View source for London Underground

{{Short description|Rapid transit system in England}}
{{Redirect2|The Tube|Tube station|a list of stations|List of London Underground stations|the Herbie Mann album|London Underground (album)|the suburban London rail|London Overground|other uses|The Tube (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox public transit
| name = London Underground
| image = Underground.svg
| alt = London Underground logo, known as the roundel, is made of a red circle with a horizontal blue bar.
| imagesize = 150px
| image2 = Why London Underground is nicknamed The Tube.jpg
| alt2 = Front view of a small profile train emerging from the tunnel north of {{lus|Hendon Central}} on the Northern line, showing the small gap between the train's curved roof and tunnel's "tube".
| imagesize2 = 225px
| caption2 = The name "Tube" comes from the circular tube-like tunnels through which the small-profile (deep tube) trains travel. [[Northern line]] [[London Underground 1995 Stock|1995 Stock]] train approaching {{tubestation|Hendon Central}}.
| image3 = Amersham station MMB 18 S Stock.jpg
| alt3 = Front three-quarter view of a large profile train at Amersham station
| imagesize3 = 225px
| caption3 = A sub-surface [[Metropolitan line]] [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S8 Stock]] train at {{tubestation|Amersham}}
| locale = {{Plainlist|
* [[Greater London]]
* [[Buckinghamshire]]
* [[Essex]]
* [[Hertfordshire]]
}}
| transit_type = [[Rapid transit]]
| lines = 11<ref name="Key Facts"/>
| stations = 272 served<ref name="Key Facts"/> (262 owned)
| daily_ridership = 3.23 million (average for 2023/24)<ref name="tfl-excel">{{cite web |author=Transport for London |url=https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/public-transport-journeys-type-transport |title=Public Transport Journeys by Type of Transport |date=4 February 2023|publisher=London Datastore |access-date=22 March 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322182540/https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/public-transport-journeys-type-transport |url-status=live }}</ref>
| annual_ridership = 1.181{{nbsp}}billion (2023/2024)<ref name="tfl-excel"/>
| website = {{Official URL}}
| operator = London Underground Limited
| began_operation = {{Start date and age|1863|01|10|df=yes}}
| system_length = {{convert|402|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Key Facts"/>
| track_gauge = {{plainlist|
* {{track gauge|sg|allk=on}} (1863–pres.)
* {{track gauge|Brunel|allk=on}} (1863–1869)
}}
| marks = LT ([[National Rail]])<ref name = "National Rail and London Underground">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/tocs/LT.aspx|title= London Underground|website=National Rail |access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510200750/https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/tocs_maps/tocs/LT.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
| el = [[Fourth rail]], [[List of railway electrification systems|630 or 750{{nbsp}}V{{nbsp}}DC]]
| average_speed = {{convert|33|kph|mph|abbr=on}}<ref name="TfL Facts">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |title=Facts & figures |author=Transport for London |date=29 July 2019 |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=27 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927002759/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |url-status=live }}</ref>
| caption = 
| owner = 
| area served = 
| line_number = 
| start = 
| end = 
| chief_executive = 
| character = 
| vehicles = 
| map = 
| map_state = 
}}
{{Undergroundconnect}}
The '''London Underground''' (also known simply as the '''Underground''' or as 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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/16379/an-overview-of-the-rail-industry.pdf |title= An overview of the British rail industry |publisher= Office of Rail and Road |date= 19 December 2014 |access-date= 5 January 2017 |archive-date= 3 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160403165349/http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/16379/an-overview-of-the-rail-industry.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> It is part of the network of transport services managed by [[Transport for London]].
[[File:Centenary_sign_outside_Baker_Street_tube_station,_central_London.jpg|thumb|Sign on wall beside Marylebone Road beyond station entrance]]
The Underground has its origins in the [[Metropolitan Railway]], opening on 10 January 1863 as the world's first underground passenger railway.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Charles E |title=The Metropolitan Line |date=1973 |publisher=London Transport |location=London |isbn=0-85329 033 4 |page=7}}</ref> Despite sulphurous fumes, the line was a success from its opening, carrying 9.5 million passengers in the first year of its existence.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Underground |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/London-Underground |website=Britannica |access-date=8 September 2025 |archive-date=29 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529184325/https://www.britannica.com/topic/London-Underground |url-status=live |quote=Despite sulfurous fumes, the line was a success from its opening, carrying 9.5 million passengers in the first year of its existence. }}</ref> The Metropolitan is now part of the [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle]], [[District line|District]], [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]] and [[Metropolitan line]]s. The first line to operate underground [[electric locomotive|electric traction trains]], the [[City & South London Railway]] in 1890, is now part of the [[Northern line]].{{sfnp|Wolmar|2004|p=135}}

The network has expanded to 11 lines with {{convert|250|mi|km}} of track.<ref name="150 tube facts">{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9789966/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9789966/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=London Underground: 150 fascinating Tube facts |last=Attwooll |first=Jolyon |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=5 August 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of [[Greater London]]; there are only 33 Underground stations south of the [[River Thames]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=May |first1=Jack |title=Why are there so few tube lines in South London? |url=https://citymonitor.ai/transport/why-are-there-so-few-tube-lines-south-london-2929 |date=31 March 2017 |website=City Monitor |access-date=10 October 2019 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042701/https://citymonitor.ai/transport/why-are-there-so-few-tube-lines-south-london-2929 |url-status=live }}</ref> The system's [[List of London Underground stations|272 stations]] collectively accommodate up to 5{{nbsp}}million passenger journeys a day.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground |title= Daily Ridership |publisher= Transport for London |access-date= 22 July 2016 |archive-date= 24 January 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170124155818/https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground |url-status= live }}</ref> In 2024/25, it was used for 1.216 billion passenger journeys<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport for London quarterly performance report Quarter 4 2024/25 7 December 2024 – 31 March 2025 |url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-quarterly-performance-report-q4-2024-25.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>.

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.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|loc = Preface}} Despite its name, only 45% of the system is under the ground: much of the network in the outer environs of London is on the surface.<ref name="150 tube facts" />

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), is a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Transport for London]] (TfL), the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in London.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|loc = Preface}} {{As of|2015}}, 92% of [[operational expenditure]] is covered by passenger fares.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/board-20150701-part-1-item07-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf |title=Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2011/12 |publisher=Transport for London |pages=98, 100 |quote=Fares revenue on LU was £2,410m... Operating expenditure on the Underground increased to £2,630m |access-date=25 October 2015 |archive-date=20 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220024648/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/board-20150701-part-1-item07-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Travelcard]] ticket was introduced in 1983 and [[Oyster card]], a contactless ticketing system, in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/board-20150701-part-1-item07-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf |title=Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2011/12 |publisher=TfL |page=11 |access-date=25 October 2015 |archive-date=20 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220024648/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/board-20150701-part-1-item07-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Contactless bank card payments were introduced in 2014,<ref name="TfL-20140909">{{Cite press release |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/september/contactless-payment-on-london-underground |title= Contactless payment on London Underground |date= 9 September 2014 |publisher= Transport for London |access-date= 20 November 2017 |archive-date= 10 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210510075407/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/september/contactless-payment-on-london-underground |url-status= live }}</ref> the first such use on a public transport system.<ref name="TfL-20160713">{{Cite press release |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/july/licencing-london-s-contactless-ticketing-system |date=13 July 2016 |title= Licencing London's contactless ticketing system |publisher= Transport for London |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032915/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/july/licencing-london-s-contactless-ticketing-system |archive-date=1 December 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The LPTB commissioned many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a [[Modernism|modernist]] style.<ref name="Design in Relation to the Problem: The London Underground">{{cite journal |title=Design in Relation to the Problem: The London Underground |journal=Commercial Art & Industry |date=1932 |pages=38–59 |url=http://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/CAI/1932-02-01/edition/null/page/33 |access-date=21 November 2017 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515133332/https://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/CAI/1932-02-01/edition/null/page/33 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Celebrities of Advertising II: Frank Pick">{{cite journal |last1=Sagittarius |title=Celebrities of Advertising II: Frank Pick |journal=Commercial Art & Industry |date=1928 |url= http://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/CAI/1928-06-01/edition/null/page/180 |pages=168–9 |access-date=21 November 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034205/http://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/CAI/1928-06-01/edition/null/page/180 |archive-date=1 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="Frank Pick and his Influence on Design in England">{{cite journal |last1=Barman |first1=Christian |title=Frank Pick and his Influence on Design in England |journal=Graphis |date=1948 |pages=70–73 |url=http://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/GR/1948-01-01/edition/21/page/80 |access-date=21 November 2017 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515142439/https://magazines.iaddb.org/issue/GR/1948-01-01/edition/21/page/80 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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|DLR]], [[London Overground]], [[Thameslink]], the [[Elizabeth line]], and [[Tramlink]]. Other famous London Underground branding includes the [[#Roundel|roundel]] and the [[Johnston (typeface)|Johnston typeface]], created by [[Edward Johnston]] in 1916.

==History==
{{Main|History of the London Underground}}

===Early years===
[[File:GWR broad gauge Metropolitan Class.jpg|thumb|The Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863 using GWR broad-gauge locomotives.{{sfnp|Peacock|1970|pp=37–38}}]]

==== Sub-surface lines ====
The idea of an underground railway linking the [[City of London]] with the urban centre was proposed in the 1830s,{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=8}} and the [[Metropolitan Railway]] was granted permission to build such a line in 1854.{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|p=19}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bextor |first1=Robin |title=A History of the London Underground |date=2013 |publisher=Demand Media Limited |isbn=978-1909217379 |page=34}}</ref> The world's first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between [[Paddington]] and [[Farringdon, London|Farringdon]] using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=8, 14}} It was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, and borrowing trains from other railways to supplement the service.{{sfnp|Simpson|2003|p=16}} 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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=18–24}} The Metropolitan and District railways completed the [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle line]] in 1884,{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=27–28}} built using the [[cut and cover]] method.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=10–11}} Both railways expanded, the District building five branches to the west reaching [[Ealing]], [[Hounslow]],{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=26}} [[Uxbridge]],{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=33}} [[Richmond, London|Richmond]] and [[Wimbledon, London|Wimbledon]]{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=26}} and the Metropolitan eventually extended as far as {{rws|Verney Junction}} in [[Buckinghamshire]] – more than {{convert|50|mi}} from [[Baker Street tube station|Baker Street]] and the centre of London.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=32}}

==== Deep-level lines ====
For the first deep-level tube line, the [[City and South London Railway]], two {{convert|10|ft|2|in}} diameter circular tunnels were dug between [[King William Street, London|King William Street]] (close to today's [[Bank–Monument station|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 cell]]s''.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=40–45}} The [[Waterloo and City Railway]] opened in 1898,{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=50–51}} followed by the [[Central London Railway]] in 1900, known as the "twopenny tube".{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=52–56}} These two ran electric trains in circular tunnels having diameters between {{convert|11|ft|8|in}} and {{convert|12|ft|2.5|in|2}},{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=50, 53}} whereas the [[Great Northern and City Railway]], which opened in 1904, was built to take main line trains from [[Finsbury Park station|Finsbury Park]] to a [[Moorgate station|Moorgate terminus]] in the City and had {{convert|16|ft|adj=on}} diameter tunnels.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=60–61}}

While steam locomotives were in use on the Underground there were contrasting health reports. There were many instances of passengers collapsing while travelling, owing to heat and pollution, leading for calls to clean the air through the installation of garden plants.<ref name="Ackroyd-2012" /> The Metropolitan even encouraged beards for staff to act as an air filter.<ref>Mason, M. (2013). ''Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground.'' London: Arrow Books. p.126. {{ISBN|978-0-099-55793-7}}</ref> 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 (symptom)|anorexia]].<ref name="Ackroyd-2012" />

==== Electrification ====
With the advent of electric Tube services (the [[Waterloo and City Railway]] and the Great Northern and City Railway), the [[Volk's Electric Railway|Volks Electric Railway]], in [[Brighton]], and competition from electric trams, the pioneering Underground companies needed modernising.<ref name="Emmerson-2010">{{Cite book|title=The London Underground|last=Emmerson|first=Andrew|publisher=Shire Publications Ltd.|year=2010|isbn=978-0-74780-790-2|location=London}}</ref> In the early 20th century, the District and Metropolitan railways needed to electrify and a joint committee recommended an [[Alternating current|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 [[Direct current|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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=62–63}}

===Underground Electric Railways Company era===
[[File:Baker Street Waterloo Railway platform March 1906 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|Passengers wait to board a tube train in 1906.|alt=Sketch showing about a dozen people standing on an underground railway platform with a train standing at the platform. Several more people are visible inside the train, which has the words "Baker St" visible on its side.]]
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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=69–72, 78}}{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=30}} When the "Bakerloo" was so named in July 1906, ''[[The Railway Magazine]]'' called it an undignified "gutter title".{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=30}} By 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines.{{sfnp|Green|1987|pp=24–28}}

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.{{sfn|Wolmar|2004|p=204}} 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 the main line [[London and South Western Railway]], remained outside the Underground Group's control.{{sfn|Wolmar|2004|p=205}}

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<small>NDERGROUN</small>D signs, incorporating the first bullseye symbol,<ref name="Ackroyd-2012">Ackroyd, P. (2012). London Under. London: Vintage Books. {{ISBN|978-0-099-28737-7}}</ref> outside stations in Central London.{{sfnp|Horne|2003|p=51}} At the time, the term Underground was selected from three other proposed names; "Tube" and "Electric" were both officially rejected.<ref name="Ackroyd-2012" /> 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 {{rws|Watford Junction}} in 1917. During [[Airstrike|air raids]] in 1915 people used the tube stations as shelters.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=35}} An extension of the Central line west to [[Ealing]] was also delayed by the war and was completed in 1920.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=33}} 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;{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=94}} the combined service was not named the Northern line until later.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=122}} The Metropolitan promoted housing estates near 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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=84–88}}{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|pp=134, 137}} The [[Piccadilly line]] was extended north to [[Cockfosters]] and took over District line branches to Harrow (later Uxbridge) and Hounslow.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=98–103, 111}}

===London Passenger Transport Board era===
[[File:The Home Front in Britain during the Second World War HU44272.jpg|thumb|[[Aldwych tube station|Aldwych Underground station]] being used as a bomb shelter in 1940]]
In 1933, most of London's underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form the [[London Passenger Transport Board]], which used the [[London Transport (brand)|London Transport brand]].{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=110}} The [[Waterloo & City Railway]], which was by then in the ownership of the main line [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railway]], remained with its existing owners.<ref name="culgwac">{{cite web |url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/waterloo.html |title=Waterloo & City Line |date=14 December 2007 |work=Clive's Underground Line Guides |publisher=Clive Feather |access-date=11 June 2015 |archive-date=12 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412031513/http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/waterloo.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, [[Harry Beck]]'s diagrammatic [[tube map]] first appeared.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=46}}

In the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed, the [[Brill Tramway]] in 1935, and the line from [[Quainton Road railway station|Quainton Road]] to [[Verney Junction railway station|Verney Junction]] in 1936.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=118}} 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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=116}} The [[Second World War]] suspended these plans after the Bakerloo line had reached Stanmore and the Northern line [[High Barnet tube station|High Barnet]] and [[Mill Hill East tube station|Mill Hill East]] in 1941.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=131, 133–134}} Following bombing in 1940, passenger services over the [[West London line]] were suspended, leaving [[Olympia (London)|Olympia exhibition centre]] without a railway service until a District line shuttle from Earl's Court began after the war.{{sfnp|Horne|2006| p=73}} After work restarted on the Central line extensions in east and west London, these were completed in 1949.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=144–145}}

During the war many tube stations were used as air-raid shelters.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=135–136}} They were not always a guarantee of safety, however; on 11 January 1941 during 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9357000/9357545.stm |title=Tribute to Bank Tube station bomb victims of 1941 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=11 January 2011 |publisher=BBC London News |access-date=15 August 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815110331/http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9357000/9357545.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 tube station|Bethnal Green Underground station]]. A total of 173 people, including 62 children, died, making this both 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21645163 |title=Bethnal Green Tube disaster marked 70 years on |work=BBC News |date=3 March 2013 |access-date=11 June 2015 |archive-date=6 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306014728/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21645163 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===London Transport Executive and Board era===
[[File:Barons Court Station - geograph.org.uk - 1762897.jpg|thumb|right|A 1959 Stock train at [[Barons Court tube station|Barons Court]]]]
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 was formed on the same day.{{sfn|Day|Reed|2008|p=150}}{{sfn|Cooke|1964|p=739}}{{sfn|Bonavia|1981|p=14}} 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.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=54}}

The District line needed new trains and an unpainted aluminium train entered service in 1953, this becoming the standard for new trains.{{sfnp|Green|1987|pp=56–57}} In 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.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=56}} In 1962, the British Transport Commission was abolished, and the London Transport Executive was renamed the [[London Transport Board]], reporting directly to the [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of Transport]].{{sfn|Cooke|1964|p=739}}{{sfn|Day|Reed|2008|p=163}} Also during the 1960s, 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.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=160–162, 166–168, 171}}

===Greater London Council era===
On 1 January 1970, responsibility for public transport within Greater London passed from central government to local government, in 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.{{sfn|Day|Reed|2008|p=172}}

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 the London Underground.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Living Memory, Series 11: The 1975 Moorgate tube disaster |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p2hy4/In_Living_Memory_Series_11_The_1975_Moorgate_tube_disaster/ |work=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=2 December 2009 |access-date=26 January 2012 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204191148/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p2hy4 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1976, the Northern City Line was taken over by British Rail and linked up with the main line railway at [[Finsbury Park station|Finsbury Park]], a transfer that had already been planned prior to the accident.{{sfnp|Green|1987|pp=55–56}}

