Fascinating Facts About The London Underground And Its Benefits

The London Underground also refers, as the Tube is simply a system of public rapid transit serving a very big region of Greatre London as well as parts of the home counties of Hertfordshire, Essex, and Buckinghamshire. This system serves over 270 stations and comprises 402km (250miles) of track where 55 percent is above ground. Basically, the network contains the first underground railway in the world, opened in 1863; the Metropolitan Railway is currently part of Metropolitan lines, Circle and Hammersmith & City. It is also the first line to use underground electric traction-trains. This network has now increased to 11 lines.

Facts about the London Tube

There are several fascinating facts about this great underground tube, which most people are unaware of and here are some of them:

The trains in this London Tube travel approximately 114,000 miles every year and carry over 1,100 million passengers just within London alone. All the trains have an average speed of about 20 miles hourly while the total length of the network is approximated to be 250 miles, but only 45 percent of the railway lines are under the tunnels and the rest are out of the tunnels.

The longest tunnel of this London Underground is about 17 miles long, which runs from Morden to East Finchley through Bank. There are over 420 escalators along this Tube and Waterloo is actually the only station that contains 23, which is the highest number of them all. Additionally, Angel is the longest escalator, which is 197 feet. Angel rises to a vertical height of 90ft, while the shortest escalator is at Stratford, which also rises to a vertical height of about 13ft.

The Tube features 164 lifts, which include four stair-based lifts, and comprises four passenger conveyors, two at Waterloo and the other two at Bank. Hampstead is over 180ft deep and is the deepest lift shaft. King’s Cross is around 7.5 feet, making the shortest one. Walthamstow contains the highest lift platforms that rise vertically to over 6.5 feet while Hainault has the shortest one at over 2 feet.

Another interesting fact about London Underground is that there are over 4,130 carriages to it, which cover approximately 270 stations across the network. Surprisingly, only 260 stations are managed while the entire staff count is about 19,000. In fact, Baker Street has ten platforms, making it the street with the highest number of platforms. However, Moorgate with ten platforms contains only six at the Underground’s disposal.

During the peak hours especially in the morning, Waterloo Tube station is the busiest part of this Tube where over 57,000 passengers use this station. Generally, this station receives over 80 million passengers every year, and this being the main reason why it is the busiest station of this underground network.

In 1908, the name “London Underground was first meant for the London stations. Previously, it was commonly known as the Tube. Actually, its logo refers to as the “Roundel” was first established in this same year. Later in 2003, the Tube was transferred from the government of the United Kingdom to the Transport for London that is in the process of upgrading it.

Benefits of the London Underground in Touring London

Europe, especially London is one of the massive destinations around the world and is also a great living museum with a lot of things to do and amazing tourist sites. Actually, this place is full of history, landmark art and architecture packed into its ever-busy streets which you need a well-organised itinerary to help you get through your tour of the region. The redeeming quality and beauty of visiting London is typically the Tube, taking it can get you anywhere in the region easily and quickly.

One of the best ways for you to organise an itinerary is studying the Underground carefully to be able to know which stations are closest to particular attractions and areas. This will help you identify the best line that will enable you experience much more and save you both money and time.

If you are looking for central locations, consider looking up stations such as Charring Cross and Westminster, which are great for almost all main tourist attractions, including Big Ben, St James’s Park and the Houses of Parliament. Also, up the roads are Pall Mall, the National Gallery, and Trafalgar Square. From these central stations of the London Underground, you will also experience the beauty of must see sights of St James’s Palace and Park, as well as Buckingham Palace.

With some distance away you’ll find Monument Underground station and this will grant you access to an historic Tower of London, the iconic Tower Bridge and St Katherine’s Dock. It is not actually too far away for jumping off at Waterloo tube station to enjoy an amazing ride on the London Eye and then visit the wonderful Shakespearean Globe Threatre and the Tate Modern.

If you like visiting museums, then South Kensington Underground station is what you need to explore the Natural History Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Science Museum. Lambeth North is also a good station where you will have a chance to check out the Florence Nightingale and the Imperial War Museums. In addition, for easy access particularly to the informative John Sloane Museum and British Museum, the Tottenham Court Road is the best alternative too.

Going a little further far, you will discover that High St Kensington station will take you right to the centre for Notting Hill, Kensington Palace, and Kensington Gardens with its boutique stores and restaurants of Portobello Road.

Your tour in London using the network cannot be complete without visiting the two bastions of the British religious. The Wren’s Italian highly influenced St Paul’s Cathedral, especially with its own underground station and amazing gothic Westminster Abbey through the road from Westminster underground.

Conclusively, despite its large geographical area, organising a trip around London can be fairly simple. With this great network of London Underground, you can have access to so many tourist attractions within the shortest time possible. All you need is to create a list of places you want to visit and then find the tube stations that are closest to your most favorite sites. This also helps you the hustle of traffic jams and other unnecessary spending.