86-867: Aldgate East is a London Underground station on Whitechapel High Street in Whitechapel , in London , England. It takes its name from the City of London ward of Aldgate , the station lying to the east of the ward (and the City). It is on the Hammersmith & City line between Liverpool Street and Whitechapel , and on the District line between Tower Hill and Whitechapel, in Travelcard Zone 1 . The original Aldgate East station opened on 6 October 1884 as part of an eastern extension to
172-607: A box strapped to his back. He retired in 1956, having collected over £5,000 and spent the rest of his days with the residents at the Home. Upon his death, in 1960, he was stuffed and returned to Wimbledon station. He continued to collect for the Homes, in a glass case situated on Platforms 7/8, until 1990, when he retired once more and became part of the National Railway Collection. Wimbledon station presents an unusual procedure with
258-589: 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
344-761: 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
430-574: A junction for services from the Underground's District line , two National Rail operators ( South Western Railway and Thameslink ), and Tramlink services. The station is in Travelcard Zone 3 . It is 7 miles 19 chains (11.6 km) from London Waterloo on the South West Main Line . The station has 11 platforms. Platforms 1–4 are for London Underground, platforms 5 and 8 are for inner suburban South Western Railway services, platform 9
516-457: 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
602-579: A public transport system. The LPTB commissioned many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in 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
688-451: 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
774-541: Is built, new tunnels will be dug between Wimbledon and Raynes Park , calling at Wimbledon in tunnel and routing trains via Chelsea and central London to Hackney and beyond to either Alexandra Palace (in tunnel the whole way) or Hertford East (surfacing before Tottenham Hale , taking over the West Anglia Main Line north of there). This would provide another set of transport links for the area and direct services to Euston and King's Cross St Pancras . There
860-629: Is for Thameslink and platforms 10a and 10b are for Tramlink. Platforms 6 and 7 are adjacent to the fast tracks intended for express and outer suburban South Western Railway services, but most of these services only call at Wimbledon during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships or on Sundays for outer suburban services. Access to these platforms is via sliding gates through safety fencing installed in March 2014. The first railway station in Wimbledon
946-741: 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
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#17328944716941032-527: Is the general off-peak frequency. During peak times trains also operate to Wimbledon . During off-peak times, 3 trains per hour from Wimbledon terminate at Barking (as of December 2014). The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is: It is not a regular service but before 6am, two Circle line trains run from Barking to Edgware Road via Victoria (as of February 2015). London Buses routes 15 , 25 , 115 , 135 , 205 , 242 , 254 and night routes N15 , N25 , N205 , N253 and N550 serve
1118-668: The District Railway (now the District line). It was 500 feet (150 m) to the west of the current station, close to the Metropolitan Railway 's Aldgate station . The curved link to the Metropolitan Railway had to be particularly sharp owing to the location of Aldgate East station. As part of the London Passenger Transport Board 's 1935–1940 New Works Programme , the triangular junction at Aldgate
1204-524: 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 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
1290-717: 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
1376-581: 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
1462-532: 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
1548-563: 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
1634-530: 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
1720-498: The Oyster card pay-as-you-go electronic ticketing system. Ordinarily, London Underground and National Rail passengers with Oyster cards must "touch in" at the start of their journey and "touch out" at the end: those who fail to "touch out" will be charged the maximum possible fare from their starting point. However, Tramlink passengers starting a journey at Wimbledon, after passing through the entry gates, will not be able to "touch out" at
1806-529: 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
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#17328944716941892-704: The Southern Railway (SR, the post grouping successor to the L&;SWR) in the late 1920s as part of the SR's construction of the line to Sutton . Parliamentary approval for this line had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) in 1910, but work was delayed by World War I . From the W&;SR's inception, the DR was a shareholder of the company and had rights to run trains over
1978-582: The Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway (TM&WR) opened a line to Streatham via Tooting Junction (now just Tooting ). They shared a detached platform slightly to the southwest of the main LSWR station, until the whole station was relocated to the northeast of Wimbledon Bridge for the opening of the District Railway. On 3 June 1889, the District Railway (DR, now London Underground 's District line ) opened
2064-517: The Victoria line 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
2150-528: 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
2236-543: The roundel and the Johnston typeface , created by Edward Johnston in 1916. The idea of an underground railway linking 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
2322-468: 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
2408-732: 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 the "Bakerloo" was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified "gutter title". By 1907
2494-668: 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 the Great Northern & City Railway and the East London Railway , and the Waterloo & City Railway , by then owned by
