee line , named in honour of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II , took over the Stanmore branch from the Bakerloo line, linking it to a newly constructed line between Baker Street and Charing Cross stations. Under
17765-547: The Met's Moorgate Street station to Mansion House via Paddington and Earl's Court. Permission to build a railway 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.4 km) long to Hammersmith was granted on 7 July 1873, the independent Hammersmith Extension Railway having been formed to raise the necessary capital. The new line started from a junction on the curve to Addison Road and also allowed easier access to Lillie Bridge Depot . It opened on 9 September 1874 with one intermediate station at North End (Fulham) (renamed West Kensington in 1877) and
17952-418: The Metropolitan Railway and its subsidiary the Great Northern & City Railway , and introduced station name boards with a red disc and a blue bar. 'Non-stop' working was introduced on the District in December 1907. Usually just a few stations were missed; trains were marked NON STOP or ALL STATIONS as appropriate and panels beside the doors listed the stations the train would skip. East of Bow Road station
18139-505: The Metropolitan because of the shared ownership of the inner circle . A jointly owned train of six coaches successfully ran an experimental passenger service on the Earl's Court to High Street Kensington section for six months in 1900. Tenders were then requested and in 1901 a Metropolitan and District joint committee recommended the Ganz three-phase AC system with overhead wires. Initially this
18326-491: The Metropolitan provided all inner circle trains at a frequency of eight trains per hour. In 1923 the London, Midland and Scottish Railway had inherited the LT&;SR line to Barking, and in 1929 proposed quadrupling the line to Upminster and electrifying one pair of tracks for use by the District. On 12 September 1932 services started with new stations at Upney and Heathway (now Dagenham Heathway ) with platforms only on
18513-529: The Piccadilly line) just inside its boundaries. Lewisham was served by the East London line (with stations at New Cross and New Cross Gate ) until 2010 when the line and the stations were transferred to the London Overground network. London Underground's eleven lines total 402 kilometres (250 mi) in length, making it the eleventh longest metro system in the world . These are made up of
18700-584: The Thames at Putney Bridge to Guildford, Surbiton or Wimbledon had been proposed and received approval from Parliament, although the District had been unable to raise the necessary funding. In 1886 the L&SWR replaced these plans with the Wimbledon and Fulham Railway that started on the west side of Wimbledon and crossing Thames to meet the District's Putney Bridge station. The line had intermediate stations at Wimbledon Park , Southfields and East Putney and
18887-455: The Tube has taken place - with new trains (such as London Underground S7 and S8 Stock ), new signalling, upgraded stations (such as King's Cross St Pancras ) and improved accessibility (such as at Green Park ). Small changes to the Tube network occurred in the 2000s, with extensions to Heathrow Terminal 5 , new station at Wood Lane and the Circle line changed from serving a closed loop around
19074-518: The UERL's GNP&BR tube railway was under construction, surfacing west of West Kensington and entering two terminal platforms on the north side of the District's Hammersmith station. A new station, Barons Court , was built with two island platforms, one for each railway. As there was space at Lillie Bridge Depot after the District had moved to Mill Hill Park, the GNP&;BR took over part of the site for its depot. Barons Court opened 9 October 1905 and
19261-436: The Underground but remain open to National Rail main line services. In some cases, such as Aldwych and Ongar , the buildings remain and are used for other purposes. In others, such as British Museum , all evidence of the station has been lost through demolition. London Transport Museum runs guided tours of several disused stations including Down Street and Aldwych through its "Hidden London" programme. The tours look at
19448-438: The Underground there were contrasting health reports. There were many instances of passengers collapsing whilst travelling, due to heat and pollution, leading for calls to clean the air through the installation of garden plants. The Metropolitan even encouraged beards for staff to act as an air filter. There were other reports claiming beneficial outcomes of using the Underground, including the designation of Great Portland Street as
19635-614: The West London Line in 1940 the LMS and the Metropolitan line services to Addison Road were both suspended. After the war, to serve the Kensington exhibition halls a District line shuttle service started from Earl's Court to Addison Road, now renamed Kensington Olympia . The off-peak District Hounslow branch shuttle to South Acton was discontinued on 29 April 1935 and replaced by an Acton Town to South Acton shuttle. This shuttle
19822-428: The beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing
20009-437: The burden of high construction costs, the District was unable to continue with the original scheme to reach Tower Hill and made a final extension of its line one station further east from Blackfriars to a previously unplanned City terminus at Mansion House . On Saturday 1 July 1871, an opening banquet was attended by prime minister William Gladstone , who was also a shareholder. The following Monday, Mansion House opened and
20196-532: The cabs at the outer end. The locomotives were used to haul L&NWR passenger trains on the electrified section of the Outer Circle route between Earl's Court and Mansion House . After December 1908 these services terminated at Earl's Court. The locomotives were used to haul District trains, one coupled to each end of a rake of four trailer cars. From 1910 the locomotives were used on London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) trains extended over