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 tube station|Charing Cross]] stations.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=178–181}} Under the control of the GLC, London Transport introduced a system of [[London fare zones|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.{{sfnp|Green|1987|pp=65–66}}

===London Regional Transport era===
[[File:Westminster.tube.station.jubilee.arp.jpg|thumb|right|Platform edge doors at [[Westminster tube station|Westminster]]]]
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 the [[Secretary of State for Transport]], still retaining the London Transport brand.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=186–187}} [[One person operation]] had been planned in 1968, but conflict with the trade unions delayed introduction until the 1980s.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|p=468}}

On 18 November 1987, fire broke out in an [[escalator]] at [[King's Cross St Pancras tube station]]. The [[King's Cross fire|resulting fire]] cost 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.{{sfn|Fennell|1988|pp=17–18}} 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 the emergency services.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 1997 |title=Kings Cross Tragedy Means Safety First For London Underground |url= http://www.londontransport.co.uk/general/latest/kings_x.html#top |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19980212232127/http://www.londontransport.co.uk/general/latest/kings_x.html#top |archive-date=12 February 1998 |access-date=14 August 2021 |website=London Transport}}</ref>

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.<ref name="culgwac"/> In 1999, the [[Jubilee Line Extension]] project extended the Jubilee line from [[Green Park tube station|Green Park station]] through the growing [[London Docklands|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 the first on the Underground to have [[platform edge door]]s, and were built to have step-free access throughout.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=206–211}} The stations have subsequently been praised as exemplary pieces of 20th-century architecture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 May 2022 |title=Elizabeth Line "more mannered" than Jubilee predecessor says head of architecture |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/10/elizabeth-line-crossrail-architecture-interviews/ |access-date=8 August 2022 |website=Dezeen |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808182022/https://www.dezeen.com/2022/05/10/elizabeth-line-crossrail-architecture-interviews/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Transport for London era===
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 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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chief Officers |url= http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/1434.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140122084924/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/1434.aspx |archive-date=22 January 2014 |publisher=Transport for London}}</ref>

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.<ref name="subsidiaries">{{cite web |title=About TfL – How we work – How we are governed – Subsidiary companies |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/corporate-governance/subsidiary-companies |access-date=17 June 2014 |publisher=Transport for London |archive-date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311021339/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/corporate-governance/subsidiary-companies |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/london-underground/a-brief-history-of-the-underground |title=A brief history of the Underground – London Underground milestones |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819030157/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/londons-transport-a-history/london-underground/a-brief-history-of-the-underground |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 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 (British infrastructure company)|Metronet]] – went into administration in 2007, and TfL took over the other – [[Tube Lines]] – in 2010.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=215, 221}} Despite this, substantial investment to upgrade and modernise 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 tube station|King's Cross St Pancras]]) and improved accessibility (such as at [[Green Park tube station|Green Park]]). Small changes to the Tube network occurred in the 2000s, with extensions to [[Heathrow Terminal 5 station|Heathrow Terminal 5]], new station at [[Wood Lane tube station|Wood Lane]] and the Circle line changed from serving a closed loop around the centre of London to a spiral also serving Hammersmith in 2009.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 March 2009 |title=Circle Line extended to the west |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7926242.stm |access-date=24 November 2011 |archive-date=10 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310035950/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7926242.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2005, [[7 July 2005 London bombings|four coordinated terrorist attacks]] took place, three of them occurring on the Tube network. It was the UK's deadliest terrorist incident since 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 July 2005 |title=More than 50 killed in blasts |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/08/terrorism.politics |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808182023/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/08/terrorism.politics |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Electronic ticket]]ing in the form of the contactless [[Oyster card]] was first introduced in 2003,{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=216}} with payment using [[Contactless payment|contactless banks cards]] introduced in September 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last=Topham |first=Gwyn |date=16 September 2014 |title=London tube introduces contactless payments |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/16/london-tube-contactless-payments-underground-oyster |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510103956/https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/16/london-tube-contactless-payments-underground-oyster |url-status=live }}</ref> In {{As of|2019|bare=yes}}, more than 12 million Oyster cards and 35 million contactless cards were used, generating around £5 billion in ticketing revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Services - 541858-2020 - TED Tenders Electronic Daily |url=https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:541858-2020:TEXT:EN:HTML&src=0 |access-date=8 August 2022 |website=ted.europa.eu |quote=The Transport for London (TfL) Revenue Collection System collects in excess of GBP 5billion of revenue per annum (before Covid-19). Supporting transactions generated from more than 16 million journeys per day, 0.5 million retail sales per day and in the last year 12 million Oyster and 35 million contactless payment card used to make journeys. |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808180030/https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:541858-2020:TEXT:EN:HTML&src=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[London 2012|London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games]], the Underground saw record passenger numbers, with more than 4.3{{nbsp}}million people using the Tube on some days.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 August 2012 |title=London 2012: Games bring record London Underground users |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-19125580 |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808182021/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-19125580 |url-status=live }}</ref> This record was subsequently beaten in later years, with 4.82{{nbsp}}million passengers in December 2015.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=London Underground breaks the record again for busiest day ever on the Tube |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/december/london-underground-breaks-the-record-again-for-busiest-day-ever-on-the-tube |date=9 December 2015 |access-date=8 August 2022 |publisher=Transport for London |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808182021/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/december/london-underground-breaks-the-record-again-for-busiest-day-ever-on-the-tube |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2013, the Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary, with celebratory events such as [[Metropolitan line#Steam on the Met|steam trains]] and installation of a unique [[Labyrinth (artwork)|Labyrinth artwork]] at each station.<ref>{{Cite web |title=London Underground: 150 years |date=10 January 2013 |url=https://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-01-10/london-underground-tube-150-years-anniversary/ |access-date=8 August 2022 |website=ITV News |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808182021/https://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-01-10/london-underground-tube-150-years-anniversary/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under TfL, London's [[Transport in London|public transport network]] became more unified, with existing suburban rail lines across London upgraded and rebranded as [[London Overground]] from 2007, with the former [[East London line]] becoming part of the Overground network in 2010.{{sfnp|Rose|2007}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8620188.stm |title=East London line officially opens |date=27 April 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=2 April 2010 |archive-date=18 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418154822/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8620188.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Many Overground stations interchange with Underground ones, and Overground lines were added onto the Tube map.

In the 2010s, the £18.8{{nbsp}}billion [[Crossrail]] project built a new east–west railway tunnel under central London.<ref name="BBC-20220524" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2022 |title=Elizabeth line: almost 50 years in the planning for Crossrail – timeline |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/20/elizabeth-line-almost-50-years-in-the-planning-for-crossrail-timeline |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en |quote=Proposals for east-west train route across London, first mooted in 1974, inspired by Paris RER |archive-date=10 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110183128/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/20/elizabeth-line-almost-50-years-in-the-planning-for-crossrail-timeline |url-status=live }}</ref> The project involved rebuilding and expanding several central Underground stations including [[Tottenham Court Road station|Tottenham Court Road]] and [[Whitechapel station|Whitechapel]].<ref name="BBC-20220524">{{Cite news |date=24 May 2022 |title=Elizabeth line: What is Crossrail and when does it open? |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61505172 |access-date=8 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826124723/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61505172 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Guardian-20220523" /> By increasing rail capacity, the line aims to reduce overcrowding on the Tube and cut cross-London journey times.<ref name="Guardian-20220523">{{Cite web |date=23 May 2022 |title=Elizabeth line: Crossrail complete after decades of struggle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/23/building-the-elizabeth-line-london-tube |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=10 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110183127/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/23/building-the-elizabeth-line-london-tube |url-status=live }}</ref> The railway opened as the [[Elizabeth line]] in May 2022.<ref name="BBC-20220524" /> 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.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-51946409 |title=Coronavirus: 40 London Underground stations to be closed |date=19 March 2020 |access-date=11 February 2021 |archive-date=29 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629125910/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-51946409 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Northern line extension to Battersea|Northern Line Extension]] opened in September 2021, extending the [[Northern line]] from [[Kennington tube station|Kennington]] to [[Battersea Power Station tube station|Battersea Power Station]] via [[Nine Elms tube station|Nine Elms]]. The extension was privately funded, with contributions from developments across the [[Battersea Power Station]], [[Vauxhall]] and [[Nine Elms]] areas.<ref>{{cite news |date=3 September 2021 |title=London Underground: Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station set to open |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58435673 |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905030314/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-58435673 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Northern line extension |year=2019 |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/northern-line-extension |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=26 January 2016 |archive-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190729235927/https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/northern-line-extension |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
{{Main|London Underground infrastructure}}

===Railway===
As of 2021, the Underground serves 272 [[Underground station|stations]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 September 2021|title=Northern Line extension: Two new Tube stations open|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58621491|access-date=20 September 2021|archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920073208/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58621491|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Attwooll |first=Jolyon |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts/ |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/London-Underground-150-fascinating-Tube-facts/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=150 London Underground facts (including the birth of Jerry Springer in East Finchley station) |date=25 January 2018 |work=The Telegraph |location= London |access-date=28 April 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Sixteen stations (eight on each of the Metropolitan and Central lines) are outside the [[Greater London|London region]], with five of those beyond the [[M25 motorway|M25 London Orbital motorway]] ([[Amersham station|Amersham]], [[Chalfont & Latimer station|Chalfont & Latimer]], [[Chesham tube station|Chesham]], and [[Chorleywood station|Chorleywood]] on the Metropolitan line and [[Epping tube station|Epping]] on the Central).

Of the thirty-two [[London borough]]s, six ([[London Borough of Bexley|Bexley]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], [[London Borough of Croydon|Croydon]], [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames|Kingston]], [[London Borough of Lewisham|Lewisham]] and [[London Borough of Sutton|Sutton]]) are not served by the Underground network, while [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]] has [[Old Street tube station|Old Street]] (on the Northern line Bank branch) and [[Manor House tube station|Manor House]] (on the Piccadilly line) just inside its boundaries. Lewisham was served by the [[East London line]] (with stations at [[New Cross railway station|New Cross]] and [[New Cross Gate railway station|New Cross Gate]]) until 2010 when the line and the stations were transferred to the London Overground network.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8620188.stm |title=East London Line opens to public |date=27 April 2010 |newspaper=BBC |access-date=8 June 2016 |archive-date=18 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418154822/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8620188.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{wide image|London Underground with Greater London map.svg|980px|A geographic London Underground map showing the extent of the current network ([[Amersham station|Amersham]] and [[Chesham tube station|Chesham]] stations, top left, are beyond the extent of the map.)}}

London Underground's eleven lines total {{convert|402|km|mi|disp=flip|abbr=out}} in length,<ref name="Key Facts"/> making it the thirteenth [[List of metro systems|longest metro system in the world]]. These are made up of the sub-surface network and the deep-tube lines.<ref name="Key Facts">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |title=About TfL – What we do – London Underground – Facts & figures |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=17 June 2014 |archive-date=27 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927002759/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle]], [[District line|District]], [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]], and [[Metropolitan line]]s 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. These converge on a bi-directional loop in central London, sharing tracks and stations with each other at various places along their respective routes.

The [[Bakerloo line|Bakerloo]], [[Central line (London Underground)|Central]], [[Jubilee line|Jubilee]], [[Northern line|Northern]], [[Piccadilly line|Piccadilly]], [[Victoria line|Victoria]] and [[Waterloo & City line]]s are deep-level tubes, with smaller trains that run in circular tunnels (''tubes'') with a diameter of about {{convert|11|ft|8|in}}, 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|Lioness Line]] for its above-ground section north of Queen's Park.<ref name="map">{{cite web |url=http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-london/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728161716/http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-london/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 July 2020 |title=Detailed London Transport Map |access-date=1 December 2012 |work=cartometro.com }}</ref>

Fifty-five per cent of the system runs on the surface. There are {{convert|20|mi}} of sub-surface tunnels and {{convert|93|mi}} of tube tunnels.<ref name="Key Facts" /> 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.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=26, 33, 38, 81}} Trains generally run on the left-hand track. In some places, the tunnels are above each other (for example, 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 tube station|Euston]]).<ref name="map" />{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=327–328}}

The lines are electrified with a [[Railway electrification#Fourth rail|fourth rail DC system]]: a conductor rail between the rails is energised at {{Val|-210|u=V}} and a rail outside the running rails at {{Val|+420|u=V}}, giving a potential difference of {{Val|630|u=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.<ref name="Martin2012">{{cite book |author=Martin, Andrew |title=Underground, Overground: A Passenger's History of the Tube |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vh3n5WD_YqsC&pg=PT137 |access-date=7 December 2012 |date=26 April 2012 |publisher=Profile Books |isbn=978-1-84765-807-4 |pages=137–138 |location=London |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119080910/https://books.google.com/books?id=vh3n5WD_YqsC&pg=PT137 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The average speed on the Underground is {{convert|20.5|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="150 tube facts" /> Outside the tunnels of central London, many lines' trains tend to travel at more than {{convert|40|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} in the suburban and countryside areas. The Metropolitan line can reach speeds of {{convert|62|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://citymonitor.ai/transport/which-london-underground-line-fastest-3322|title=Which London Underground line is the fastest?|date=18 September 2017|access-date=21 April 2021|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515160549/https://citymonitor.ai/transport/which-london-underground-line-fastest-3322|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Lines===

{{redirect-distinguish|Tube line|Tube Lines}}

The London Underground was used for 1.181{{nbsp}}billion journeys in the year 2023{{ndash}}2024.<ref name="tfl-excel"/>

