London Underground Scheme: History of Development and Current State

The scheme of the London Underground consists of 270 stations, 11 lines, the total length of which is 402 kilometers. Daily this mode of transport is used by more than three million inhabitants and visitors of the British capital. The logo of the London Underground is one of the main symbols in the popular culture: all over the world, manufactured and sold clothing items and accessories with the company logo and subway scheme.

History and current status

The opening day of the metro in London fell on January 10, 1863. The first line was called the "Metropolitan Railways", it connected the two largest stations. In 1890 the London Underground first started operating trains with electric traction. Until 1933, the construction and development of lines provided by private companies. The creation of the Department of Passenger Transport combined them into a single state system.

During the Second World War, the metro became an indispensable refuge from bombing for the peaceful population of the city. November 18, 1987 was remembered by the London residents with a sudden fire. On that day, the elements took the lives of thirty people. In July 2005, several stations became the target of terrorist attacks. As a result of four coordinated explosions, 56 citizens and four suicide bombers were killed in three trains.

To date, the London subway scheme is on the fourth place among the longest in the world, behind the Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai. The residents of the capital call this type of transport The Tube (English "pipe") thanks to a form in the form of tunnels.

Lines and stations of the London Underground

As already mentioned, the metropolitan of the British capital consists of 11 lines, four of which are shallow, the rest - deep. Let's consider each separately:

• "District" (in the diagram it is marked in green and contains 60 stations);
• "Metropolitan" (purple, 34 stations);
• "Ring" (yellow, 36 stations);
• "Northern" (black, 50 stations);
• "Waterloo and City" (turquoise, 2 stations);
• "Central" (red, 49 stations);
• "Bakerloo" (brown, 25 stations);
• "Piccadilly" (dark blue, 53 stations);
• "Victoria" (blue, 16 stations);
• "Jubilee" (silver, 27 stations);
• "Hammersmith and City" (pink, 29 stations).

In 2007, the East Line was closed for reconstruction. Four years after its discovery, it became part of the overground transport. The scheme of the London Underground also contains such sections as "London Overground" and "Docklands Light Underground".

Interesting Facts

• The longest non-stop trip is the way from the station "West Raiselip" to "Epping" - 54.9 kilometers and lasts an hour and 28 minutes.
• On the territory of "Stratford" is the shortest escalator (4 meters), and the longest belongs to the station "Angel" (60 meters).
• The very deep station is called "Hampstead", it is located at a depth of 59 meters from the street level.
• At the shallowest (5.2 meters) is the station "Redbridge."
• "Waterloo" is the busiest station of the London Underground. For the year the passenger traffic here is 82 million people.
• Line "District" has the largest number of stations (60), and the smallest - "Waterloo and City" (2).

Design

Initially, the scheme of the London Underground was combined with a map of the city, which, as this type of transport grew, made it more difficult for visual perception by passengers. Later, in 1933, Harry Beck developed the design of an information brochure, in which he placed the lines on a schematic background, rather than on a geographical background, and each one was marked with an individual color.

A unique grotesque font, which reads the word Underground on a blue background, was developed by Edward Johnston in 1916. The logo with the above inscription in the first years of its existence was known by such names as "target" and "bull's eye". It is a red circle, through the center of which passes a strip of blue. The author of the design of this sign is still unknown. After all forms of transport came under the management of the company Transport for London, this emblem was used at stops of taxis, buses, trams, Dockland light subway, etc.

Today, the passage to London's metro can be safely compared to a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. Places for advertising are now actively filled with poetry and artistic drawings, which creates a cheerful mood for passengers. This circumstance also undoubtedly pleases tourists and visitors of the city, despite the fact that the cost of an adult journey depending on the zoning is on average 3 pounds. Children's ticket will cost half as much.