20383-430: The cars and have regenerative braking and public address systems. Since 1999 all new stock has had to comply with accessibility regulations that require such things as access and room for wheelchairs, and the size and location of door controls. All underground trains are required to comply with The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 (RVAR 2010) by 2020. Stock on sub-surface lines
20570-652: The centre of London to a spiral also serving Hammersmith in 2009. In July 2005, four coordinated terrorist attacks took place, three of them occurring on the Tube network. It was the UK's deadliest terrorist incident since 1988. Electronic ticketing in the form of the contactless Oyster card was first introduced in 2003, with payment using contactless banks cards introduced in September 2014. In 2019, over 12million Oyster cards and 35million contactless cards were used, generating around £5billion in ticketing revenue. During
20757-717: The change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade , the DC system was adopted. Yerkes soon had control of the District Railway and established the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) in 1902 to finance and operate three tube lines, the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (Bakerloo), the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (Hampstead) and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway , (Piccadilly), which all opened between 1906 and 1907. When
20944-489: The circuit, the committee encouraged the amalgamation of two other schemes proposed to run via different routes between Kensington and the City and a combined proposal under the name Metropolitan District Railway passed into law on the same day in the Metropolitan District Railways Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. cccxxii). Initially, the District and the Met were closely associated and it
21131-594: The control of the GLC, London Transport introduced a system of fare zones for buses and underground trains that cut the average fare in 1981. Fares increased following a legal challenge but the fare zones were retained, and in the mid-1980s the Travelcard and the Capitalcard were introduced. In 1984, control of London Buses and the London Underground passed back to central government with the creation of London Regional Transport (LRT), which reported directly to
21318-414: The display of the transit network. Often this has the effect of compressing the distance between stations in the outer area of the system, and expanding distances between those close to the center. Some systems assign unique alphanumeric codes to each of their stations to help commuters identify them, which briefly encodes information about the line it is on, and its position on the line. For example, on
21505-635: The disputed Cromwell Curve connecting Brompton (Gloucester Road) and Kensington (High Street). East of Westminster, the next section ran in the newly constructed Victoria Embankment built by the Metropolitan Board of Works along the north bank of the River Thames . The line was opened from Westminster to Blackfriars on 30 May 1870 with stations at Charing Cross (now Embankment ), The Temple (now Temple ) and Blackfriars . The Met initially operated all services, receiving 55 per cent of
21692-688: The early 1960s, the Metropolitan line was electrified as far as Amersham , British Railways providing services for the former Metropolitan line stations between Amersham and Aylesbury. In 1962, the British Transport Commission was abolished, and the London Transport Executive was renamed the London Transport Board , reporting directly to the Minister of Transport . Also during the 1960s, the Victoria line
21879-462: The early 2000s, London Underground was reorganised in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as part of a project to upgrade and modernise the system. Private infrastructure companies (infracos) would upgrade and maintain the railway, and London Underground would run the train service. One infraco – Metronet – went into administration in 2007, and TfL took over the other – Tube Lines – in 2010. Despite this, substantial investment to upgrade and modernise
22066-548: The early 20th century, the District and Metropolitan railways needed to electrify and a joint committee recommended an AC system, the two companies co-operating because of the shared ownership of the inner circle. The District, needing to raise the finance necessary, found an investor in the American Charles Yerkes who favoured a DC system similar to that in use on the City & South London and Central London railways. The Metropolitan Railway protested about
22253-690: The emergency services. In April 1994, the Waterloo & City Railway , by then owned by British Rail and known as the Waterloo & City line, was transferred to the London Underground. In 1999, the Jubilee Line Extension project extended the Jubilee line from Green Park station through the growing Docklands to Stratford station . This resulted in the closure of the short section of tunnel between Green Park and Charing Cross stations. The 11 new stations were designed to be " future-proof ", with wide passageways, large quantities of escalators and lifts, and emergency exits. The stations were
22440-457: The end of 1899 it was largely complete, but with low traffic prospects remained unopened. To reach Uxbridge a line from South Harrow via Ruislip was authorised in 1897. The District had problems raising the finance and the Metropolitan offered a rescue package whereby they would build a branch from Harrow to Rayners Lane and take over the line to Uxbridge, with the District retaining running rights for up to three trains an hour. The Metropolitan built