{| class="sortable wikitable small"
|+ London Underground lines
! rowspan="2" | Name
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Map<br>colour<br><ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf |title=Standard Tube Map |work=Transport for London |author=London Underground |access-date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=25 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625083557/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/standard-tube-map.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! rowspan="2" {{vertical header|stp=1|va=middle|Opened}}
! rowspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Length
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Termini
! rowspan="2" {{vertical header|stp=1|va=middle|Stations}}
! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" |Depots
! rowspan="2" |Current<br>rolling stock
! rowspan="2" {{vertical header|stp=1|va=middle|Cars per train}}
! rowspan="2" | Average<br>weekday<br>ridership<br>(2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api-portal.tfl.gov.uk/docs|title=Rolling Origin & Destination Survey (RODS)|access-date=11 April 2019|archive-date=4 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104003500/https://api-portal.tfl.gov.uk/docs|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | Trips per year
! Average<br>trips<br>per mile
|-
!km
!mi
! colspan="2" | ×1000 (2016/17)<ref name="Perdata1617">{{cite web |url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/up_to_date_per_line_london_under#incoming-1109167 |title=Up to date per line London Underground usage statistics |publisher=[[TheyWorkForYou]] |date=29 April 2018 |access-date=29 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702135908/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/up_to_date_per_line_london_under#incoming-1109167 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Bakerloo line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Bakerloo}}; color:white;"|Brown
| 1906
| Deep tube
| {{convert|23.2|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Harrow & Wealdstone station|Harrow & Wealdstone]]
* [[Queen's Park station (England)|Queen's Park]]
* [[Stonebridge Park station|Stonebridge Park]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Waterloo tube station|Waterloo]]
* [[Elephant & Castle tube station|Elephant & Castle]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 25
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Stonebridge Park
* London Road
* Queen's Park
}}
| [[London Underground 1972 Stock|1972 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 7
| style="text-align:right;" | 401,123
| style="text-align:right;" | 117,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 8,069
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Central}}; color:white;" | Red
| 1900{{efn|Known as the Central London before 1937.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=122}}}}
| Deep tube
| {{convert|74.0|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[West Ruislip station|West Ruislip]]
* [[Ealing Broadway station|Ealing Broadway]]
* [[Northolt tube station|Northolt]]
* [[White City tube station|White City]]
* [[North Acton tube station|North Acton]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Hainault tube station|Hainault]]
* [[Woodford tube station|Woodford]]
* [[Epping tube station|Epping]]
* [[Loughton tube station|Loughton]]
* [[Leytonstone tube station|Leytonstone]]
* [[Newbury Park tube station|Newbury Park]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 49
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Ruislip
* Hainault
* White City
}}
| [[London Underground 1992 Stock|1992 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 8
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,021,084
| style="text-align:right;" | 288,800
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,278
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Circle}};"|Yellow
| 1871{{efn|The Metropolitan and District railways joint inner circle service started in the shape of a horseshoe, a complete loop was formed in 1884{{sfnp|Horne|2006|pp=13, 24}} and the current spiral in 2009. The line has been referred to as the Circle line at least since 1936 and first appeared separately on the tube map in 1948.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=220}}}}
| Sub surface
| {{convert|27.2|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | [[Hammersmith tube station (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)|Hammersmith]]<br>''(via [[Moorgate station|Moorgate]] and [[Ladbroke Grove tube station|Ladbroke Grove]])''
| class="small" | [[Edgware Road tube station (Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines)|Edgware Road]]<br>''(via [[Embankment tube station|Embankment]] and [[Notting Hill Gate tube station|Notting Hill Gate]])''
| style="text-align:right;" | 36
| class="small" | Hammersmith
| [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S7 Stock]]<ref name="March Report">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/board-20140326-part-1-item05-commissioners-report.pdf |date=26 March 2014 |title=Commissioner's Report |publisher=Transport for London |pages=3–4 |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/board-20140326-part-1-item05-commissioners-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;" | 7
| style="text-align:right;" | 257,391
| style="text-align:right;" | 73,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,294
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[District line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|District}}; color:white;"|Green
| 1868
| Sub surface
| {{convert|64.0|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Ealing Broadway
* [[Kensington (Olympia) station|Kensington (Olympia)]]
* [[Richmond station (London)|Richmond]]
* [[Wimbledon station|Wimbledon]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[High Street Kensington tube station|High Street Kensington]]
* Edgware Road
* [[Tower Hill tube station|Tower Hill]]
* [[Barking station|Barking]]
* [[Upminster station|Upminster]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 60
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Upminster
* Ealing Common
* Lillie Bridge
}}
| [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S7 Stock]]<ref name="March Report"/>
| style="text-align:right;" | 7
| style="text-align:right;" | 842,991
| style="text-align:right;" | 226,100
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,652
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Hammersmith & City line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Hammersmith & City}};"|Pink
| 1864{{efn|Originally a joint Great Western and Metropolitan railways service, the line first appeared separately on the tube map in 1990.{{sfnp|Rose|2007}}}}
| Sub surface
| {{convert|25.5|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | Hammersmith
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Plaistow tube station|Plaistow]]
* Barking
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 29
| class="small" | Hammersmith
| [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S7 Stock]]<ref name="March Report"/>
| style="text-align:right;" | 7
| style="text-align:right;" | 231,193
| style="text-align:right;" | 61,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,860
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Jubilee line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Jubilee}}; color:white;"|Grey
| 1979
| Deep tube
| {{convert|36.2|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Stanmore tube station|Stanmore]]
* [[Wembley Park tube station|Wembley Park]]
* [[Willesden Green tube station|Willesden Green]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[North Greenwich tube station|North Greenwich]]
* [[West Ham station|West Ham]]
* [[Stratford station|Stratford]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 27
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Neasden
* Stratford Market
}}
| [[London Underground 1996 Stock|1996 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 7
| style="text-align:right;" | 999,561
| style="text-align:right;" | 280,400
| style="text-align:right;" | 12,462
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Metropolitan line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Metropolitan}}; color:white;"|Magenta
| 1863
| Sub surface
| {{convert|66.7|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Amersham station|Amersham]]
* [[Chesham tube station|Chesham]]
* [[Uxbridge tube station|Uxbridge]]
* [[Watford tube station|Watford]]
* [[Rickmansworth station|Rickmansworth]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Harrow-on-the-Hill station|Harrow-on-the-Hill]]
* Wembley Park
* [[Baker Street tube station|Baker Street]]
* [[Aldgate tube station|Aldgate]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 34
| class="small" | Neasden
| [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S8 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 8
| style="text-align:right;" | 352,464
| style="text-align:right;" | 80,900
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,926
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Northern line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Northern}}; color:white;"|Black
| 1890{{efn|The name dates from 1937.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=122}}}}
| Deep tube
| {{convert|58.0|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Edgware tube station|Edgware]]
* [[High Barnet tube station|High Barnet]]
* [[Mill Hill East tube station|Mill Hill East]]
* [[Finchley Central tube station|Finchley Central]]
* [[Golders Green tube station|Golders Green]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Kennington tube station|Kennington]]
* [[Battersea Power Station tube station|Battersea Power Station]]
* [[Morden tube station|Morden]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 52
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Edgware
* Golders Green
* Highgate
* Morden
}}
| [[London Underground 1995 Stock|1995 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 6
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,123,342
| style="text-align:right;" | 294,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 8,166
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Piccadilly line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Piccadilly}}; color:white;"|Dark blue
| 1906
| Deep tube
| {{convert|71.0|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Cockfosters tube station|Cockfosters]]
* [[Arnos Grove tube station|Arnos Grove]]
* [[Oakwood tube station|Oakwood]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Acton Town tube station|Acton Town]]
* [[Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station|Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3]]
* [[Heathrow Terminal 4 tube station|Heathrow Terminal 4]]
* [[Heathrow Terminal 5 station|Heathrow Terminal 5]]
* [[Northfields tube station|Northfields]]
* [[Rayners Lane tube station|Rayners Lane]]
* Uxbridge
}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Piccadilly Underground line – Transport for London|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/route/piccadilly/|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB|archive-date=26 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526111846/https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/route/piccadilly/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;" | 53
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* Cockfosters
* Northfields
}}
| [[London Underground 1973 Stock|1973 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 6
| style="text-align:right;" | 710,647
| style="text-align:right;" | 206,900
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,670
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Victoria line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Victoria}}; color:white;"|Light blue
| 1968
| Deep tube
| {{convert|21.0|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Brixton tube station|Brixton]]
* [[London Victoria station|Victoria]]
}}
| class="small" | {{indented plainlist|
* [[Walthamstow Central station|Walthamstow Central]]
* [[Seven Sisters station|Seven Sisters]]
}}
| style="text-align:right;" | 16
| class="small" | Northumberland Park
| [[London Underground 2009 Stock|2009 Stock]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 8
| style="text-align:right;" | 955,823
| style="text-align:right;" | 263,400
| style="text-align:right;" | 20,261
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Waterloo & City line]]
| style="background:#{{rcr|London Underground|Waterloo & City}}; color:black;"|Turquoise
| 1898{{efn|Until 1994 the Waterloo & City line was operated by British Rail and its predecessors.}}
| Deep tube
| {{convert|2.5|km|disp=table}}
| class="small" | [[Bank and Monument stations|Bank]]
| class="small" | Waterloo
| style="text-align:right;" | 2
| class="small" | Waterloo
| [[London Underground 1992 Stock|1992 Stock]]<ref name="wdtk-lu">{{cite web|last1=Neil|first1=Graham|title=London Underground Rolling Stock Information Sheet|url=https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/cy/request/284276/response/737827/attach/6/RS%20Info%20Sheets%204%20Edition.pdf|website=WhatDoTheyKnow|date=4 August 2015|access-date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505193100/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/cy/request/284276/response/737827/attach/6/RS%20Info%20Sheets%204%20Edition.pdf|archive-date=5 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="text-align:right;" | 4
| style="text-align:right;" | 59,492
| style="text-align:right;" | 16,900
| style="text-align:right;" | 11,267
|}
{{notelist}}

{{image frame|align=center|content={{London Underground patronage by line}}|caption=London Underground patronage by line in 2020–21}}

===Services using former and current main lines===
[[File:London Underground full map.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of the entire system with accurate positions of stations but simplified presentation of lines. The map also shows the Docklands Light Rail and the River Thames for reference.]]
The Underground uses several railways and alignments that were built by main-line railway companies.
;Bakerloo line
:Between [[Queen's Park (London) station|Queen's Park]] and [[Harrow & Wealdstone station|Harrow & Wealdstone]] this runs over the [[Watford DC Line]] also used by [[London Overground]], alongside the [[London & North Western Railway]] (LNWR) main line that opened in 1837. The route was laid out by the LNWR in 1912–15 and is part of the [[Network Rail]] system.
;Central line
:The railway from just south of [[Leyton tube station|Leyton]] to just south of [[Loughton tube station|Loughton]] was built by [[Eastern Counties Railway]] in 1856 on the same alignment in use today.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} The Underground also uses the line built in 1865 by the [[Great Eastern Railway]] (GER) between Loughton and [[Ongar tube station|Ongar]] via [[Epping tube station|Epping]]. The connection to the main line south of Leyton was closed in 1970 and removed in 1972. The line from Epping to Ongar was closed in 1994; most of the line is in use today by the heritage [[Epping Ongar Railway]].{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} The line between [[Newbury Park tube station|Newbury Park]] and Woodford junction (west of [[Roding Valley tube station|Roding Valley]]) via Hainault was built by the GER in 1903, the connections to the main line south of Newbury Park closing in 1947 (in the Ilford direction) and 1956 (in the Seven Kings direction).{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
;Central line
:The line from just north of [[White City tube station|White City]] to [[Ealing Broadway tube station|Ealing Broadway]] was built in 1917 by the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR) and passenger service introduced by the Underground in 1920. [[North Acton tube station|North Acton]] to [[West Ruislip tube station|West Ruislip]] was built by GWR on behalf of the Underground in 1947–8 alongside the pre-existing tracks from Old Oak Common junction towards {{rws|High Wycombe}} and beyond, which date from 1904.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} {{As of|2013|5}}, the original Old Oak Common junction to {{rws|South Ruislip}} route has one main-line train a day to and from Paddington.<ref>{{NRtimes|May 13|115}}</ref>
;District line
:South of [[Kensington Olympia station|Kensington (Olympia)]] short sections of the 1862 [[West London Railway]] (WLR) and its 1863 West London Extension Railway (WLER) were used when District extended from Earl's Court in 1872. The District had its own bay platform at Olympia built in 1958 along with track on the bed of the 1862–3 WLR/WLER northbound. The southbound WLR/WLER became the new northbound main line at that time, and a new southbound main-line track was built through the site of former goods yard. The 1872 junction closed in 1958, and a further connection to the WLR just south of Olympia closed in 1992. The branch is now segregated.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
:The line between Campbell Road junction (now closed), near [[Bromley-by-Bow tube station|Bromley-by-Bow]], and [[Barking station|Barking]] was built by the [[London, Tilbury & Southend Railway]] (LTSR) in 1858. The slow tracks were built 1903–05, when District services were extended from [[Bow Road]] (though there were no District services east of [[East Ham tube station|East Ham]] from 1905 to 1932). The slow tracks were shared with LTSR stopping and goods trains until segregated by 1962, when main-line trains stopped serving intermediate stations.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
:The railway from Barking to [[Upminster tube station|Upminster]] was built by LTSR in 1885 and the District extended over the route in 1902. District withdrew between 1905 and 1932, when the route was quadrupled. Main-line trains ceased serving intermediate stations in 1962, and the District line today uses only the 1932 slow tracks.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
:The westbound track between east of [[Ravenscourt Park tube station|Ravenscourt Park]] and [[Turnham Green tube station|Turnham Green]] and Turnham Green to Richmond (also used by [[London Overground]]) follows the alignment of a railway built by the [[London & South Western Railway]] (LSWR) in 1869. The eastbound track between Turnham Green and east of Ravenscourt Park follows the alignment built in 1911; this was closed 1916 but was re-used when the Piccadilly line was extended in 1932.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} The section between Turnham Green and Richmond still belongs to [[Network Rail]] now.<ref name="lu-iwa">Section 10 - Network Rail, London Underground - Individual Working Alone, [https://www.tectraining.co.uk/doc/LU-IWA-Information-Booklet-March-2015.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204191151/https://www.tectraining.co.uk/doc/LU-IWA-Information-Booklet-March-2015.pdf|date=4 February 2023}}</ref>
:The line between [[East Putney tube station|East Putney]] and [[Wimbledon station|Wimbledon]] was built by the LSWR in 1889. The last scheduled main-line service ran in 1941{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} but it still sees a few through Waterloo passenger services at the start and end of the daily timetable.<ref>Maund, Richard (2013). [http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/2013.htm Passenger Train Services over Unusual Lines] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701060420/http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/2013.htm |date=1 July 2013 }}.</ref> The route is also used for scheduled ECS movements to/from Wimbledon Park depot and for Waterloo services diverted during disruptions and track closures elsewhere. This section is now owned by London Underground but the signalling is still operated by [[Network Rail]].<ref name="lu-iwa"/>
;Hammersmith & City
:Between [[Paddington tube station (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)|Paddington]] and [[Westbourne Park tube station|Westbourne Park Underground station]], the line runs alongside the main line. The Great Western main line opened in 1838, serving a temporary terminus the other side of Bishop's Road. When the current Paddington station opened in 1854, the line passed to the south of the old station.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}} On opening in 1864, the Hammersmith & City Railway (then part of the Metropolitan Railway) ran via the main line to a junction at Westbourne Park, until 1867 when two tracks opened to the south of the main line, with a crossing near Westbourne Bridge, Paddington. The current two tracks to the north of the main line and the subway east of Westbourne Park opened in 1878.{{sfnp|Peacock|1970|p=67}} The Hammersmith & City route is now completely segregated from the main line.
;Jubilee line
:The rail route between [[Canning Town station|Canning Town]] and [[Stratford station|Stratford]] was built by the GER in 1846, with passenger services starting in 1847. The original alignment was quadrupled "in stages between 1860 and 1892" for freight services before the extra (western) tracks were lifted as traffic declined during the 20th century, and were re-laid for Jubilee line services that started in 1999. The current [[Docklands Light Railway]] (ex-North London line) uses the original eastern alignment and the Jubilee uses the western alignment.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
;Northern line
:The line from [[East Finchley tube station|East Finchley]] to [[Mill Hill East tube station|Mill Hill East]] was opened in 1867, and from [[Finchley Central tube station|Finchley Central]] to [[High Barnet tube station|High Barnet]] in 1872, both by the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]].{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}
;Piccadilly line
:The westbound track between east of Ravenscourt Park and Turnham Green was built by LSWR in 1869, and originally used for eastbound main-line and District services. The eastbound track was built in 1911; it closed in 1916 but was re-used when the Piccadilly line was extended in 1932.{{sfnp|Brown|2012}}

===Main line services using LU tracks===
[[Chiltern Railways]] shares track with the Metropolitan Line between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham. Three [[South Western Railway (train operating company)|South Western Railway]] passenger trains a day use District Line tracks between Wimbledon and East Putney.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maund |first1=Richard |title=Passenger Train Services over Unusual Lines |url=http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/2021.html |access-date=22 October 2021 |quote="Point Pleasant Junction – East Putney" |archive-date=22 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022142438/http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/2021.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Trains===
{{Main|London Underground rolling stock}}

[[File:London Underground subsurface and tube trains.jpg|thumb| A sub-surface [[Metropolitan line]] [[London Underground A60 and A62 Stock|A Stock]] train (left) passes a deep-tube [[Piccadilly line]] [[London Underground 1973 Stock|1973 Stock]] train (right) in the siding at [[Rayners Lane tube station|Rayners Lane]].]]
London Underground trains come in two sizes, larger sub-surface trains and smaller deep-tube trains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/rolling-stock |title=Rolling Stock |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=19 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519013214/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/rolling-stock |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the early 1960s all passenger trains have been [[electric multiple unit]]s with sliding doors{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=159}} and a train last ran with a guard in 2000.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=205}} All lines use fixed-length trains with between six and eight cars, except for the Waterloo & City line that uses four cars.<ref name="RSData">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004231025/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/foi/Rolling_stock_Data_Sheet_2nd_Edition.pdf |title=Rolling Stock Data Sheet |publisher=Transport for London |date=March 2007 |archive-date=4 October 2013 |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/foi/Rolling_stock_Data_Sheet_2nd_Edition.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> New trains are designed for maximum number of [[standing passenger]]s and for speed of access to the cars and have [[regenerative braking]] and public address systems.<ref name="Connor">{{cite news |title=Deep tube transformation |last=Connor |first=Piers |work=[[Modern Railways]] |date=January 2013 |pages=44–47}}</ref> 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 [[Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations|The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010]] (RVAR 2010) by 2020.<ref name="gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-transport-more-accessible-to-all/supporting-pages/accessible-transport-for-all |title=Making transport more accessible to all |publisher=[[Department for Transport]] |date=3 October 2012 |access-date=17 March 2013 |archive-date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917191505/https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-transport-more-accessible-to-all/supporting-pages/accessible-transport-for-all |url-status=live }}</ref>

Stock on sub-surface lines is identified by a letter (such as [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S Stock]], used on the [[Metropolitan line]]), while tube stock is identified by the year of intended introduction{{sfnp|Hardy|2002|p=6}} (for example, [[London Underground 1996 Stock|1996 Stock]], used on the Jubilee line).

===Depots===
The Underground is served by the following depots:
* [[Bakerloo line|Bakerloo]]: [[Stonebridge Park Depot|Stonebridge Park]], Queen's Park, London Road
* [[Central line (London Underground)|Central]]: [[Hainault Depot|Hainault]], [[Ruislip Depot|Ruislip]], [[White City Depot|White City]]
* [[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle]]: [[Hammersmith Depot|Hammersmith]]
* [[District line|District]]: [[Ealing Common Depot|Ealing Common]], [[Lillie Bridge Depot|Lillie Bridge]], [[Upminster Depot|Upminster]]
* [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]]: [[Hammersmith Depot|Hammersmith]]
* [[Jubilee line|Jubilee]]: [[Neasden Depot|Neasden]], [[Stratford Market Depot|Stratford Market]]
* [[Metropolitan line|Metropolitan]]: [[Neasden Depot|Neasden]]
* [[Northern line|Northern]]: Edgware, Golders Green, Highgate, [[Morden Depot|Morden]]
* [[Piccadilly line|Piccadilly]]: Cockfosters, Northfields
* [[Victoria line|Victoria]]: [[Northumberland Park Depot|Northumberland Park]]
* [[Waterloo & City line|Waterloo & City]]: [[Waterloo Underground Depot|Waterloo]]
*London Underground: [[Acton Works]]

===Disused and abandoned stations===
{{main|List of former and unopened London Underground stations}}

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 the Underground but remain open to [[National Rail]] main line services. In some cases, such as [[Aldwych tube station|Aldwych]] and [[Ongar railway station|Ongar]], the buildings remain and are used for other purposes. In others, such as [[British Museum tube station|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 tube station|Down Street]] and Aldwych through its "Hidden London" programme. The tours look at the history of the network and feature historical details drawn from the museum's own archives and collections.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Tickets Released for Hidden London tours |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/news/new-tickets-released-hidden-london-tours |access-date=15 February 2023 |website=London Transport Museum |date=25 January 2023 |language=en |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105190956/https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/news/new-tickets-released-hidden-london-tours |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Proposed line extensions ===
[[File:London Underground proposed Bakerloo line extension map.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Proposed route, [[Safeguarding (planning law)|safeguarded]] by TfL in 2021]]

