London tube
Why is it called “The tube”?
London underground is one of the oldest and largest in the world
London underground has 270 stations and more then 250miles (402km) of track making the longest metro system in the world
It carries 2670000 passengers a day
The Tube map is considered a design classic, and many other transport maps worldwide have been influenced by it.
Despite the name, about 55% of the network is above ground
The first section was opened on the 10th of January, 1863
In 1890 it became the first to operate electric trains
From mid-1940 many underground stations were used as shelters during air raids and overnight. The Underground helped over 200.000 children escape to the countryside and sheltered another 177.500 people.
In 2007 more than one billion passenger journeys were recorded making the underground the third busiest metro system in Europe after Paris and Moscow