22627-611: The entire metropolitan area is called Metra (short for Met ropolitan Ra il), while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L" . Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta , the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area , residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART". The New York City Subway
22814-634: The first bullseye symbol, outside stations in Central London. At the time, the term Underground was selected from three other proposed names; 'Tube' and 'Electric' were both officially rejected. Ironically, the term Tube was later adopted alongside the Underground. The Bakerloo line was extended north to Queen's Park to join a new electric line from Euston to Watford , but the First World War delayed construction and trains reached Watford Junction in 1917. During air raids in 1915 people used
23001-613: The first on the Underground to have platform edge doors , and were built to have step-free access throughout. The stations have subsequently been praised as exemplary pieces of 20th-century architecture. In 2000, Transport for London (TfL) was created as an integrated body responsible for London's transport system. Part of the Greater London Authority , the TfL Board is appointed by the Mayor of London , who also sets
23188-516: The floor rather than resting on ballast , such as normal railway tracks. An alternate technology, using rubber tires on narrow concrete or steel roll ways , was pioneered on certain lines of the Paris Métro and Mexico City Metro , and the first completely new system to use it was in Montreal , Canada. On most of these networks, additional horizontal wheels are required for guidance, and
23375-532: The former East London line becoming part of the Overground network in 2010. Many Overground stations interchange with Underground ones, and Overground lines were added onto the Tube map. In the 2010s, the £18.8 billion Crossrail project built a new east–west railway tunnel under central London. The project involved rebuilding and expanding several central Underground stations including Tottenham Court Road and Whitechapel . By increasing rail capacity,
23562-419: The gross receipts for a fixed level of service. The District were also charged for any extra trains and the District's share of the income dropped to about 40 per cent. The District's level of debt meant that merger was no longer attractive to the Met and its directors resigned from the District's board. To improve its finances, the District gave the Met notice to terminate the operating agreement. Struggling under
23749-447: The history of the network and feature historical details drawn from the museum's own archives and collections. Rapid transit Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks . Some systems use guided rubber tires , magnetic levitation ( maglev ), or monorail . The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside
23936-439: The interconnections between different parts of the system; for example, they show the interchange stations where passengers can transfer between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate, but emphasize the topological connections among the different stations. The graphic presentation may use straight lines and fixed angles, and often a fixed minimum distance between stations, to simplify
24123-472: The level of regulation and public control under which transport services should be brought. Ashfield aimed for regulation that would give the UERL group protection from competition and allow it to take control of the LCC's tram system; Morrison preferred full public ownership. After seven years of false starts, a bill was announced at the end of 1930 for the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB),
24310-521: The line aims to reduce overcrowding on the Tube and cut cross-London journey times. The railway opened as the Elizabeth line in May 2022. Although not part of the Underground, the line connects with several Underground stations. In 2020, passenger numbers fell significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and 40 stations were temporarily closed. The Northern Line Extension opened in September 2021, extending
24497-407: The line to South Harrow opened the following week on 28 June, with stations at North Ealing , Park Royal & Twyford Abbey, Perivale-Alperton (now Alperton ), Sudbury Town , Sudbury Hill and South Harrow . Electric services began on 13 June 1905 between Hounslow and South Acton, using the line from Mill Hill Park to South Acton for a passenger service for the first time. Hounslow Town station
24684-498: The line was electrified, and all but six were sold the following year. In 1905 the District bought ten bogie box cab locomotives that looked similar to their multiple units but were only 25 feet (7.6 m) long. They were manufactured by the Metropolitan Amalgamated Carriage and Wagon Company and most had a single cab at one end. Consequently, they were operated in pairs, coupled back to back with
24871-602: The lines of the Lyon Metro includes a section of rack (cog) railway , while the Carmelit , in Haifa, is an underground funicular . For elevated lines, another alternative is the monorail , which can be built either as straddle-beam monorails or as a suspended monorail . While monorails have never gained wide acceptance outside Japan, there are some such as Chongqing Rail Transit 's monorail lines which are widely used in
25058-557: The main rapid transit system. For instance, the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro serves many relatively sparse neighbourhoods and feeds into and complements the high capacity metro lines. Some systems have been built from scratch, others are reclaimed from former commuter rail or suburban tramway systems that have been upgraded, and often supplemented with an underground or elevated downtown section. Ground-level alignments with