====Bakerloo line extension to Lewisham====
{{main|Bakerloo line extension}}

A southern extension of the [[Bakerloo line]] from [[Elephant & Castle tube station|Elephant & Castle]] has been proposed multiple times since the line opened. In the 2010s, consultation events and preliminary design work took place on an extension. A route from Elephant & Castle to [[Lewisham station|Lewisham]] via [[Old Kent Road]] and {{rws|New Cross Gate}} was chosen by Transport for London in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 October 2019 |title=New consultation on Bakerloo line extension opens today |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/october/new-consultation-on-bakerloo-line-extension-opens-today |url-status=live |access-date=2 April 2021 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026072305/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/october/new-consultation-on-bakerloo-line-extension-opens-today }}</ref> The line could be extended further on the [[Hayes line|Hayes National Rail line]] in future. Estimated to cost between £4.7{{nbsp}}billion to £7.9{{nbsp}}billion (in 2017 prices), the extension would take around 7 years to construct.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2019 |title=Bakerloo line extension Background to Consultation Summary Report October 2019 |url=https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tube/bakerloo-extension/user_uploads/background-summary-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324162143/https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tube/bakerloo-extension/user_uploads/background-summary-report.pdf |archive-date=24 March 2020 |access-date=15 March 2021 |publisher=Transport for London}}</ref> Owing to financial impacts of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], work to implement the extension is currently on hold.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Planning for the Future – Bakerloo line extension |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/planning-for-the-future/bakerloo-line-extension |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929005921/https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/how-we-work/planning-for-the-future/bakerloo-line-extension |archive-date=29 September 2015 |access-date=15 March 2021 |publisher=[[Transport for London]]}}</ref>

==== Other proposed extensions and lines ====
Several other extensions have been proposed in recent years, including a further [[Northern line extension to Battersea|extension of the Northern line]] to [[Clapham Junction railway station|Clapham Junction]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Henderson |first=Jamie |date=23 June 2013 |title=Clapham Junction next for Northern Line says London Assembly member |newspaper=Wandsworth Guardian |url=http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/10501385.Clapham_Junction_next_for_Northern_Line_says_London_Assembly_member/ |access-date=12 January 2014 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224115148/http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/10501385.Clapham_Junction_next_for_Northern_Line_says_London_Assembly_member/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The long proposed [[Croxley Rail Link]] (an extension of the [[Metropolitan line]]) was cancelled in 2018 owing to higher than expected costs and lack of funding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan line extension |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/metropolitan-line-extension |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717143418/https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/metropolitan-line-extension |archive-date=17 July 2017 |access-date=17 July 2017 |publisher=Transport for London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Rebecca |date=8 February 2018 |title=Metropolitan Line extension stalemate between mayor Sadiq Khan and government leaves TFL mulling bus scheme alternative |url=http://www.cityam.com/266474/metropolitan-line-extension-stalemate-between-mayor-sadiq |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=City AM |archive-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081822/http://www.cityam.com/266474/metropolitan-line-extension-stalemate-between-mayor-sadiq |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, the [[Canary Wharf Group]] suggested the construction of a new rail line between [[Euston tube station|Euston]] and [[Canary Wharf tube station|Canary Wharf]], to improve connections to the future [[High Speed 2]] railway.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smale |first=Katherine |url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/exclusive-canary-wharf-group-in-talks-about-rail-link-to-euston/10041923.article |title=Canary Wharf Group in talks about rail link to Euston |date=11 April 2019 |publisher=[[New Civil Engineer]] |access-date=25 April 2019 |archive-date=13 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413152129/https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/exclusive-canary-wharf-group-in-talks-about-rail-link-to-euston/10041923.article |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021, [[Harlow District Council]] proposed extending the [[Central Line (London Underground)|Central line]] from its eastern terminus in [[Epping tube station|Epping]] to [[Harlow]]. They argued this would reduce travel times to Epping and London, and help with efforts to add 19,000 new homes to the town and expand the population to 130,000. However, no funding has been allocated for this proposed extension.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 August 2021 |title=Harlow's addition to London Underground proposed by council |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-58172373 |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325231841/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-58172373 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Line improvements===
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2015}}

====Bakerloo line====
The thirty-six 1972-stock trains on the Bakerloo line have already exceeded their original design life of 40 years. London Underground is therefore extending their operational life by making major repairs to many of the trains to maintain reliability. The Bakerloo line will receive new trains as part of the [[New Tube for London]] project. This will replace the existing fleet with new air-cooled [[articulated car|articulated trains]] and a new signalling system to allow [[Automatic Train Operation]]. The line is predicted to run a maximum of 27 trains per hour, a 25% increase on the current 21 trains per hour during peak periods.<ref name="New Tube for London Feasibility Report">{{cite web |title=New Tube for London Feasibility Report |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/ntfl-feasibility-report.pdf |publisher=TfL |date=October 2014 |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626151325/https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/ntfl-feasibility-report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Bakerloo line 1972 stock train overhall">{{cite web |title=Bakerloo Line Fleet Life Extension |date=11 March 2015 |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150311-part-1-item15-bakerloo-line.pdf |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626133010/https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150311-part-1-item15-bakerloo-line.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Central line====
[[File:The new Shepherd's Bush Underground station - geograph.org.uk - 2421843.jpg|thumb|The new [[Shepherd's Bush tube station|Shepherd's Bush]] station, part of a [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]] improvement]]
The Central line was the first line to be modernised in the 1990s, with 85 new 1992-stock trains and a new automatic signalling system installed to allow Automatic Train Operation. The line runs 34 trains per hour for half an hour in the morning peak but is unable to operate more frequently because of a lack of additional trains. The 85 existing 1992-stock trains are the most unreliable on the London Underground as they are equipped with the first generation of solid-state direct-current thyristor-control traction equipment. The trains often break down, have to be withdrawn from service at short notice and at times are not available when required, leading to gaps in service at peak times. Although relatively modern and well within their design life, the trains need work in the medium term to ensure the continued reliability of the traction control equipment and maintain fleet serviceability until renewal, which is expected between 2028 and 2032. Major work is to be undertaken on the fleet to ensure their continued reliability with brakes, traction control systems, doors, automatic control systems being repaired or replaced, among other components. The Central line will be part of the New Tube for London Project. This will replace the existing fleet with new air-cooled walkthrough trains and a new automatic signalling system. The line is predicted to run 36 trains per hour, a 25% increase compared to the present service of 34 trains for the busiest 30 minutes in the morning and evening peaks and 27–30 trains per hour during the rest of the peak.<ref name="New Tube for London Feasibility Report" /><ref>{{cite web |title= Central line train overhaul project |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150311-part-1-item16-central-line-overhaul.pdf |publisher= TfL |access-date= 25 June 2015 |archive-date= 26 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150626134753/https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150311-part-1-item16-central-line-overhaul.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Central line timetable |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/wtt-67-central-15-september-2013.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140415231448/http://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/wtt-67-central-15-september-2013.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 April 2014 |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015}}</ref>

====Jubilee line====
The signalling system on the Jubilee line has been replaced to increase capacity on the line by 20%—the line now runs 30 trains per hour at peak times, compared to the previous 24 trains per hour. As with the Victoria line, the service frequency is planned to increase to 36 trains per hour. To enable this, ventilation, power supply and control and signalling systems will be adapted and modified to allow the increase in frequency. London Underground also plans to add up to an additional 18 trains to the current fleet of 63 trains of 1996 stock.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jubilee line 36tph upgrade |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20141014-part-1-item-18-jubilee-line-wcc.pdf |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=20 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420123135/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20141014-part-1-item-18-jubilee-line-wcc.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PR20140818">{{cite press release |title=LU to source additional Tube trains |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/august/lu-to-source-additional-tube-trains |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015 |date=18 August 2014 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120519/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/august/lu-to-source-additional-tube-trains |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Northern line====
The signalling system on the Northern line has been replaced to increase capacity on the line by 20%, as the line now runs 24 trains per hour at peak times, compared to 20 previously. Capacity can be increased further if the operation of the Charing Cross and Bank branches is separated. To enable this up to 50 additional trains will be built in addition to the current 106 1995 stock. Five trains will be required for the Northern line extension and 45 to increase frequencies on the rest of the line. This, combined with segregation of trains at Camden Town junction, will allow 30–36 trains per hour compared to 24 trains per hour currently.<ref name="PR20140818" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Information on the Northern Line upgrade |url= http://www.railway-technical.com/Northern-Interview-article-for-MR-v5.pdf |publisher= railway-technical |access-date=25 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150830075238/http://www.railway-technical.com/Northern-Interview-article-for-MR-v5.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2015 }}</ref>

====Piccadilly line====
The eighty-six 1973 stock trains that operate on the Piccadilly line are some of the most reliable trains on the London Underground. The trains have exceeded their design life of around 40 years and are in need of replacement. The Piccadilly line will be part of the New Tube for London Project. This will replace the existing fleet with new air-cooled walk-through trains and a new signalling system to allow Automatic Train Operation. The line is predicted to run 30–36 trains per hour, up to a 50% increase compared to the 24–25 train per hour service provided today. The line will be the first to be upgraded as part of the New Tube for London Project, as passenger numbers have increased over recent years and are expected to increase further. This line is important in this project because it currently provides a less frequent service than other lines.<ref name="New Tube for London Feasibility Report"/>

====Victoria line====
The signalling system on the Victoria line has been replaced to increase capacity on the line by around 25%; the line now runs up to 36 trains per hour compared to 27–28 previously. The trains have been replaced with 47 new higher-capacity 2009-stock trains. The peak frequency was increased to 36 trains per hour in 2016 after track works were completed to the layout of the points at Walthamstow Central crossover, which transfers northbound trains to the southbound line for their return journey. This resulted in a 40% increase in capacity between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Major works to improve Victoria line services this summer |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/february/major-works-to-improve-the-victoria-line-over-the-summ |publisher=TfL |date=17 February 2015 |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=24 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524035913/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/february/major-works-to-improve-the-victoria-line-over-the-summ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14492247.victoria-line-trains-run-end-end-first-time/ |title=All Victoria Line trains to run 'end to end' for first time |work=East London and West Essex Guardian Series |location=Watford |date=13 May 2016 |first=Tom |last=Barnes |access-date=21 April 2021 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042703/https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/14492247.victoria-line-trains-run-end-end-first-time/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Waterloo & City line====
The line was upgraded with five new 1992-stock trains in the early 1990s, at the same time as the Central line was upgraded. The line operates under traditional signalling and does not use Automatic Train Operation. The line will be part of the New Tube for London Project. This will replace the existing fleet with new air-cooled walk-through trains and a new signalling system to allow Automatic Train Operation. The line is predicted to run 30 trains per hour, an increase of up to 50% on the current 21 trains per hour. The line may also be one of the first to be upgraded, alongside the Piccadilly line, with new trains, systems and platform-edge doors to test the systems before the Central and Bakerloo lines are upgraded.<ref name="New Tube for London Feasibility Report"/>

====Sub-surface lines (District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle)====
{{main|Four Lines Modernisation}}

New S Stock trains have been introduced on the sub-surface (District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City and Circle) lines. These were all delivered by 2017. 191 trains have been introduced: 58 for the Metropolitan line and 133 for the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines. The track, electrical supply and signalling systems are also being upgraded in a programme to increase peak-hour capacity. The replacement of the signalling system and the introduction of Automatic Train Operation and Control is scheduled for 2019–22. A control room for the sub-surface network has been built in Hammersmith and an automatic train control (ATC) system is to replace ageing signalling equipment dating from between the mid-1920s and late 1980s, including the signal cabin at Edgware Road, the control room at Earl's Court, and the signalling centre at Baker Street. Bombardier won the contract in June 2011 but was released by agreement in December 2013, and London Underground has now issued another signalling contract, with Thales.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tube Improvements |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-ve-done |date=n.d. |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150711143215/https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-ve-done |archive-date=11 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Third Time Lucky: A Look At The New Sub-Surface Signalling Plan |url= http://www.londonreconnections.com/2015/subsurface-railway-resignalling-saga-continues/ |date= 15 June 2015 |website= London Reconnections |access-date= 25 June 2015 |archive-date= 26 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150626103653/http://www.londonreconnections.com/2015/subsurface-railway-resignalling-saga-continues/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SSR Signalling contract |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150617-item17-part-1-four-lines-modernisation.pdf |publisher=TfL |access-date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=26 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626145855/https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/fpc-20150617-item17-part-1-four-lines-modernisation.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===New trains for deep-level lines===
{{main|New Tube for London}}
{{Update section|date=June 2024}}
In mid-2014, Transport for London issued a tender for up to 18 trains for the Jubilee line and up to 50 trains for the Northern line. These would be used to increase frequencies and cover the Battersea extension on the Northern line.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/lu-begins-search-for-new-jubilee-and-northern-line-train-supplier|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803140346/http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/lu-begins-search-for-new-jubilee-and-northern-line-train-supplier|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 August 2020|title=LU begins search for new Jubilee and Northern line train supplier|website=www.railtechnologymagazine.com|access-date=5 October 2019}}</ref>

In early 2014, the Bakerloo, Central, Piccadilly and Waterloo & City line rolling-stock replacement project was renamed ''New Tube for London'' (NTfL) and moved from the feasibility stage to the design and specification stage. The study had shown that, with new generation trains and re-signalling:
* Piccadilly line capacity could be increased by 60% with 33 trains per hour (tph) at peak times by 2026.<ref>{{cite web |title=Picadilly Line Upgrade |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/piccadilly-line-upgrade&quot |website=TFL |access-date=30 July 2025}}</ref>
* Central line capacity increased by 25% with 33 tph at peak times by 2030.
* Waterloo & City line capacity increased by 50% by 2032, after the track at Waterloo station is remodelled.
* Bakerloo line capacity could be increased by 25% with 27 tph at peak times by 2033.
*A redesign of the northern concourse and a new southern concourse at Waterloo.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Waterloo plan to 'transform' railway station |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68533941 |website=BBC News |access-date=30 July 2025 |date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=13 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250513190019/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68533941 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The project is estimated to cost £16.42{{nbsp}}billion (£9.86{{nbsp}}billion at 2013 prices). A notice was published on 28 February 2014 in the [[Official Journal of the European Union]] asking for expressions of interest in building the trains.<ref name="tfl20140205part1item10">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/board-20140205-part-1-item10-new-tube-for-london.pdf |title=New Tube for London Programme |publisher=Transport for London |work=Board Minutes |date=5 February 2014 |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072018/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/board-20140205-part-1-item10-new-tube-for-london.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rgazette20140228">{{cite news |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/urban/single-view/view/london-underground-starts-new-tube-for-london-train-procurement.html |title=New Tube for London Programme |work=Railway Gazette |date=28 February 2014 |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310012844/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/urban/single-view/view/london-underground-starts-new-tube-for-london-train-procurement.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 October 2014, TFL published a shortlist of those ([[Alstom]], [[Siemens]], [[Hitachi]], [[Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles|CAF]] and [[Bombardier Transportation|Bombardier]]) who had expressed an interest in supplying 250 trains for between £1.0billion and £2.5billion, and on the same day opened an exhibition with a design by PriestmanGoode.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/october/design-for-the-new-tube-for-london-revealed |title=Design for the 'New Tube for London' revealed |publisher=TfL |date=9 October 2014 |access-date=9 October 2014 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515015540/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/october/design-for-the-new-tube-for-london-revealed |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bbc29520761">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29520761 |title=New Tube for London Programme |work=BBC News |date=9 October 2014 |access-date=9 October 2014 |archive-date=20 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620102851/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29520761 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fully automated trains may be able to run without drivers,<ref name="Railnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2014/02/28-tfl-prepares-for-driverless-tube.html |title=TfL prepares for driverless tube |work=Railnews |date=28 February 2014 |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-date=6 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406181728/http://railnews.co.uk/news/2014/02/28-tfl-prepares-for-driverless-tube.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but the ASLEF and RMT trade unions that represent the drivers said they would "go to war" to stop driverless trains, saying it would affect safety.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26381175 |title=Driverless Tube trains: Unions vow 'war' over plan |work=BBC News |date=28 February 2014 |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430092816/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26381175 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[invitation to tender]] for the trains was issued in January 2016;<ref>{{cite news |title=New Tube for London invitations to tender issued |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/new-tube-for-london-invitations-to-tender-issued.html |access-date=14 November 2016 |work=Railway Gazette |date=18 January 2016 |archive-date=4 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704054555/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/new-tube-for-london-invitations-to-tender-issued.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the specifications for the Piccadilly line infrastructure are expected in 2016,<ref name="tfl20140205part1item10" /><ref name="rgazette20140228"/> and the first train is due to run on the Piccadilly line in 2023.<ref>{{cite news|title=Khan: New Piccadilly rolling stock will be delivered by 2023|url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/khan-new-piccadilly-rolling-stock-will-be-delivered-by-2023-|access-date=18 January 2018|work=Rail Technology Magazine|date=20 December 2016|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515085329/https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/khan-new-piccadilly-rolling-stock-will-be-delivered-by-2023-|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Siemens Mobility]]'s Inspiro design was selected in June 2018 in a £1.5billion contract.<ref>{{cite news |title=East Yorkshire factory wins £1.5bn Tube train deal |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-44496526 |access-date=15 June 2018 |work=BBC News |date=15 June 2018 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510124359/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-44496526 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ventilation and cooling===
{{see also|London Underground infrastructure#Ventilation and cooling|label 1=London Underground infrastructure: Ventilation and cooling|London Underground cooling}}
When the Bakerloo line opened in 1906, it was advertised with a maximum temperature of {{convert|60|F}}, but over time the tube tunnels have warmed up.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=253–254}} In 1938 approval was given for a ventilation improvement programme, and a refrigeration unit was installed in a lift shaft at Tottenham Court Road.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=253–254}} Temperatures of {{convert|117|F}} were reported in the [[2006 European heat wave]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5191604.stm |title=Baking hot at Baker Street |work=BBC News |date=18 July 2006 |access-date=31 March 2013 |last=Griffiths |first=Emma |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101055245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5191604.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> It was claimed in 2002 that, if animals were being transported, temperatures on the Tube would break European Commission animal welfare laws.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1405628/Londons-Tube-unfit-for-animals.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1405628/Londons-Tube-unfit-for-animals.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=London's Tube 'unfit for animals' |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=28 August 2002 |access-date=31 March 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> A 2000 study reported that air quality was 73 times worse than at street level, with a passenger inhaling the same mass of particulates during a twenty-minute journey on the Northern line as when smoking a cigarette.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://128.40.58.147/web/ben/Tube.htm |title=Environmental Quality in Underground Railways |publisher=University College London |date=4 December 2003 |access-date=5 November 2013 |author=Croxford, Ben |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131016210006/http://128.40.58.147/web/ben/Tube.htm |archive-date=16 October 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/passengers-choke-on-the-tube-6304049.html |title=Passengers choke on the Tube |work=London Evening Standard |author=Murray, Dick |date=23 August 2002 |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108125625/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/passengers-choke-on-the-tube-6304049.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The main purpose of the London Underground's ventilation fans is to extract hot air from the tunnels,{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=253–254}} and fans across the network are being refurbished, although complaints of noise from local residents preclude their use at full power at night.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lurs.org.uk/documents/pdf%2008/jan/jan%20MEETING%20REPORT.pdf |title=Meeting Report: Cooling the tube |date=8 May 2007 |author1=Westgate, Stuart |author2=Gilby, Mark |publisher=LURS |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005010257/http://lurs.org.uk/documents/pdf%2008/jan/jan%20MEETING%20REPORT.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2006 a groundwater cooling system was installed at [[Victoria station (London)|Victoria station]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5058362.stm |title=Water pump plan to cool the Tube |work=BBC News |date=8 June 2006 |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-date=6 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706000031/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/5058362.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, air-cooling units were installed on platforms at Green Park station using cool deep groundwater and at Oxford Circus using chiller units at the top of an adjacent building.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://origin.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/22885.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140327171415/http://origin.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/22885.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2014 |title=Work begins to cool the platforms at two major central London stations |publisher=Transport for London |date=17 February 2012 |access-date=27 March 2014 }}</ref> New air-conditioned trains have been introduced on the sub-surface lines, but were initially ruled out for the tube trains owing to space being considered limited on tube trains for air-conditioning units and that these would heat the tunnels even more. The [[New Tube for London]], which will replace the trains for the Bakerloo, Central, Waterloo and City and Piccadilly lines, is planned to have air conditioning for the new trains along with better energy conservation and regenerative braking.<ref name="Connor" /><ref name="MR">{{cite news |work=Modern Railways |date=January 2013 |pages=38–41 |title=Sub-surface renewal |last=Abbott |first=James}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Improving the Tube – What we're doing – Improving the trains|url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-are-doing/improving-the-trains|access-date=21 August 2021|website=[[Transport for London]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=15 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815084031/https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-are-doing/improving-the-trains|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the original Tube design, trains passing through close fitting tunnels act as pistons to create air pressure gradients between stations. This pressure difference drives ventilation between platforms and the surface exits through the passenger foot network. This system depends on adequate cross-sectional area of the airspace above the passengers' heads in the foot tunnels and escalators, where laminar airflow is proportional to the fourth power of the radius, the [[Hagen–Poiseuille equation]]. It also depends on an absence of turbulence in the tunnel headspace. In many stations the ventilation system is now ineffective because of alterations that reduce tunnel diameters and increase turbulence. An example is Green Park tube station, where false ceiling panels attached to metal frames have been installed that reduce the above-head airspace diameter by more than half in many parts. This has the effect of reducing laminar airflow by 94%.