2580-524: The LSWR-built extension of its line from Putney Bridge , making Wimbledon station the new terminus of that branch and providing Wimbledon with a direct connection to the developing London Underground system. The station was rebuilt on its current site for the opening of this service. District line steam-hauled services were replaced by electric services from 27 August 1905. The station was rebuilt again with its current Portland stone entrance building by
2666-687: 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
Aldgate East tube station - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-517: 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
2838-451: 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
2924-569: The Underground at the time of construction. The tiling contains relief tiles showing devices pertinent to London Transport and the area it served; these were designed by Harold Stabler and made by the Poole Pottery . The station was Metronet's first (and show-piece) station refurbished in 'heritage' style. Work began at platform level in 2007. On 9 March 2007, it was noted that every other platform bullseye and its associated blue enamel "Way Out" plate below had been removed on both platforms marking
3010-436: 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
3096-544: The W&SR route. The SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. It opened on 7 July 1929 to South Merton and to Sutton on 5 January 1930. On 2 June 1997, the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was closed by Railtrack for conversion to operation as part of the Tramlink tram operations. Platform 10, originally the down platform for the Wimbledon & Croydon and Wimbledon & Sutton lines,
3182-599: 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 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
3268-483: 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 a " sanatorium for [sufferers of ...] asthma and bronchial complaints", tonsillitis could be cured with acid gas and the Twopenny Tube cured anorexia . With
3354-600: The approach was hastily cleared in preparation for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships which would see a large increase in passengers passing through the station. Wimbledon station was also the haunt of a 'Railway Collection Dog'. Airedale Terrier "Laddie" was born in September 1948 and started work on Wimbledon Station in 1949, collecting donations on behalf of the Southern Railwaymen's Homes at Woking, via
3440-459: The capacity of Tramlink services, a second platform was built in place of the former Thameslink bay. The service was suspended between Dundonald Road and Wimbledon from 13 July until November 2015 for the work to be carried out. The original tram platform was renumbered to '10a' with the new part called '10b', opening on 2 November 2015. As a result, tram frequency increased from 8 per hour to 12 per hour from April 2016. Before 14 March 2011, there
3526-432: 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
Aldgate East tube station - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-598: 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
3698-551: 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
3784-520: The creation of London Regional Transport (LRT), which reported directly to 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
3870-401: The earlier station closed permanently the previous night. It was designed to be completely subterranean providing a much-needed pedestrian underpass for the road above. In order to accommodate the space needed for the underpass, the existing track needed to be lowered by more than seven feet (2 m). To achieve this task whilst still keeping the track open during the day, the bed underneath
3956-653: 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,
4042-463: 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
4128-682: 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
4214-422: The end of the only sub-surface 'New Works' station. By 14 March, all the roundels had been removed and temporary signs substituted. The north-east entrance was closed from 10 March 2007 until 2009. As of 23 May 2007, the tiling had been removed from the eastbound platform and the walls were rough cemented but the tiles remained on the westbound one. The new framework for lighting and cabling had been installed. This
4300-429: The end of their tram journey, since tram stops provide no facility to do so; instead they must "touch in" a second time on the tram platform at Wimbledon, after passing through the ticket barrier, and the system will then recognise that no train or tube journey has been made. A similar issue arises for passengers arriving at Wimbledon by tram. Normally tram users do not touch out, but at Wimbledon they must do so to leave
4386-431: 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
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#17328944716944472-432: The form of 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
4558-479: 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,
4644-504: The former Metropolitan Railway closed, 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
4730-416: The history of the network and feature historical details drawn from the museum's own archives and collections. Wimbledon station Wimbledon is an interchange station in the centre of Wimbledon in London for London Underground , London Trams and National Rail services, and is the only station in London that provides an interchange between the London Underground and Tramlink. It serves as
4816-420: 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
4902-428: The line when built. In the 1920s, the London Electric Railway (LER, precursor of London Underground ) planned, through its ownership of the DR, to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, now the Northern line ) to Sutton. The SR objected and an agreement was reached that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over
4988-411: 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
5074-530: The lives of 31 people and injured a further 100. London Underground 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
5160-501: 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 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,