25245-418: The network map "readable" by illiterate people, this system has since become an "icon" of the system. Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents. Rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations , with requirements for procedure and maintenance to minimize risk. Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce
25432-402: The next vehicle will arrive, and expected travel times. The standardized GTFS data format for transit information allows many third-party software developers to produce web and smartphone app programs which give passengers customized updates regarding specific transit lines and stations of interest. Mexico City Metro uses a unique pictogram for each station. Originally intended to help make
25619-958: The occurrence and severity of rear-end collisions and derailments . Fire is more of a danger underground, such as the King's Cross fire in London in November 1987, which killed 31 people. Systems are generally built to allow evacuation of trains at many places throughout the system. High platforms , usually over 1 meter / 3 feet, are a safety risk, as people falling onto the tracks have trouble climbing back. Platform screen doors are used on some systems to eliminate this danger. Rapid transit facilities are public spaces and may suffer from security problems: petty crimes , such as pickpocketing and baggage theft, and more serious violent crimes , as well as sexual assaults on tightly packed trains and platforms. Security measures include video surveillance , security guards , and conductors . In some countries
25806-603: The only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways". In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan , rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT . The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia , the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass [Transit] Mode in English. In the Philippines , it stands for Metro Rail Transit . Two underground lines use
25993-587: The outset. Budapest , Chicago , Glasgow , Boston and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro , which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities
26180-405: The profitability of the group. To protect the UERL group's income, its chairman Lord Ashfield lobbied the government for regulation of transport services in the London area. Starting in 1923, a series of legislative initiatives were made in this direction, with Ashfield and Labour London County Councillor (later MP and Minister of Transport) Herbert Morrison , at the forefront of debates as to
26367-532: The prototype Sudbury Town listed as Grade II*. On 4 July 1932 the District service from Acton Town to South Harrow was withdrawn and one in three Piccadilly trains extended from Hammersmith to South Harrow, the District continuing to run a shuttle from South Harrow to Uxbridge. On 18 December 1932 all four tracks to Northfields opened and from 9 January 1933 Piccadilly trains started to run to Northfields, continuing to Hounslow West from 13 March 1933. District trains continued to run through to Hounslow off-peak, with
26554-449: The quadruple track from Hammersmith to be extended to west of Acton Town, with the concept of the Piccadilly running non-stop on the inner pair. The proposed service split, with the Piccadilly running through to Harrow and Hounslow, was clarified by 1929. District services would run mainly through to Wimbledon, Richmond, Hounslow and Ealing, with shuttles from South Harrow to Uxbridge and Acton Town to South Acton. With finance guaranteed by
26741-424: The railway company. To ensure ventilation, the line west of Gloucester Road was carried in open cuttings, the rest mainly in a cut and cover tunnel 25 feet (7.6 m) wide and 15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m) deep; at the stations the platform ends were left open. Construction costs and compensation payments were so high that the cost of the first section of the District from South Kensington to Westminster
26928-528: The railway east of Mansion House were allowed to lapse. At the other end of the line, the District part of South Kensington station opened on 10 July 1871 and Earl's Court station opened on the West Brompton extension on 30 October 1871. The District Railway's main expansion was to the west. A small station at Earl's Court , between Gloucester Road and West Brompton, opened on 31 October 1871 with three platforms. Lillie Bridge depot, opened in 1872,
27115-411: The railway to Uxbridge and began running services on 4 July 1904. At the start of the 20th century the District and Metropolitan railways faced increased competition in central London from new, electric, deep-level tube lines. The City and South London Railway had been a great success when it opened in 1890. After the opening of the Central London Railway in 1900 from Shepherd's Bush to the City with
27302-503: The railway with the " Metro-land " brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on the line. Electrification was extended north from Harrow to Rickmansworth , and branches opened from Rickmansworth to Watford in 1925 and from Wembley Park to Stanmore in 1932. The Piccadilly line was extended north to Cockfosters and took over District line branches to Harrow (later Uxbridge) and Hounslow. In 1933, most of London's underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form
27489-908: The rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies. Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear. Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses , regular buses , trams , or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops. Each rapid transit system consists of one or more lines , or circuits. Each line