Originally, air turbulence was kept to a minimum by keeping all signage flat to the tunnel walls. Now, the ventilation space above head height is crowded with ducting, conduits, cameras, speakers and equipment acting as a baffle plates with predictable reductions in flow.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Demartini |first1=L. C. |last2=Vielmo |first2=H. A. |last3=Möller |first3=S. V. |title=Numeric and experimental analysis of the turbulent flow through a channel with baffle plates |journal=Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=153–159 |doi=10.1590/S1678-58782004000200006 |year=2004 |doi-access=free |hdl=10183/75781 |hdl-access=free | issn=1678-5878}}</ref> Often, electronic signs have their flat surface at right angles to the main air flow, causing choked flow. Temporary sign boards that stand at the top of escalators also maximise turbulence. The alterations to the ventilation system are important, not only to heat exchange.

==== Air quality ====
The [[Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants]] (COMEAP) has reported on the relative risks of breathing air pollution in different situations. In January 2019, for example, it reported that pollution from [[particulates]] is up to 30 times higher on the London Underground than on streets in the roads above, with the [[Northern Line]] having the worst air quality.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Finnis |first1=Alex |title=One hour on the tube is as toxic as standing next to a busy road for an entire day |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/air-pollution-london-underground-tube-equivalent-busy-road-244546 |work=iNews |date=10 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Oglesby |first1=Kate |title=Dust and air pollution higher on Northern Line than any other part of the Underground |work=The Times |date=12 January 2019}}</ref>{{needs update|date=October 2024}}

===Lifts and escalators===
{{see also|London Underground infrastructure#Lifts and escalators|label 1=London Underground infrastructure: Lifts and escalators|Accessibility of transport in London}}
[[File:Canary Wharf tube station night 2.jpg|thumb|left|Escalators at Canary Wharf station]]
Originally access to the deep-tube platforms was by a lift.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=26, 35, 39, 87–89}} Each lift was staffed, and at some quiet stations in the 1920s the ticket office was moved into the lift, or it was arranged that the lift could be controlled from the ticket office.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|p=540}} The first escalator on the London Underground was installed in 1911 between the District and Piccadilly platforms at Earl's Court and from the following year new deep-level stations were provided with escalators instead of lifts.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=114, 542}} The escalators had a diagonal shunt at the top landing.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=114, 542}}{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=59}} In 1921 a recorded voice instructed passengers to stand on the right and signs followed in the Second World War.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=154, 546}} Travellers were asked to stand on the right so that anyone wishing to overtake them would have a clear passage on the left side of the escalator.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article6883065.ece |title=Mystery over Tube escalator etiquette cleared up by restored film |last=Malvern |first=Jack |date=21 October 2009 |work=The Times |location=London |access-date=9 December 2009 |archive-date=15 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615070709/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article6883065.ece |url-status=dead }}{{Subscription required}}</ref> The first 'comb' type escalator was installed in 1924 at [[Clapham Common tube station|Clapham Common]].{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=114, 542}} In the 1920s and 1930s many lifts were replaced by escalators.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=93}} After the fatal 1987 [[King's Cross fire]], all wooden escalators were replaced with metal ones and the mechanisms are regularly degreased to lower the potential for fires.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/escape/pioneers.html |title=Pioneers of Survival: Fire |publisher=PBS |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609050812/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/escape/pioneers.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The only wooden escalator not to be replaced was at [[Greenford station]], which remained until March 2014 when TfL replaced it with the first [[Incline elevator|incline lift]] on the UK transport network in October 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/october/uk-first-as-incline-lift-opens-at-greenford-tube-station |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629225202/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/october/uk-first-as-incline-lift-opens-at-greenford-tube-station |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2016 |title=Incline lift at Greenford Tube station is UK first |publisher=Transport for London |date=20 October 2015 |access-date=21 October 2015 }}</ref>

There are 426 escalators on the London Underground system and the longest, at {{cvt|60|m}}, is at [[Angel tube station|Angel]]. The shortest, at Stratford, gives a vertical rise of {{cvt|4.1|m}}. There are 184 lifts,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |title=Facts & figures |website=[[Transport for London]] |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217173345/https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground/facts-and-figures |url-status=live }}</ref> and numbers have increased in recent years because of investment in making tube stations accessible. More than 28 stations will have lifts installed over the next 10 years, bringing the total of step-free stations to more than 100.<ref name="Matters">{{Cite web |title=Improvements and Projects – Step-free access |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/step-free-access?intcmp=1954 |access-date=19 November 2017 |publisher=Transport for London |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510075408/https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/step-free-access?intcmp=1954 |url-status=live }}</ref> Lift and escalators are abundant with advertising posters which can be used for artistic purposes owing to the nature of their layout.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2022 |title=London Underground Advertising {{!}} All Products & Formats |url= https://tubeadverts.co.uk/formats/ |access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

===Wi-Fi and mobile phone reception===
In mid-2012, London Underground, in partnership with [[Virgin Media]], trialled [[Wi-Fi]] hotspots in many stations, but not in the tunnels, that allowed passengers free internet access. The free trial proved successful and was extended to the end of 2012,<ref>{{cite news |work=Metro |location=London |url=http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/915263-virgin-media-extends-free-wi-fi-on-london-underground-until-2013 |title=Virgin Media extends free wi-fi on London Underground until 2013 |date=17 October 2012 |access-date=10 November 2012 |archive-date=20 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120112803/http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/915263-virgin-media-extends-free-wi-fi-on-london-underground-until-2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> whereupon it switched to a service freely available to subscribers to Virgin Media and others, or as a paid-for service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/23939.aspx |title=Station Wifi |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=12 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225061959/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/23939.aspx |archive-date=25 February 2013}}</ref> It was not previously possible to use mobile phones on most parts of the Underground (excluding services running overground or occasionally sub-surface, depending on the phone and carrier) using native [[2G]], [[3G]] or [[4G]] networks, and a project to extend coverage before the [[2012 Olympics]] was abandoned because of commercial and technical difficulties.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/mobile-network-london-underground-shelved |title=Plans for mobile network on London underground shelved |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 April 2011 |access-date=1 April 2013 |author=Mulholland, Hélène |location=London |archive-date=23 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523143145/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/apr/01/mobile-network-london-underground-shelved |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2020, [[2G]], [[3G]] and [[4G]] signal was made available on parts of the Jubilee line, between Westminster and Canning Town, throughout the stations and tunnels as part of an initial trial.<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/july/4g-on-jubilee-line-tunnel-section-from-march-2020|title=4G on Jubilee line tunnel section from March 2020|website=Transport for London|access-date=3 August 2020|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510121751/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/july/4g-on-jubilee-line-tunnel-section-from-march-2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2021, Vodafone dropped London Underground Wi-Fi connectivity across the entire network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Mark |date=17 June 2021 |title=Vodafone UK Quietly Scrap London Underground WiFi Support |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/06/vodafone-uk-quietly-scrap-london-underground-wifi-support.html |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=ISPreview UK |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234719/https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/06/vodafone-uk-quietly-scrap-london-underground-wifi-support.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Ian |date=17 June 2021 |title=Vodafone drops WiFi coverage from the London Underground |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/vodafone-drops-wi-fi-coverage-from-the-london-underground-44397/ |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=ianVisits |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234718/https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/vodafone-drops-wi-fi-coverage-from-the-london-underground-44397/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This was restored in April 2023 after control of the Wi-Fi connectivity moved from Virgin Media to [[BAI Communications|Boldyn Networks]] as part of their 20-year concession deal with Transport for London, providing data connectivity across the entire network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Mark |date=3 April 2023 |title=Vodafone UK Reintroduced Public WiFi to London Underground |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/04/vodafone-uk-reintroduced-public-wifi-to-london-underground.html |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=ISPreview UK |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234717/https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2023/04/vodafone-uk-reintroduced-public-wifi-to-london-underground.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2022, additional mobile coverage, including [[5G]] connectivity, launched at a small subset of stations and tunnel segments on the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]], with a view to expand to the full set of sub-surface stations and tunnels on the London Underground, and also the [[Elizabeth line]], by the end of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Transport for London |date=21 December 2022 |title=Three more London Underground stations begin offering high-speed mobile coverage to customers |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/december/three-more-london-underground-stations-begin-offering-high-speed-mobile-coverage-to-customers |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234717/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/december/three-more-london-underground-stations-begin-offering-high-speed-mobile-coverage-to-customers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Mark |date=21 December 2022 |title=EE and Vodafone UK Extend 4G Mobile to 6 New London Underground Stations |url=https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/12/ee-uk-extend-4g-mobile-to-six-new-london-underground-stations.html |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=ISPreview UK |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234718/https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/12/ee-uk-extend-4g-mobile-to-six-new-london-underground-stations.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Further stations on the Northern line were launched from January 2023, with additional Northern line stations also being added in June 2023. Not all stations have identical coverage solutions, with some not having 5G connectivity present.<ref name="mastdatabase-map">{{Cite web |title=London Underground mobile connectivity map |url=https://mastdatabase.co.uk/gb/london-underground-connectivity/ |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=mastdatabase.co.uk |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234718/https://mastdatabase.co.uk/gb/london-underground-connectivity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As of June 2023, testing has begun on sections of the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Victoria lines.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Ian |date=20 June 2023 |title=London Underground expands mobile phone coverage to Mornington Crescent station |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/london-underground-expands-mobile-phone-coverage-to-mornington-crescent-station-63634/ |access-date=19 August 2023 |website=ianVisits |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819234717/https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/london-underground-expands-mobile-phone-coverage-to-mornington-crescent-station-63634/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ianvisits-20230908">{{cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Ian |date=8 September 2023 |title=London Underground expands mobile phone coverage and confirms Elizabeth line coming soon |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/london-underground-expands-mobile-phone-coverage-and-confirms-elizabeth-line-coming-soon-65587/ |access-date=15 December 2023 |website=ianVisits |language=en-GB |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215232412/https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/london-underground-expands-mobile-phone-coverage-and-confirms-elizabeth-line-coming-soon-65587/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November and December 2023, more mobile data coverage was launched on more stations on the Northern and Central Lines. On the Northern line: all stations from Tottenham Court Road to Euston. on the Central line: from Oxford Circus to Chancery Lane.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mobile phones and Wi-Fi underground |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/station-wifi |website=Transport for London |access-date=9 January 2024 |archive-date=9 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109131330/https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/station-wifi |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Mobile coverage availability on London Underground<ref name="mastdatabase-map" /><ref name="TfL-202402">{{Cite web |date=February 2024 |title=Tube Map 4g - 5g Feb 2024 |url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/below-ground-4g-5g-tube-map-february-2024.pdf |website=Transport for london |access-date=12 March 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312095020/https://content.tfl.gov.uk/below-ground-4g-5g-tube-map-february-2024.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
!Line
!Sections of track or stations
!Available from
|-
|[[Jubilee line|Jubilee]]
|Westminster – Canning Town
|March 2020
|-
|[[Central line (London Underground)|Central]]
|Holland Park – Queensway
|December 2022
|-
|[[Central line (London Underground)|Central]]
|Oxford Circus – Tottenham Court Road
|September 2023
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Archway – Kentish Town
|January 2023
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Tottenham Court Road
|December 2023
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Camden Town
|December 2023
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Kentish Town – Mornington Crescent
|July 2023
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Archway – East Finchley
|January 2024 – Highgate platforms have service, not the tunnels. Expected from Spring 2024<ref name="Ianvisits-20230908" />
|-
|[[Piccadilly line (London Underground)|Piccadilly]]
|Russell Square – Covent Garden
|Expected from Spring 2024<ref name="Ianvisits-20230908" />
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Euston – Belsize Park
|November 2023
|-
|[[Central line (London Underground)|Central]]
|Holland Park to Bank
|February 2024
|-
|[[Northern line|Northern]]
|Golders Green – Hampstead
|Expected from Spring 2024<ref name="TfL-202402" />
|-
|[[Victoria line|Victoria]]
|Euston – Oxford Circus
|Expected from Spring 2024<ref name="TfL-202402" /> (as of April 2024 there is service on all Euston platforms)
|}

== Travelling ==

===Ticketing===
{{Main|London Underground ticketing}}

[[File:Oyster Card front.svg|thumb|The [[Oyster card]], a contactless smart card used across the London transport system]]
The Underground received £2.669 billion in fares in 2016/17 and uses Transport for London's [[London fare zones|zonal fare system]] to calculate fares.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-and-statement-of-accounts-2016-17.pdf|title=TfL Statement of Accounts|access-date=15 August 2024|archive-date=15 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240815113542/https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-annual-report-and-statement-of-accounts-2016-17.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> There are nine zones with zone 1 being the central zone, which includes the loop of the Circle line with a few stations to the south of River Thames. The only London Underground stations in Zones 7 to 9 are on the Metropolitan line beyond [[Moor Park tube station|Moor Park]], outside [[Greater London|London region]]. Some stations are in two zones, and the cheapest fare applies.<ref name="Rail&TubeMap">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf |title=London Rail & Tube Services Map |publisher=Transport for London |date=May 2014 |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=3 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703173535/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/london-rail-and-tube-services-map.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Paper tickets, the contactless [[Oyster cards]], contactless debit or credit cards<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/how-to-use-it |title=Fares & payments – Contactless |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312064327/https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/how-to-use-it |archive-date=12 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Apple Pay]]<ref name="TfL-ApplePay">{{Cite press release|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/june/tfl-to-accept-apple-pay-on-public-transport|title=TfL to accept Apple Pay on public transport|agency=Transport for London|access-date=20 November 2017|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510095115/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/june/tfl-to-accept-apple-pay-on-public-transport|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Android Pay]]<ref name="TfL-AndroidPay">{{Cite press release|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/may/android-pay-accepted-for-pay-as-you-go-travel-in-london|title=Android Pay accepted for pay as you go travel in London|agency=Transport for London|access-date=20 November 2017|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042700/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/may/android-pay-accepted-for-pay-as-you-go-travel-in-london|url-status=live}}</ref> smartphones and watches can be used for travel.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/other-methods-of-contactless-payment/apple-pay |title=Fares & payments – Contactless – Apple Pay |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413013641/https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/other-methods-of-contactless-payment/apple-pay |archive-date=13 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Single and return tickets are available in either format, but [[Travelcards]] (season tickets) for longer than a day are available only on Oyster cards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/where-can-i-buy-my-ticket.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401163150/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/where-can-i-buy-my-ticket.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 April 2014 |title=Where can I buy my ticket? |publisher=Transport for London |date=January 2012 |access-date=18 June 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares |title=Fares & payments – Fares – Tube, DLR and London Overground |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=21 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621070430/http://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327015613/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ticket-types |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2014 |title=Fares & payments – Ticket types |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 }}</ref>