5246-537: The next station along the line, that this could also be closed. This reduced operational overheads and journey times because the new Aldgate East had effectively replaced two other stations. A campaign was launched by a local councillor in a bid to change the name of the station to Brick Lane tube station by 2012, but this had no official support and was not successful. The same councillor has also campaigned to have Shoreditch High Street railway station renamed "Banglatown". The station has no surface buildings. A canopy
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#17328944716945332-508: 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 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
5418-430: 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 the Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and cover method. Both railways expanded, the District building five branches to
5504-421: 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 the change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade , the DC system was adopted. Yerkes soon had control of
5590-433: The site of the earlier station, most of which has been obliterated by the current junction alignment although the extensive width and height and irregular shape of the tunnel can be observed. The platforms have a particularly high headroom and this, combined with the late-1930s style of tiling, typical of the stations of the then London Passenger Transport Board , gives the platforms a particularly airy appearance, unusual on
5676-611: The station during the peak hours. In addition, during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships , longer distance South Western Railway services often make additional calls at the station. The typical off-peak London Underground service on the District Line in trains per hour is: Additional services, including trains to and from Dagenham East and Upminster call at the station during the peak hours. The typical off-peak Tramlink service in trams per hour is: A limited number of early morning and late evening trams to and from New Addington also run to and from Wimbledon. If Crossrail 2
5762-447: The station. [REDACTED] London transport portal London Underground 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
5848-486: The station: touching out at the regular turnstile accomplishes this. If, however, a passenger touches their card at a standalone Oyster reader (such as the one by the manual gates), the system will see this as starting a new journey rather than ending one, and will deduct a maximum fare from the card. National Rail services at Wimbledon are operated by South Western Railway and Thameslink . The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: Additional services call at
5934-486: 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
6020-612: 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
6106-453: 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
6192-482: 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),
6278-418: 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,
6364-457: 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 the tube stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by
6450-419: The track was excavated and the track held up by a timber trestle framework. Once excavation was complete and the new station had been constructed around the site, an army of over 900 workmen lowered the whole track simultaneously in one night using overhead hooks to suspend the track when necessary. The hooks still remain. The eastern exit of the new station was now close enough to St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) ,
6536-437: 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 the railway with the " Metro-land " brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on
6622-555: 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, 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
6708-565: The world's first underground passenger railway. The Metropolitan 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
6794-718: 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
6880-473: Was a roundabout outside the main entrance of the station to allow for vehicles to drop off passengers. This made the approach to the station somewhat cramped and not ideal during busy times. On 14 March 2011, vehicle access to the station's forecourt was permanently removed and the approach to the station was completely repaved. This made the much larger open space outside the station's entrance more ideal during busy times. These works were completed by June 2011 and
6966-411: Was constructed in the 2000s and in 2013–14, the high-rise Aldgate Tower, was built above it. As of March 2022, when there was a fire in the building, the tower also contained apartments. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms. District and Hammersmith & City line trains run into Aldgate East from Liverpool Street and Tower Hill along two sides of the above triangle and pass through
7052-408: Was enlarged to allow for a much gentler curve and to ensure trains that were held on any leg of the triangle did not foul any signals or points elsewhere. The new Aldgate East platforms were sited almost immediately to the east of their predecessors with one exit facing west toward the original location and another at the eastern end of the new platforms. The new station opened on 31 October 1938 and
7138-430: 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
7224-543: Was opened on 21 May 1838, when the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened its line from its terminus at Nine Elms in Battersea to Woking . The original station was to the south of the current station on the opposite side of the Wimbledon Bridge. On 22 October 1855, the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway (W&CR) opened the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line to West Croydon via Mitcham and on 1 October 1868
7310-524: Was used for the single track terminus of Tramlink and rail tracks and infrastructure were replaced with those for the tram system. The new service opened on 30 May 2000. The other end of Platform 10 became a terminating bay for trains from the Tooting direction. Platform 9, the W&C and W&S up platform, became a reversible platform for all Thameslink services between the Sutton and Tooting lines. To increase
7396-453: 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 was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, and borrowing trains from other railways to supplement
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