27676-542: The rubber tires. However, they have higher maintenance costs and are less energy efficient. They also lose traction when weather conditions are wet or icy, preventing above-ground use of the Montréal Metro and limiting it on the Sapporo Municipal Subway, but not rubber-tired systems in other cities. Some cities with steep hills incorporate mountain railway technologies in their metros. One of
27863-456: The station was closed and a new Hounslow Town station opened on the direct route. Since 1904, after the District had notified the Met that it would not use its running rights on the Uxbridge line with steam trains, it had not run services, although it paid the £2,000 a year that was due under the enabling act. When the District suggested running as far as Rayners Lane , the Met responded with
28050-610: The structure and level of public transport fares in London. The day-to-day running of the corporation is left to the Commissioner of Transport for London . TfL eventually replaced London Regional Transport, and discontinued the use of the London Transport brand in favour of its own brand. The transfer of responsibility was staged, with transfer of control of London Underground delayed until July 2003, when London Underground Limited became an indirect subsidiary of TfL. In
28237-611: The sub-surface network and the deep-tube lines. The Circle , District , Hammersmith & City , and Metropolitan lines form the sub-surface network, with cut-and-cover railway tunnels just below the surface and of a similar size to those on British main lines They converged on a bi-directional loop in central London, sharing tracks and stations with each other at various places along their respective routes. The Bakerloo , Central , Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines are deep-level tubes, with smaller trains that run in circular tunnels ( tubes ) with
28424-519: The suburban and countryside areas. The Metropolitan line can reach speeds of 62 mph (100 km/h). The London Underground was used for 1.181 billion journeys in the year 2023–2024. The Underground uses several railways and alignments that were built by main-line railway companies. Chiltern Railways shares track with the Metropolitan Line between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham. Three South Western Railway passenger trains
28611-663: The suburbs, allowing a higher service frequency in the center. This arrangement is used by many systems, such as the Copenhagen Metro , the Milan Metro , the Oslo Metro , the Istanbul Metro and the New York City Subway . Alternatively, there may be a single central terminal (often shared with the central railway station), or multiple interchange stations between lines in the city center, for instance in
28798-481: The system is under the ground: much of the network in the outer environs of London is on the surface. The early tube lines, originally owned by several private companies, were brought together under the Underground brand in the early 20th century, and eventually merged along with the sub-surface lines and bus services in 1933 to form London Transport under the control of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). The current operator, London Underground Limited (LUL),
28985-416: The system runs on the surface. There are 20 miles (32 km) of sub-surface tunnels and 93 miles (150 km) of tube tunnels. Many of the central London Underground stations on deep-level tube routes are higher than the running lines to assist deceleration when arriving and acceleration when departing. Trains generally run on the left-hand track. In some places, the tunnels are above each other (for example,
29172-714: The term subway . In Thailand , it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit , previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan , have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit , as with Singapore and Malaysia . In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade separated light rail . Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems. The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked
29359-467: The term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground . The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe , the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from
29546-511: The trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities . Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives , and now forms part of
29733-475: The tube railway opened as the Piccadilly line on 15 December 1906. In 1908 the UERL and the other underground railway companies in London came to a joint marketing arrangement that included maps, joint publicity and combined ticketing. U NDERGROUN D signs were used outside stations in Central London. The UERL eventually controlled all underground railways in London except the Waterloo & City Railway ,
29920-440: The tube stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by the war and was completed in 1920. After the war, government-backed financial guarantees were used to expand the network and the tunnels of the City and South London and Hampstead railways were linked at Euston and Kennington; the combined service was not named the Northern line until later. The Metropolitan promoted housing estates near
30107-601: The use of communications-based train control : the minimum headway can reach 90 seconds, but many systems typically use 120 seconds to allow for recovery from delays. Typical capacity lines allow 1,200 people per train, giving 36,000 passengers per hour per direction . However, much higher capacities are attained in East Asia with ranges of 75,000 to 85,000 people per hour achieved by MTR Corporation 's urban lines in Hong Kong. Rapid transit topologies are determined by