TfL introduced the [[Oyster card]] in 2003; this is a pre-payment [[smartcard]] with an embedded contactless [[RFID]] chip.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3032226.stm |work=BBC News |title=Travelcards make way for 'oyster' |date=30 June 2003 |access-date=7 March 2012 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215110500/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3032226.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> It can be loaded with Travelcards and used on the Underground, the Overground, buses, trams, the Docklands Light Railway, and National Rail services within London.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tickets/getting-around-with-oyster-january-2010.pdf |title=Getting around with Oyster |date=January 2010 |publisher=Transport for London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926104737/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/tickets/getting-around-with-oyster-january-2010.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Fares for single journeys are cheaper than paper tickets, and a daily cap limits the total cost in a day to the price of a Day Travelcard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/oyster/using-oyster/price-capping |title=Fares & payments – Oyster – Using your Oyster card – Capping |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=12 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612064414/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/oyster/using-oyster/price-capping |url-status=live }}</ref> The Oyster card must be 'touched in' at the start and end of a journey, otherwise it is regarded as 'incomplete' and the maximum fare is charged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/oyster/using-oyster/incomplete-journeys |title=Fares & payments – Oyster – Using your Oyster card – Incomplete journeys |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 |archive-date=5 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605203634/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/oyster/using-oyster/incomplete-journeys |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2012 the cost of this in the previous year to travellers was £66.5million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Murray |first=Dick |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/the-665million-cost-of-not-touching-out-your-oyster-card-7543276.html |title=The £66.5million cost of not touching out your Oyster card |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=7 March 2012 |access-date=30 March 2013 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327235859/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/the-665million-cost-of-not-touching-out-your-oyster-card-7543276.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, TfL became the first public transport provider in the world to accept payment from contactless bank cards.<ref name="TfL-20160713" /> The Underground first started accepting [[Contactless payment|contactless]] [[Debit card|debit]] and [[credit card]]s in September 2014.<ref name="TfL-20140909" /> This was followed by the adoption of [[Apple Pay]] in 2015<ref name="TfL-ApplePay" /> and Android Pay in 2016,<ref name="TfL-AndroidPay" /> allowing payment using a contactless-enabled phone or smartwatch. More than 500 million journeys have taken place using contactless payments, and TfL has become one of Europe's largest contactless merchants, with around 1 in 10 contactless transactions in the UK taking place on the TfL network.<ref name="TfL-20160713" /> This technology, developed in-house by TfL,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/londons-contactless-system-to-power-new-yorks-subway-bus-and-rail-journeys/|title=London's contactless fares system to power New York's subway, bus and rail journeys|date=25 October 2017|work=MayorWatch|access-date=20 November 2017|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918193222/https://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/londons-contactless-system-to-power-new-yorks-subway-bus-and-rail-journeys/|url-status=live}}</ref> has been licensed to other major cities like [[New York City Subway|New York City]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html|title=New York to Replace MetroCard With Modern Way to Pay Transit Fares|last=Barron|first=James|date=23 October 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=20 November 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023235701/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/nyregion/metrocard-subway-new-york.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority|Boston]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/19/the-mbta-has-million-plan-change-way-you-pay-for-rides/f1QQZDfPHnozcyBGyHSWPI/story.html|title=The MBTA has a $723 million plan to change the way you pay for rides |newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=20 November 2017|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510114119/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/19/the-mbta-has-million-plan-change-way-you-pay-for-rides/f1QQZDfPHnozcyBGyHSWPI/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

A concessionary fare scheme is operated by London Councils for residents who are disabled or meet certain age criteria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedompass/ |title=Freedom Pass |publisher=London Councils |access-date=30 March 2013 |archive-date=19 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319014241/http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedompass/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Residents born before 1951 were eligible after their 60th birthday, whereas those born in 1955 will need to wait until they are 66.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/London%20Councils/FreedomPassAgeChangeNov2011AWebsite.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901005157/http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/London%20Councils/FreedomPassAgeChangeNov2011AWebsite.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 September 2012 |title=Freedom Pass age change |publisher=London Councils |date=November 2011 |access-date=30 March 2013 }}</ref> Called a "[[Freedom Pass]]", it allows free travel on TfL-operated routes at all times and is valid on some National Rail services within London at weekends and after 09:30 on Monday to Friday.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/London%20Councils/FreedomPassMapDecember12%20(2).pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525040428/http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/London%20Councils/FreedomPassMapDecember12%20%282%29.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 May 2013 |title=Freedom Pass Map |publisher=London Councils |date=December 2012 |access-date=30 March 2013 }}</ref> Since 2010, the Freedom Pass has included an embedded holder's photograph; it lasts five years between renewals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Health_and_Social_Care/Community_Transport/Freedom_Passes/15854_Freedom_Passes.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060513030317/http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/Health_and_Social_Care/Community_Transport/Freedom_Passes/15854_Freedom_Passes.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2006 |title=Freedom passes |date=17 November 2010 |publisher=London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham |access-date=4 February 2011 }}</ref>

In addition to automatic and staffed faregates at stations, the Underground also operates on a [[proof-of-payment]] system. The system is patrolled by both uniformed and plain-clothes fare inspectors with hand-held Oyster card readers. Passengers travelling without a valid ticket must pay a [[penalty fare]] of £80 (£40 if paid within 21 days) and can be prosecuted for [[fare evasion]] under the [[Regulation of Railways Act 1889]] and Transport for London Byelaws.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151117023001/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/revenue-enforcement-and-prosecutions-policy.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 17 November 2015 |title=Revenue Enforcement and Prosecutions Policy |publisher=Transport for London |date=18 August 2014 |access-date=16 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/penalties-and-enforcement |title=Penalties & enforcement |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=16 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101055245/https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/penalties-and-enforcement |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Hours of operation===
All of the tube closes overnight during the week, but since 2016 (excluding 2020 and 2021 owing to the Coronavirus pandemic) parts of or all of the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central]], [[Jubilee line|Jubilee]], [[Northern line|Northern]], [[Piccadilly line|Piccadilly]], and [[Victoria line|Victoria]] lines, as well as a short section of the London Overground's [[Windrush line]] have operated all night on Friday and Saturday nights. The first trains run from about 05:00 and the last trains until just after 01:00, with later starting times on Sunday mornings.<ref name="BBClater">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21264227 |title=Later London Underground service being considered |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2013 |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510095118/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21264227 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ESlater">{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/party-on-london-tube-will-run-an-hour-later-on-fridays-and-saturdays-8472470.html |title=Party on, London... Tube will run an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays |work=London Evening Standard |date=30 January 2013 |access-date=1 April 2013 |last=Beard |first=Matthew |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042700/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/party-on-london-tube-will-run-an-hour-later-on-fridays-and-saturdays-8472470.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The nightly closures are used for maintenance,<ref name="BBClater"/> but some lines stay open on [[New Year's Eve]]<ref name="TOLondon"/> and run for longer hours during major public events such as the [[2012 London Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12910431 |title=London 2012 Olympics: Tube to shut hour later, TfL says |work=BBC News |date=30 March 2011 |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510095115/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12910431 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some lines are occasionally closed for scheduled engineering work at weekends.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/livetravelnews/planned-works/calendar/ |title=Planned Works Calendar |publisher=Transport for London |year=2013 |access-date=1 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331061341/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/livetravelnews/planned-works/calendar/ |archive-date=31 March 2013}}</ref>

The Underground runs a limited service on Christmas Eve with some lines closing early, and does not operate on [[Christmas Day]].<ref name="TOLondon">{{cite news |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/transport-in-london-over-christmas-and-new-years-eve-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210063235/http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/transport-in-london-over-christmas-and-new-years-eve-1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2013 |title=Transport in London over Christmas and New Year's Eve |newspaper=Time Out London |access-date=1 April 2013 }}</ref> Since 2010 a dispute between London Underground and [[trade union]]s over holiday pay has resulted in a limited service on [[Boxing Day]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20757141 |title=London Tube strike on Boxing Day |work=BBC News |date=17 December 2012 |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-date=7 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607160930/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20757141 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Night Tube====
{{main|Night Tube}}

[[File:London Underground Overground DLR Crossrail map night.svg|thumb|Route map of Night Tube]]

On 19 August 2016, London Underground launched a 24-hour service on the Victoria and Central lines with plans in place to extend this to the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines starting on Friday morning and continuing right through until Sunday evening.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36356381 |title=Night Tube services to start in August |date=23 May 2016 |work=BBC News |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-date=11 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210611081205/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36356381 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Night Tube proposal was originally scheduled to start on 12 September 2015, following completion of upgrades, but in August 2015 it was announced that the start date for the Night Tube had been pushed back because of ongoing talks about contract terms between trade unions and London Underground.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1542495/night-tube-start-date-postponed-as-talks-continue |title=Night Tube start date postponed as talks continue |work=Sky News |date=27 August 2015 |access-date=27 August 2015 |archive-date=29 August 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150829201401/http://news.sky.com/story/1542495/night-tube-start-date-postponed-as-talks-continue |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/21/tubes-run-all-night-weekends-london-underground |title=London tube to run all night at weekends but 750 jobs to go |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=21 November 2013 |access-date=21 November 2013 |last=Topham |first=Gwyn |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210510111007/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/21/tubes-run-all-night-weekends-london-underground |url-status=live }}</ref> On 23 May 2016 it was announced that the night service would launch on 19 August 2016 for the Central and Victoria lines. The service operates on the following lines:

*Central line between Ealing Broadway and Hainault via Newbury Park or Loughton. No service on the West Ruislip Branch, between Woodford and Hainault via Grange Hill or between Loughton and Epping.
*Northern line between Morden and Edgware / High Barnet via Charing Cross. No service on Mill Hill East, Battersea or Bank branches.
*Piccadilly line between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5. No service to Terminal 4 or between Acton Town and Uxbridge.
*Jubilee line full line – Stratford to Stanmore.
*Victoria line full line – Walthamstow Central to Brixton.

The Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, and the Central line between White City and Leytonstone, operate at 10-minute intervals. The Central line operates at 20-minute intervals between Leytonstone and Hainault, between Leytonstone and Loughton, and between White City and Ealing Broadway. The Northern line operates at roughly 8-minute intervals between Morden and Camden Town via Charing Cross, and at 15-minute intervals between Camden Town and Edgware and between Camden Town and High Barnet.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-are-doing/night-tube |title=The Night Tube |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=21 April 2021 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210515162326/https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/tube-improvements/what-we-are-doing/night-tube |url-status=live}}</ref>

Night Tube services were suspended in March 2020 during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-london-shops-could-close-and-transport-restricted-by-weekend-whitehall-sources-11959814 |title= Coronavirus: London cuts Tube trains and warns 'don't travel unless you really have to' |date=19 March 2020 |work=Sky News |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200321052444/https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-london-shops-could-close-and-transport-restricted-by-weekend-whitehall-sources-11959814 |url-status=live }}</ref> They were reinstated partially in November 2021 and fully in July 2022.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Full Night Tube service restored for the first time since the start of the pandemic |date=28 July 2022 |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/july/full-night-tube-service-restored-for-the-first-time-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic |access-date=31 August 2024 |publisher=Transport for London |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130063102/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2022/july/full-night-tube-service-restored-for-the-first-time-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Accessibility===
{{Main|Accessibility of transport in London}}

{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 220
| image1            = Disabled person Tube train.jpeg
| alt1              = A photograph of a person in a wheelchair parked in the reserved space inside a tube train.
| caption1          = A wheelchair user on a S7 Stock Tube train
<!-- | image2 = MindTheGapVictoria.jpg
 | alt2 = A photograph of a tube train's open doors waiting at a station platform. The platform edge has "Mind the gap" inlaid into its surface by the open doors.
 | caption2 = The gap between a train and the platform edge at [[Victoria tube station|Victoria]]. "[[Mind the gap]]" signs and announcements have been made at stations with curved platforms since 1926 and recorded messages have been used since the late 1960s.{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|p=116}} -->}}[[Accessibility]] of the public transport network allows people to travel freely at a time of their choice. Examples of disabled people that benefit from improved accessibility include people that use a wheelchair, people with [[limited mobility]], people who are [[Visual impairment|blind or visually impaired]], people with [[Hearing loss|impaired hearing]] and people with [[Learning disability|learning disabilities]]. Examples of other groups that benefit from improved accessibility include older people, people who have [[English as a second or foreign language]], people with travelling with small children and people travelling with heavy luggage or shopping.<ref name=":262">{{Cite web |date=2015-07-10 |title=Investing in an accessible transport network |url=https://www.london.gov.uk//what-we-do/transport/improving-londons-roads/investing-accessible-transport-network |access-date=2021-08-25 |website=London City Hall |language=en-GB}}</ref> As of the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 census]], 1.2 million Londoners have a disability – a "physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Chris |date=2025-12-24 |title=Colindale Tube station now step-free as new ticket hall opens |url=https://harrowonline.org/2025/12/24/colindale-tube-station-now-step-free-as-new-ticket-hall-opens/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=Harrow Online |language=en-US}}</ref> The 2021 Census also indicated that there are 1 million people aged over 65 in London, and more than 137,000 people aged over 85.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Age UK London - Facts and Figures |url=https://www.ageuk.org.uk/london/about-us/media-centre/facts-and-figures/ |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=[[Age UK]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

Much of the London Underground was built before accessibility was a requirement, with wheelchair users banned from the deep-level tunnels on Underground lines until 1993.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web |last=Team |first=TfL Community |date=2021-12-02 |title=History of accessibility and London transport |url=https://madeby.tfl.gov.uk/2021/12/02/history-disability-and-accessibility/ |access-date=2022-02-13 |website=Made by TfL |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite web |date=1 October 1993 |title=Underground transport system lifts wheelchair ban |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/10/01/Underground-transport-system-lifts-wheelchair-ban/3137749448000/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website= |publisher=[[United Press International]] |language=en}}</ref> The stations on the [[Jubilee Line Extension]], opened in 1999, were the first stations on the system designed with accessibility in mind.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://disabilityhorizons.com/2011/07/the-london-underground-an-accessible-future/ |title=The London Underground – An accessible future? |date=24 July 2011 |website=disability horizons |access-date=20 April 2013 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501230535/http://disabilityhorizons.com/2011/07/the-london-underground-an-accessible-future/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":122">{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Bob |title=Jubilee Line extension : from concept to completion |date=2003 |publisher=Thomas Telford |isbn=0-7277-3028-2 |location=London |oclc=51945284}}</ref> Since 2000, TfL has made substantial efforts to improve accessibility, with station upgrades increasing the number of step-free stations, including key interchanges such as [[King's Cross St Pancras tube station|King's Cross St Pancras]], [[Victoria tube station|Victoria]] and [[Green Park tube station|Green Park]] becoming step-free.

{{As of|2025|December}}, 94 Underground stations (34%) have step-free access.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Chris |date=2025-12-24 |title=Colindale Tube station now step-free as new ticket hall opens |url=https://harrowonline.org/2025/12/24/colindale-tube-station-now-step-free-as-new-ticket-hall-opens/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=Harrow Online |language=en-US}}</ref> Step-free access is provided by using [[Elevator|lifts]], [[Inclined elevator|inclined lifts]], [[Universal access|level access]] and [[Wheelchair ramp|ramps]] as appropriate for each station. All stations on the network feature minor accessibility features such as tactile platform strips, audiovisual passenger information, wide [[Ticket gate|ticket gates]], clear signage and help points with hearing loops.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Transport accessibility Priority seating and other features on board |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/features-on-board |access-date=2021-08-26 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB}}</ref> Stations with large gaps between the train and the platform warn passengers with the iconic "[[Mind the gap]]" announcement.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=James |first=Thomas |date=25 March 2022 |title=Mind the Gap - The story of Embankment station's announcement |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/blog/mind-gap-story-embankment-stations-announcement |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=London Transport Museum |language=en}}</ref>

Since 1999, all new Underground rolling stock has had to comply with accessibility regulations that require access and room for wheelchairs, and the size and location of door controls. All rolling stock has automated audio-visual station announcements.<ref name=":109">{{Cite web |date=2020-07-08 |title=Rail vehicles built or refurbished to modern accessibility standards |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-rail-vehicles-built-or-refurbished-to-modern-accessibility-standards |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> Newer rolling stock like the [[London Underground 2009 Stock|2009 Stock]] and [[London Underground S7 and S8 Stock|S Stock]] have a wide range of accessibility features including dedicated wheelchair spaces and [[Priority seat|priority seats]] for those that need them.<ref name=":82">{{Cite web |title=Transport accessibility Priority seating and other features on board |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/features-on-board |access-date=2021-08-26 |website=Transport for London |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":102">{{Cite web |title=Accessibility Design on London Underground |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/accessibility-design-on-london-underground/-AXxmQk4s4Ai9w |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

===Delays and overcrowding===
[[File:Congestion-on-the-london-underground.jpg|thumb|An overcrowded [[Northern line]] train. Overcrowding is a regular problem for Tube passengers, especially during peak hours.]]
During peak hours, stations can get so crowded that they need to be closed. Passengers may not get on the first train{{sfnp|LA Transport Committee|2009|p=55}} and the majority of passengers do not find a seat on their trains,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmtran/201/201.pdf |title=Overcrowding on Public Transport |publisher=House of Commons Transport Committee |date=17 September 2003 |page=17 |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224183158/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmtran/201/201.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> some trains having more than four passengers every square metre.{{sfnp|LA Transport Committee|2009|p=12}} When asked, passengers report overcrowding as the aspect of the network that they are least satisfied with, and overcrowding has been linked to poor productivity and potential poor heart health.{{sfnp|LA Transport Committee|2009|p=13}} Capacity increases have been overtaken by increased demand, and peak overcrowding has increased by 16 per cent since 2004–05.{{sfnp|LA Transport Committee|2011|pp=22–23}}

Compared with 2003–04, the reliability of the network had increased in 2010–11, with lost customer hours reduced from 54 million to 40 million.{{sfnp|LA Transport Committee|2011|pp=12–13}} Passengers are entitled to a refund if their journey is delayed by 15 minutes or more owing to circumstances within the control of TfL,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/replacements-and-refunds/service-delay-refunds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327163500/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/replacements-and-refunds/service-delay-refunds |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2014 |title=Fares & payments – Replacements & refunds – Charter refunds |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=18 June 2014 }}</ref> and in 2010, 330,000 passengers out of a potential 11 million Tube passengers claimed compensation for delays.<ref>{{cite news |title=London Underground: Millions not claiming Tube refund |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12687920 |date=9 March 2011 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514072036/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12687920 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mobile phone apps and services have been developed to help passengers claim their refund more efficiently.<ref>{{cite news |last=Booth |first=Nick |title=Apps that help you get money back on Delays |newspaper=City AM |location=London |url=http://www.cityam.com/article/apps-help-you-get-money-back-delays |access-date=2 April 2013 |date=11 August 2011 |archive-date=3 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703134108/http://www.cityam.com/article/apps-help-you-get-money-back-delays |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Clear}}

===Safety===
{{See also|Safety on the London Underground|Suicide on the London Underground|List of London Underground accidents}}
London Underground is authorised to operate trains by the [[Office of Rail and Road]]. {{As of|2013|3|19|alt=As at 19 March 2013}} there had been 310 days since the last major incident,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/Item04-Quarterly-HSE-Performance.pdf |title=Quarterly Health, Safety and Environment Performance Reports – Quarter 3, 2012/13 |publisher=Transport for London: Safety and Sustainability Panel |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=19 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130411152714/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/Item04%2DQuarterly%2DHSE%2DPerformance.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2013 }}</ref> when a passenger had died after falling on the track.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/Item04-Quarterly-Health-Safety-Environment-Performance-Reports-Q4-2011-12.pdf |title=Quarterly Health, Safety and Environment Performance Reports – Quarter 4, 2011/12 |publisher=Transport for London: Safety and Sustainability Panel |date=10 July 2012 |access-date=19 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817203328/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/Item04-Quarterly-Health-Safety-Environment-Performance-Reports-Q4-2011-12.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2015}} there had been nine consecutive years in which no employee fatalities had occurred.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/health-safety-environment-report-2015.pdf |title=TfL HSE Report 14/15 |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=1 December 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208160149/http://content.tfl.gov.uk/health-safety-environment-report-2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A special [[West Ashfield training facility|staff training facility]] was opened in TFL's Ashfield House, [[West Kensington]] in 2010 at a cost of £800,000. Meanwhile, Mayor of London [[Boris Johnson]] decided it should be demolished{{cn|date=March 2025}} along with the [[Earls Court Exhibition Centre]] as part of Europe's biggest regeneration scheme.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1743136/mock-tube-station-gives-staff-real-life-training | first=Michelle |last=Stevens | date=18 January 2010 | title=Mock tube station gives London Underground staff real-life training | publisher=[[Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development]] | access-date=15 August 2024 }}</ref>

In November 2011 it was reported that 80 people had [[Suicide in the United Kingdom|died by suicide]] in the previous year on the London Underground, up from 46 in 2000.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tube suicides rise 74% over last 10 years |url=http://metro.co.uk/2011/11/10/tube-suicides-rise-74-over-last-10-years-214279/ |date=10 November 2011 |access-date=19 April 2013 |newspaper=Metro |location=London |archive-date=6 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506040133/http://metro.co.uk/2011/11/10/tube-suicides-rise-74-over-last-10-years-214279/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most platforms at deep tube stations have pits, often referred to as 'suicide pits', beneath the track. These were constructed in 1926 to aid drainage of water from the platforms, but also halve the likelihood of a fatality when a passenger falls or jumps in front of a train.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Coats |first1=T. J. |last2=Walter |first2=D. P. |title=Effect of station design on death in the London Underground: observational study |journal=[[British Medical Journal]] |issue=7215 |page=957 |publisher=[[British Medical Association]] |date=9 October 1999 |url=http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/319/7215/957 |access-date=11 July 2008 |pmid=10514158 |volume=319 |pmc=28249 |doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7215.957 |archive-date=22 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522140008/http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/319/7215/957 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|p=158}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/468278.stm |title=Pit falls halve tube deaths |work=BBC News |date=8 October 1999 |access-date=20 April 2013 |archive-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214033342/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/468278.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Tube Challenge ===
The [[Tube Challenge]] is the competition for the fastest time to travel to all London Underground stations, tracked by [[Guinness World Records]] since 1960. The goal is to visit all the stations on the system, but not necessarily using all the lines; participants may connect between stations on foot, or by using other forms of public transport.

As of 2021, the record for fastest completion was held by Steve Wilson (UK) and Andi James (Finland), who completed the challenge in 15 hours, 45 minutes and 38 seconds on 21 May 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-time-to-travel-to-all-london-underground-stations|title=Fastest time to travel to all London Underground stations|website=Guinness World Records|language=en-GB|access-date=2 October 2021|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083335/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-time-to-travel-to-all-london-underground-stations/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Design and the arts==

===Map===
{{Main|Tube map}}

[[File:Composite Beck and 2012 tube map.png|thumb|The left side shows the 1933 Beck map and the right side the map in 2012.]]
[[File:Tube map 1908-2.jpg|thumb|1908 map of the Underground overlaid on a city map]]
Early maps of the Metropolitan and District railways were city maps with the lines superimposed,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=21, 28–30}} and the District published a pocket map in 1897.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=51}} A Central London Railway route diagram appears on a 1904 postcard and 1905 poster,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=52–53, 56}} similar maps appearing in District Railway cars in 1908.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=93}} In the same year, following a marketing agreement between the operators, a joint central area map that included all the lines was published.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=91}} A new map was published in 1921 without any background details, but the central area was squashed, requiring smaller letters and arrows.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=142}} Although Fred H. Stingemore enlarged the central area of the map, it was [[Harry Beck]] who took this further by distorting geography and simplifying the map so that the railways appeared as straight lines with equally spaced stations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kent|first=Alexander J.|date=1 February 2021|title=When Topology Trumped Topography: Celebrating 90 Years of Beck's Underground Map|journal=The Cartographic Journal|volume=58|issue=1 |pages=1–12|doi=10.1080/00087041.2021.1953765|bibcode=2021CartJ..58....1K |s2cid=236970579|doi-access=free}}</ref> He presented his original draft in 1931, and after initial rejection it was first printed in 1933. Today's tube map is an evolution of that original design, and the ideas are used by many metro systems around the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Design Classics: Harry Beck |publisher=Transport for London |url=http://origin.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2443.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110316055307/http://origin.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2443.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 March 2011 |access-date=27 March 2014 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=152–153, 168–169}}

The current standard Tube map shows the [[Docklands Light Railway]], [[Thameslink]], [[London Overground]], [[London cable car|IFS Cloud Cable Car]], [[Tramlink|London Tramlink]] and the London Underground;<ref name="standard tube map">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/standard-tube-map.pdf |title=Standard Tube Map |publisher=Transport for London |date=December 2013 |access-date=26 March 2014 |archive-date=26 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926115642/https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/standard-tube-map.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> a more detailed map covering a larger area, published by National Rail and Transport for London, includes suburban railway services.<ref name="Rail&TubeMap" /> The tube map came second in a BBC and London Transport Museum poll asking for a favourite UK design icon of the 20th century<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/3649.html |title=Tube map voted a UK design icon |publisher=Transport for London |date=3 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627175516/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/3649.html |archive-date=27 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the underground's 150th anniversary was celebrated by a [[Google Doodle]] on the search engine.<ref name="guardian doodle 2013">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Matt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/09/london-underground-google-doodle |title=London underground's 150th birthday celebrated in Google doodle |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=9 January 2013 |access-date=9 January 2013 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042700/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/jan/09/london-underground-google-doodle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="londonist brown 2013">{{cite news |url=http://londonist.com/2013/01/google-doodle-marks-150-years-of-the-london-underground.php |title=Google Doodle Marks 150 Years Of The London Underground |newspaper=[[Londonist]] |date=9 January 2013 |access-date=9 January 2013 |archive-date=14 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114150614/http://londonist.com/2013/01/google-doodle-marks-150-years-of-the-london-underground.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

Commissioned by [[Art on the Underground]], the [[List of Art on the Underground Tube map covers|cover of the pocket map]] is designed by various British and international artists, one of the largest public art commissions in the UK.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2 May 2014|title=Ten years of artists' tube map covers – in pictures|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/may/02/tube-map-covers-rachel-whiteread-david-shrigley-pictures|access-date=23 March 2021|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510095115/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2014/may/02/tube-map-covers-rachel-whiteread-david-shrigley-pictures|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Roundel===
[[File:Euston Square tube station MMB 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Roundel in [[Euston Square tube station]]. The ring was introduced by [[Frank Pick]] before he commissioned [[Edward Johnston]] to develop the final version of the symbol.]]
While the first use of a [[roundel]] in a London transport context was the trademark of the [[London General Omnibus Company]] registered in 1905, it was first used on the Underground in 1908 when the [[Underground Electric Railways Company of London]] (UERL) placed a solid red circle behind station nameboards on platforms to highlight the name.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the roundel |publisher=[[London Transport Museum]] |url=http://www.ltmcollection.org/roundel/about/detailedhistory.html |access-date=12 April 2013 |archive-date=24 August 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120824012222/http://www.ltmcollection.org/roundel/about/detailedhistory.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=86–88}} The word "U<small>NDERGROUN</small>D" was placed in a roundel instead of a station name on posters in 1912 by Charles Sharland and Alfred France, as well as on undated and possibly earlier posters from the same period.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=67}}

Transport administrator [[Frank Pick]], wanting to establish a strong corporate identity and visual brand for the Underground, thought the solid red disc cumbersome and took a version where the disc became a ring from a 1915 Sharland poster and gave it to [[Edward Johnston]] to develop, and registered the symbol as a trademark in 1917.<ref name="Emmerson-2010" />{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=112–113}} The roundel was first printed on a map cover using the Johnston typeface in June 1919, and printed in colour the following October.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=126–127}}

After the UERL was absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, it used forms of the roundel for buses, trams and coaches, as well as the Underground. The words "London Transport" were added inside the ring, above and below the bar. The Carr-Edwards report, published in 1938 as possibly the first attempt at a graphics standards manual, introduced stricter guidelines.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=155, 186}} Between 1948 and 1957 the word "Underground" in the bar was replaced by "London Transport".{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=206, 218, 226}} {{As of|2013}}, forms of the roundel, with differing colours for the ring and bar, are used for other TfL services, such as [[London Buses]], [[Tramlink]], [[London Overground]], [[London River Services]] and [[Docklands Light Railway]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/interchange/documents/tfl-interchange-signs-standard-issue04.pdf |title=Interchange signs standard |publisher=Transport for London |date=January 2009 |archive-date=21 August 2012 |at=Sections 3–7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821182909/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/interchange/documents/tfl-interchange-signs-standard-issue04.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Elizabeth line]] is identified with a purple roundel.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chakraborty |first1=Aninda |title=First purple roundels are installed on Elizabeth Line stations |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/news/first-purple-roundels-installed-elizabeth-line-stations/ |website=Railway Technology |access-date=17 January 2026 |date=23 January 2018}}</ref> The 100th anniversary of the roundel was celebrated in 2008 by TfL commissioning 100 artists to produce works that celebrate the design.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=100 artists celebrate 100 years of Tube logo |publisher= Transport for London |url= http://www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/9281.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130412061154/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/9281.html |archive-date=12 April 2013 |date=4 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Years, 100 Artists, 100 Works of Art |url=https://art.tfl.gov.uk/learning/100-years-100-artists-100-works-of-art/ |access-date=18 August 2020 |website=Art on the Underground |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510111014/https://art.tfl.gov.uk/learning/100-years-100-artists-100-works-of-art/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Roundels are featured outside many underground stations; they are commonly mounted on a white pole known as a "Venetian mast".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The evolution of the roundel |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/evolution-roundel |access-date=7 June 2023 |website=London Transport Museum |language=en |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031222815/https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/evolution-roundel |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2016, [[Tate Modern]] commissioned [[conceptual art]]ist [[Michael Craig-Martin]] to "reimagine" the roundel, changing its colours for the first time since the sign was introduced. His design was displayed at [[Southwark Station]] in collaboration with [[Art on the Underground]] to mark the opening weekend of the new Tate Modern gallery situated near the station.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tate gives Tube roundels at Southwark station a modern makeover |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-tate-has-given-the-tube-roundels-at-southwark-station-a-modern-makeover-a3274421.html |work=Evening Standard |location=London |date=17 June 2016 |first=Lizzie |last=Edmonds |access-date=30 December 2020 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510133449/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/the-tate-has-given-the-tube-roundels-at-southwark-station-a-modern-makeover-a3274421.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery widths="160">
File:Ealing Broadway Roundel.png|An early form of the roundel as used on the platform at Ealing Broadway
File:Mosaic Underground roundel, Maida Vale.jpg|Mosaic roundel used at [[Maida Vale tube station|Maida Vale station]]
File:Underground sign at Westminster.jpg|The form used today outside Westminster tube station
File:Bethnal Green stn roundel.JPG|Roundel and "way out" arrow on a platform at [[Bethnal Green tube station|Bethnal Green station]]
File:Art Changes, We Change - London Undergound roundel by Michael Craig-Martin at Southwark Station.png|Michael Craig-Martin's 2016 roundel design
File:No Smoking in the Bakerloo line.jpg|NO SMOKING signs using the roundel which are now present only on the 1972 stock trains of the Bakerloo line
File:Piccadilly Circus main spot and station subway.jpg|Subway entrance to [[Piccadilly Circus tube station]] 
File:Underground public subway sign - geograph.org.uk - 5234652.jpg|Close up of sign at night
</gallery>

===Architecture===
{{see also|List of listed London Underground stations}}
Seventy of the 272 [[List of London Underground stations|London Underground stations]] use buildings that are on the [[listed building|Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest]], and five have entrances in listed buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://urbandesign.tfl.gov.uk/Heritage-Library/Underground/Line.aspx |title=Heritage Library: Underground: Line |publisher=Transport for London |work=Urban Design <!--|date=n.d.--> |access-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523185400/http://urbandesign.tfl.gov.uk/Heritage-Library/Underground/Line.aspx |archive-date=23 May 2013 }}</ref> The Metropolitan Railway's original seven stations were inspired by [[Italianate]] designs, with the platforms lit by daylight from above and by [[gas lighting|gas lights]] in large glass globes.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=11, 18–19}} Early District Railway stations were similar and on both railways the further from central London the station the simpler the construction.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=26, 28}} The City & South London Railway opened with red-brick buildings, designed by [[T. P. Figgis|Thomas Phillips Figgis]], topped with a lead-covered dome that contained the lift mechanism and weather vane (still visible at many stations, such as Clapham Common).<ref name="Ackroyd-2012" />{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=35}} The Central London Railway appointed [[Harry Bell Measures]] as architect, who designed its pinkish-brown steel-framed buildings with larger entrances.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=38}}

[[File:Russell Square station.jpg|thumb|Russell Square, one of the UERL stations designed by Leslie Green clad in [[Sang-de-boeuf glaze|ox-blood tiles]]]]
[[File:55BroadwayLondon.jpg|thumb|[[55 Broadway]], above [[St James's Park tube station|St James's Park station]], was designed by [[Charles Holden]] in 1927 and is one of only two [[Grade I listed building]]s on the Underground.]]
In the first decade of the 20th century [[Leslie Green]] established a house style for the tube stations built by the UERL, which were clad in [[Sang-de-boeuf glaze|ox-blood]] [[Glazed architectural terra-cotta|faience]] blocks.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=60–61, 70}} Green pioneered using building design to guide passengers with direction signs on tiled walls, with the stations given a unique identity with patterns on the platform walls.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=71–72}}<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.5334/pia.402 |journal=[[Papers from the Institute of Archaeology]] |title=Conserving Heritage Tiles on the London Underground: Challenges and Approaches |volume=22 |year=2012 |pages=48–60 |last=Fulcher |first=Kate |doi-access=free }}</ref> Many of these tile patterns survive, though a significant number of these are now replicas.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Underground's Edwardian Tile Patterns |publisher=Doug Rose |url=http://www.dougrose.co.uk/ |access-date=12 July 2007 |archive-date=20 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420185948/http://www.dougrose.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Harry W. Ford was responsible for the design of at least 17 UERL and District Railway stations, including Barons Court and Embankment, and claimed to have first thought of enlarging the U and D in the U<small>NDERGROUN</small>D wordmark.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=41, 63}} The Met's architect [[Charles Walter Clark]] had used a [[Neoclassical architecture|neo-classical]] design for rebuilding Baker Street and [[Paddington tube station (Bakerloo, Circle and District lines)|Paddington Praed Street]] stations before the First World War and, although the fashion had changed, continued with Farringdon in 1923. The buildings had metal lettering attached to pale walls.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=38}} Clark would later design "Chiltern Court", the large, luxurious block of apartments at Baker Street, that opened in 1929.{{sfnp|Green|1987|p=44}} In the 1920s and 1930s, [[Charles Holden]] designed a series of [[Modern architecture|modernist]] and [[art-deco]] stations some of which he described as his 'brick boxes with concrete lids'.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=150–152}} Holden's design for the Underground's headquarters building at [[55 Broadway]] included avant-garde sculptures by [[Jacob Epstein]], [[Eric Gill]] and [[Henry Moore]].{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=146}}<ref name="V&A">{{cite web |url=http://www.architecture.com/Files/RIBATrust/RIBALibrary/VAndAPartnership/UndergroundJourneysGalleryGuide.pdf |title=Underground Journeys: Charles Holden's designs for London Transport |publisher=V&A RIBA architecture partnership <!--|date=n.d.--> |access-date=15 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314033016/http://www.architecture.com/Files/RIBATrust/RIBALibrary/VAndAPartnership/UndergroundJourneysGalleryGuide.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2012 }}</ref>

When the Central line was extended east, the stations were simplified Holden proto-[[Brutalist]] designs,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=213}} and a cavernous concourse built at [[Gants Hill tube station|Gants Hill]] in honour of early [[Moscow Metro]] stations.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=214}} Few new stations were built in the 50 years after 1948, but [[Misha Black]] was appointed design consultant for the 1960s Victoria line, contributing to the line's uniform look,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=234}} with each station having an individual tile motif.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=243}} Notable stations from this period include [[Moor Park station|Moor Park]], the stations of the Piccadilly line extension to Heathrow and [[Hillingdon tube station|Hillingdon]].