30294-423: The way the shoe-gear was mounted on the Met trains and the District Railway track, and the Met trains were withdrawn from the District lines. After modification the Met returned and electric trains took over on 24 September, reducing the travel time around the circle from seventy to fifty minutes. By September, after withdrawing services over the unelectrified East London Line and the LT&SR east of East Ham,
30481-566: The west of Bromley station . The LT&SR and District jointly took over the company the following year and the line opened on 2 June 1902 with new stations at Stepney Green , Mile End and Bow Road . Some District services were extended from Whitechapel to East Ham and one train each morning and evening ran through to Upminster . In July 1902 four trains an hour ran from Bow Road (2 to 3 from East Ham) to Ealing or Wimbledon and two trains an hour from New Cross served Hammersmith or Richmond. The outer circle continued to run from Mansion House,
30668-760: The worst civilian disaster in Britain during the Second World War, and the largest loss of life in a single incident on the London Underground network. On 1 January 1948, under the provisions of the Transport Act 1947 , the London Passenger Transport Board was nationalised and renamed the London Transport Executive , becoming a subsidiary transport organisation of the British Transport Commission , which
30855-411: Was Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which launched its first underground mobile phone network using AMPS in 1989. Many metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Berlin U-Bahn, provide mobile data connections in their tunnels for various network operators. The technology used for public, mass rapid transit has undergone significant changes in the years since
31042-421: Was accepted by both parties. The District found an investor to finance the upgrade in 1901, American Charles Yerkes . On 15 July 1901, Yerkes established the Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company with himself as managing director and raised £1 million to carry out the electrification, including construction of the generating station and supplying the new rolling stock. Yerkes soon had control of
31229-406: Was built just north of the GWR station. On 4 July 1878, permission was granted to extend the West Brompton branch as far as the Thames. Stations opened at Walham Green (now Fulham Broadway ), Parsons Green. The line terminated at Putney Bridge & Fulham (now Putney Bridge ). The line opened on 1 March 1880, in time for the University Boat Race held that year on 22 March. Initially the service
31416-431: Was built parallel to the West London Joint Railway and initially accessed by a curve onto the West London Line. This curve allowed, from 1 February 1872, the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR) to run a half-hourly outer circle service from Broad Street to Mansion House via Willesden Junction , Addison Road and Earls Court. From 1 October 1872, the GWR also ran a half-hourly middle circle service from
31603-738: Was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). In Eastern Europe , metro systems are in operation in Minsk (Belarus), Kyiv (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Moscow (Russia). In Southeastern European countries, there are metro systems in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Belgrade (Serbia), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istanbul (Turkey). In Northern Europe , rapid transit systems exist in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland). Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America . The term metro
31790-408: Was dropped from plans. In April 1902, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) was established, with Yerkes as chairman, to control these companies and manage the planned works. On 8 June 1902, the UERL took over the Traction Company and paid off the company's shareholders with cash and UERL shares. The UERL built a large power station that would be capable of providing power for
31977-401: Was dug under central London and, unlike the earlier tunnels, did not follow the roads above. The line opened in 1968–71 with the trains being driven automatically and magnetically encoded tickets collected by automatic gates gave access to the platforms. On 1 January 1970, responsibility for public transport within Greater London passed from central government to local government, in the form of
32164-414: Was extended in 1876. A meeting between the District and Metropolitan was held in 1877, the Met now wishing to access the South Eastern Railway (SER) via the East London Railway (ELR). Both companies promoted and obtained an act of Parliament in 1879 for the extension and a link to the ELR. The act also ensured future co-operation by allowing both companies access to the whole circle. A large contribution
32351-425: Was first used on 3 December 1911 and Stamford Brook opened on 1 February 1912. However, the GWR had already withdrawn their service and L&SWR was to withdraw in 1916. A flying junction separating the Richmond and Hammersmith routes west of Earl's Court opened in January 1914. From 1910 to 1939 the LT&SR ran through trains between Ealing Broadway and Southend or Shoeburyness , hauled west of Barking by
32538-425: Was formed on the same day. Under the same act, the country's main line railways were also nationalised, and their reconstruction was given priority over the maintenance of the Underground and most of the unfinished plans of the pre-war New Works Programme were shelved or postponed. The District line needed new trains and an unpainted aluminium train entered service in 1953, this becoming the standard for new trains. In
32725-542: Was granted in 1880 for a nearly 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile-long (8.9 km) railway from Mill Hill Park station to Hounslow Barracks, with stations at South Ealing, Boston Road and Spring Grove, and agreement reached for the District to work the line. On 1 May 1883 the District started a service to Hounslow Town , calling at South Ealing , Boston Road (now Boston Manor ) and Osterley & Spring Grove (replaced by Osterley ). A single-track line from junction near Hounslow Town to Hounslow Barracks (now Hounslow West ) opened
32912-423: Was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, and borrowing trains from other railways to supplement the service. The Metropolitan District Railway (commonly known as the District Railway ) opened in December 1868 from South Kensington to Westminster as part of a plan for an underground "inner circle" connecting London's main-line stations. The Metropolitan and District railways completed
33099-609: Was intended that they would soon merge. The Met's chairman and three other directors were on the board of the District, John Fowler was the engineer of both companies and the construction works for all of the extensions were let as a single contract. The District was established as a separate company to enable funds to be raised independently of the Met. Unlike the Metropolitan, the route did not follow an easy alignment under existing roads and land values were higher, so compensation payments for property were much higher. Major landowners, including Lord Kensington , sold parcels of land to
33286-453: Was introduced in 1905, and by the end of the year electric multiple units operated all of the services. On 1 July 1933, the District Railway and the other UERL railways were merged with the Metropolitan Railway and the capital's tramway and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board . Today, former District Railway tracks and stations are used by the London Underground 's District , Piccadilly and Circle lines. In 1863,
33473-476: Was low and suburbs tended to spread out . Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne , has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Melbourne had tunnels and stations developed in the 1970s and opened in 1980. The first line of the Sydney Metro was opened in 2019. Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe , Asia and Latin America . In
33660-447: Was made by authorities for road and sewer improvements. In 1882 the Met extended its line from Aldgate to a temporary station at Tower of London . Two contracts to build joint lines were placed, one from Mansion House to the Tower in 1882 and a second from the circle north of Aldgate to Whitechapel with a curve onto the ELR in 1883. From 1 October 1884 the District and Metropolitan began local services from St Mary's via this curve onto
33847-497: Was not yet open. It was equipped with automatic signalling using track circuits and pneumatic semaphore signals , and trials were run with two seven car trains. In August 1903, an order was placed for 420 cars and a new maintenance depot was built west of Mill Hill Park (now Acton Town). After the trials, the line to South Harrow opened in June 1903, from 23 June with a shuttle to Park Royal & Twyford Abbey (now Park Royal ) for that year's Royal Agricultural Show . The rest of
34034-407: Was renamed Acton Town on 1 March 1910. Between Turnham Green and Ravenscourt Park the District shared tracks with L&SWR steam trains to Richmond, a GWR steam service from Richmond to Ladbroke Grove and Midland coal trains. The District and L&SWR agreed to quadruple the tracks to allow a pair for the District's sole use and build a station on the District tracks at Stamford Brook . The line
34221-455: Was reopened, trains reversing at the station before continuing to Hounslow Barracks using a new single track curve. On 1 July 1905 electric trains began running from Ealing to Whitechapel, and on the same day the Metropolitan and District railways both introduced electric units on the inner circle. However, a Metropolitan multiple unit overturned the positive current rail on the District Railway, and investigation showed an incompatibility between
34408-460: Was strongly criticised in the aftermath for its attitude to fires underground, and publication of the report into the fire led to the resignation of senior management of both London Underground and London Regional Transport. Following the fire, substantial improvements to safety on the Tube were implemented – including the banning of smoking, removal of wooden escalators, installation of CCTV and fire detectors, as well as comprehensive radio coverage for
34595-399: Was two trains an hour to Mansion House, supplemented from 1 April by two trains an hour to High Street Kensington. In 1866, permission had been granted to landowners in the Hounslow area for a Hounslow and Metropolitan Railway to connect to a proposed Acton & Brentford Railway. However, this had never been built, but with the District now at Acton there was an alternative. Permission
34782-435: Was withdrawn on 28 February 1959, and the peak hour District line through service to Hounslow was withdrawn on 9 October 1964. In the 1970s the Hounslow branch became the Heathrow branch when it was extended to serve Heathrow Airport , first on 19 July 1975 to serve Hatton Cross and then on 16 December 1977 when Heathrow Central opened. Later on 27 March 2008, the branch was extended to Heathrow Terminal 5 . When in 1871
34969-538: Was £3 million, almost three times the cost of the Met's original, longer line. On 24 December 1868, the District opened its line from South Kensington to Westminster, with stations at South Kensington , Sloane Square , Victoria , St James's Park and Westminster Bridge (now Westminster ), the Met extending eastwards from Brompton to a shared station at South Kensington on the same day. The District also had parliamentary permission to extend westward from Brompton (Gloucester Road) station and, on 12 April 1869, it opened
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