In recent years, the stations of the 1990s [[Jubilee Line Extension]] were designed in a [[High-tech architecture|high-tech style]] by architects such as [[Norman Foster (architect)|Norman Foster]] and [[Michael Hopkins (architect)|Michael Hopkins]].{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=209–211}} The project was critically acclaimed, with the [[Royal Fine Arts Commission]] describing the project as "an example of patronage at its best and most enlightened", and two stations shortlisted for the [[Stirling Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marrs|first=Colin|date=1 August 2017|title=Big names call for rethink on Jubilee Line listing refusals|url=http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/big-names-call-for-rethink-on-jubilee-line-listing-refusals|access-date=22 March 2021|website=The Architects' Journal|language=en|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515090301/https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/big-names-call-for-rethink-on-jubilee-line-listing-refusals|url-status=live}}</ref> Stations were built to the latest standards, future proofed for growth, with innovations such as [[Platform screen doors]].{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=268–269}} [[West Ham station]] was built as a homage to the red brick tube stations of the 1930s, using brick, concrete and glass.

Many platforms have unique interior designs to help passenger identification. The tiling at Baker Street incorporates repetitions of [[Sherlock Holmes]]'s silhouette;<ref name="Tfl-SA"/> at [[Tottenham Court Road tube station|Tottenham Court Road]] semi-abstract mosaics by [[Eduardo Paolozzi]] feature musical instruments, tape machines and butterflies;{{sfn|Day|Reed|2010|pp=188–189}} and at [[Charing Cross tube station|Charing Cross]], [[David Gentleman]] designed the mural depicting the construction of the [[Eleanor cross|Eleanor Cross]].<ref name="Ackroyd-2012" /> [[Robyn Denny]] designed the murals on the Northern line platforms at Embankment.<ref name="Tfl-SA">{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2445.aspx |title=Station architecture |publisher=Transport for London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020070920/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2445.aspx |access-date=20 October 2013 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Johnston typeface===
{{Main|Johnston (typeface)}}

The first posters used various typefaces, as was contemporary practice,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=21}} and station signs used [[sans serif]] block capitals.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=23}} The Johnston typeface was developed in upper and lower case in 1916, and a complete set of blocks, marked Johnston Sans, was made by the printers the following year.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=112}} A bold version of the capitals was developed by Johnston in 1929.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=122}} The Metropolitan Railway changed to a serif letterform for its signs in the 1920s, used on the stations rebuilt by Clark.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=139}} Johnston was adopted systemwide after the formation of the LPTB in 1933 and the LT wordmark was applied to locomotives and carriages.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=156}} Johnston was redesigned, becoming New Johnston, for photo-typesetting in the early 1980s when Elichi Kono designed a range that included Light, Medium and Bold, each with its italic version. The typesetters [[P22 type foundry|P22]] developed today's electronic version, sometimes called TfL Johnston, in 1997.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=250}}

===Posters and patronage of the arts===
[[File:Up River by the Underground.jpg|thumb|upright|1913 Underground poster by [[Tony Sarg]]]]
Early advertising posters used various typefaces.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=52}} Graphic posters first appeared in the 1890s,<ref name="MofL">{{cite web |url=http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Research/Your-Research/X20L/Themes/1/1176/ |title=London Transport Posters: Frank Pick's vision |website=Exploring 20th century London |publisher=Museum of London |access-date=21 April 2013 |archive-date=4 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804121940/http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/Research/Your-Research/X20L/themes/1/1176 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and it became possible to print colour images economically in the early 20th century.{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|pp=238–239}} The Central London Railway used colour illustrations in their 1905 poster,{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=53}} and from 1908 the Underground Group, under Pick's direction, used images of country scenes, shopping and major events on posters to encourage use of the tube.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=88–89}} Pick found he was limited by the commercial artists the printers used, and so commissioned work from artists and designers such as [[Dora Batty]],{{sfnp|Artmonsky|2012|p=117}} [[Edward McKnight Kauffer]], the cartoonist [[George Morrow (illustrator)|George Morrow]],<ref name="MofL"/> [[Herry (Heather) Perry]],{{sfnp|Artmonsky|2012|p=117}} [[Graham Sutherland]],<ref name="MofL"/> [[Charles Sharland]]{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=124–125}} and the sisters [[Anna Zinkeisen|Anna]] and [[Doris Zinkeisen]]. According to Ruth Artmonsky, more than 150 women artists were commissioned by Pick and latterly [[Christian Barman]] to design posters for London Underground, London Transport and London County Council Tramways.{{sfnp|Artmonsky|2012|pp=106–111}}

The Johnston [[sans-serif|Sans]] letter font began appearing on posters from 1917.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=124–125}} The Met, strongly independent, used images on timetables and on the cover of its ''Metro-land'' guide that promoted the country it served for the walker, visitor and later the house-hunter.{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|p=240}}{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=109}} By the time London Transport was formed in 1933 the UERL was considered a patron of the arts<ref name="MofL" /> and more than 1000 works were commissioned in the 1930s, such as the cartoon images of [[Charles Burton (poster artist)|Charles Burton]] and Kauffer's later abstract [[cubist]] and [[surrealist]] images.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=160–161}} Harold Hutchison became London Transport publicity officer in 1947, after the Second World War and nationalisation, and introduced the "pair poster", where an image on a poster was paired with text on another. Numbers of commissions dropped, to eight a year in the 1950s and just four a year in the 1970s,<ref name="MofL" /> with images from artists such Harry Stevens and [[Tom Eckersley]].{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|pp=246–247}}

[[File:Daniel Buren, 'Diamonds and Circles, works in situ', Tottenham Court Road, 2016. Photo- Thierry Bal, 2016.jpg|thumb|Artwork by [[Daniel Buren]] at [[Tottenham Court Road tube station|Tottenham Court Road]], commissioned by [[Art on the Underground]]]]
[[Art on the Underground]] was launched in 2000 to revive London Underground as a patron of the arts.<ref name="Coles 2007">{{Cite book |title=Platform for Art: Art on the Underground |last=Coles |first=Alex |publisher=Black Dog |year=2007 |isbn=978-1906155063 }}</ref> Today, commissions range from the [[List of Art on the Underground Tube map covers|pocket Tube map cover]], to temporary artworks, to large-scale permanent installations in stations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Overview |website=Art on the Underground|url=https://art.tfl.gov.uk/about/overview/|date=5 March 2015|publisher=Transport for London|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911180624/https://art.tfl.gov.uk/about/overview/|archive-date=11 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Coles 2007"/> Major commissions by Art on the Underground in recent years have included ''[[Labyrinth (artwork)|Labyrinth]]'' by the [[Turner Prize]]–winning artist [[Mark Wallinger]], to mark the 150th anniversary of the Underground;<ref>{{cite web|title=Labyrinth |website=Art on the Underground|url=https://art.tfl.gov.uk/labyrinth/|publisher=Transport for London|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112141140/https://art.tfl.gov.uk/labyrinth/|archive-date=12 January 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Diamonds and Circles'', permanent works ''in situ'' by the French artist [[Daniel Buren]] at [[Tottenham Court Road tube station|Tottenham Court Road]];<ref>{{cite web|title=Daniel Buren completes installation at Tottenham Court Road tube station|url=https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/12/daniel-buren-diamonds-circles-installation-tottenham-court-road-underground-tube-station-london-uk/|first=Alice|last=Morby|date=12 July 2017|work=Dezeen|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624235124/https://www.dezeen.com/2017/07/12/daniel-buren-diamonds-circles-installation-tottenham-court-road-underground-tube-station-london-uk/|archive-date=24 June 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''Beauty < Immortality'', a memorial to [[Frank Pick]] by [[Langlands & Bell]] at [[Piccadilly Circus tube station|Piccadilly Circus]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Frank Pick Roundel At Piccadilly Circus|url=http://londonist.com/london/transport/frank-pick-artwork|last=Craig|first=Zoe|date=10 January 2017|work=Londonist|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103012545/https://londonist.com/london/transport/frank-pick-artwork|archive-date=3 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Similarly, since 1986, [[Poems on the Underground]] has commissioned poetry that is displayed in trains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/music-film-and-poetry/poems-on-the-underground |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328180325/http://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/music-film-and-poetry/poems-on-the-underground |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 March 2014 |title=Poems on the Underground |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=19 June 2014}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
{{recentism|date=May 2022}}
The Underground (including several fictitious stations<ref name="Londonist">{{cite web |url=http://londonist.com/2011/09/fictional_stations_on_the_london_un.php |title=Mapped: Fictional Stations On The London Underground |last=Nicholas |first=Dean |date=7 September 2011 |work=Londonist |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924234418/http://londonist.com/2011/09/fictional_stations_on_the_london_un.php |url-status=live }}</ref>) has appeared in many movies and television shows, including ''[[Skyfall]]'', ''[[Death Line]]'', ''[[Die Another Day]]'', ''[[Sliding Doors]]'', ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'', ''[[Creep (2004 film)|Creep]]'', ''[[Tube Tales]], [[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'' and ''[[Neverwhere]]''. The London Underground Film Office received more than 200 requests to film in 2000.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tube's movie stardom |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1090579.stm |work=BBC News |date=28 December 2000 |access-date=4 February 2011 |archive-date=19 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319132234/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1090579.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Underground has also featured in music such as [[the Jam]]'s "[[Down in the Tube Station at Midnight]]" and in literature such as the graphic novel ''[[V for Vendetta]]''. Popular legends about the Underground being haunted persist to this day.<ref>{{cite web |title=London Underground Ghosts |website=h2g2 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A673391 |access-date=14 October 2007 |archive-date=8 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208192942/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A673391 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{ugc|certain=y|reason=h2g2 is excluded from the [[WP:RS/P|consideration of the BBC as generally reliable]]|date=May 2024}} In 2016, British composer [[Daniel Liam Glyn]] released his concept album [[Changing Stations]] based on the 11 main tube lines of the London Underground network.<ref>{{cite web |title=This synaesthetic composer turned the tube map into music |date=24 February 2017 |work=Time Out London |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/this-synaesthetic-composer-turned-the-tube-map-into-music-022417 |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305132040/https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/this-synaesthetic-composer-turned-the-tube-map-into-music-022417 |url-status=live }}</ref>

It has also served as the setting of several video games, including 2020 [[construction and management simulation]] game ''[[Overcrowd: A Commute 'Em Up]]'', in which the player manages an underground station,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wales |first=Matt |date=7 June 2019 |title=Promising underground station sim Overcrowd is out now in Steam early access |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/promising-underground-transit-sim-overcrowd-is-out-now-in-steam-early-access |access-date=18 December 2024 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219143519/https://www.eurogamer.net/promising-underground-transit-sim-overcrowd-is-out-now-in-steam-early-access |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Horti |first=Samuel |date=8 June 2019 |title=Overcrowd, a metro station management game, moves into Early Access |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/overcrowd-a-metro-stations-management-game-is-out-in-early-access/ |access-date=18 December 2024 |website=[[PC Gamer]] |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219203521/https://www.pcgamer.com/overcrowd-a-metro-stations-management-game-is-out-in-early-access/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3]]'', which has a single-player level named ''Mind The Gap'' where most of the level takes place between the dockyards and Westminster while the player and a team of [[Special Air Service|SAS]] attempt to take down terrorists attempting to escape using the London Underground via a hijacked train. The game also features the multiplayer map "Underground", in which players are combating in a fictitious Underground station. The London Underground map serves as a playing field for the conceptual game of [[Mornington Crescent (game)|Mornington Crescent]]<ref name="DPF">{{cite book |chapter=Mornington Crescent |editor-first=Elizabeth |editor-last=Knowles |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2006 |title=A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable}}</ref> (which is named after [[Mornington Crescent tube station|a station]] on the [[Northern line]]) and the board game ''[[The London Game]]''.

In 1999, [[Carlton Television]] premiered a regional game show (Greater London area only) also called ''Mind the Gap''.<ref>{{Cite AV media|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BcESRwOFPg|title = Quiz Mind the Gap Part 1 1999|via = [[YouTube]]|access-date = 11 April 2022|archive-date = 11 April 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220411132417/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BcESRwOFPg|url-status = live}}</ref>

In 2023, social media influencer [[Sabrina Bahsoon]] created the viral '#TubeGirl' trend on [[TikTok]], which involved Bahsoon and other users lip-syncing and dancing while on-board trains in the Underground network.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 September 2023 |title=Tube Girl: How Sabrina Bahsoon became TikTok's latest icon |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-66823675 |access-date=1 August 2025 |language=en-GB |archive-date=26 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250926080020/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-66823675 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tube Girl: How Sabrina Bahsoon became one of 2023's biggest TikTok stars |url=https://news.sky.com/story/tube-girl-how-sabrina-bahsoon-became-one-of-2023s-biggest-tiktok-stars-13024048 |access-date=1 August 2025 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Busking ===
The London Underground provides [[busking]] permits for up to 39 pitches across 25 central London stations, with more than 100,000 hours of live music performed each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Busking |url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/busking |access-date=4 November 2022 |publisher=Transport for London |language=en-GB |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104145615/https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/busking |url-status=live }}</ref> Performers are chosen by audition, with previous buskers including [[Ed Sheeran]], [[George Michael]] and [[Rod Stewart]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Langfitt |first=Frank |date=31 August 2017 |title=London Underground Calling: Buskers Audition To Play On The Tube |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/08/31/547263949/london-underground-calling-buskers-audition-to-play-on-the-tube |access-date=4 November 2022 |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104145618/https://www.npr.org/2017/08/31/547263949/london-underground-calling-buskers-audition-to-play-on-the-tube |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[Harry Beck]] (1902–1974) designed the [[tube map]], named in 2006 as a British design icon.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=153}}
* [[Hannah Dadds]] (1941–2011), the first female train driver on the London Underground.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 November 2016 |title=Dadds, Hannah |website=Explore 20th Century London |url=http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/dadds-hannah |access-date=20 September 2022 |archive-date=13 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113181435/http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/dadds-hannah |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
* [[Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet|John Fowler]] (1817–1898) was the railway engineer that designed the Metropolitan Railway.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=11}}
* [[MacDonald Gill]] (1884–1947), cartographer credited with drawing, in 1914, "the map that saved the London Underground".
* [[James Henry Greathead]] (1844–1896) was the engineer that dug the [[Tower Subway]] using a wrought iron shield patented by [[Peter W. Barlow]], and later used the same tunnelling shield to build the deep-tube City & South London and Central London railways.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=34}}{{sfnp|Day|Reed|2010|pp=40, 52}}
* [[Edward Johnston]] (1872–1944) developed the [[Johnston (typeface)|Johnston Sans]] typeface, still in use today on the London Underground.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=69}}
* [[Charles Pearson]] (1793–1862) suggested an underground railway in London in 1845 and from 1854 promoted a scheme that eventually became the Metropolitan Railway.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=10}}
* [[Frank Pick]] (1878–1941) was UERL publicity officer from 1908, commercial manager from 1912 and joint managing director from 1928. He was chief executive and vice-chairman of the LPTB from 1933 to 1940. It was Pick that commissioned Edward Johnston to create the typeface and redesign the roundel, and established the Underground's reputation as patrons of the arts as users of the best in contemporary poster art and architecture.{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=512–513}}
* [[Robert Selbie]] (1868–1930) was manager of the Metropolitan Railway from 1908 until his death, marketing it using the [[Metro-land]] brand.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=69}}{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|pp=194, 346}}
* [[Edgar Speyer]] (1862–1932) Financial backer of Yerkes who served as UERL chairman from 1906 to 1915 during its formative years.{{sfnp|Lentin|2013|pp=5, 6, 63}}
* [[Albert Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield|Albert Stanley]] (1874–1948) was manager of the UERL from 1907, and became the first chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) in 1933.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=63}}
* [[Edward Watkin]] (1819–1901) was chairman of the Metropolitan Railway from 1872 to 1894.{{sfnp|Jackson|1986|p=334}}
* [[Charles Yerkes]] (1837–1905) was an American who founded the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) in 1902, which opened three tube lines and electrified the District Railway.{{sfnp|Ovenden|2013|p=40}}{{sfnp|Croome|Jackson|1993|pp=49–51, 79–81}}

==See also==
{{Portal|London transport}}
* [[Automation of the London Underground]]
* [[List of London Underground stations]]
* [[List of busiest London Underground stations]]
* [[London Underground mosquito]]
* [[London Underground strikes]]
* [[London UnderRound]]
* [[Timeline of the London Underground]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
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* {{cite book |last1=Croome |first1=D. |last2=Jackson |first2=A |title=Rails Through The Clay — A History Of London's Tube Railways |edition=2nd |year=1993 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-151-4 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Day |first1=John R |last2=Reed |first2=John |title=The Story of London's Underground |edition=11th |year=2010 |orig-year=1963 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-341-9 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Day |first1=John R. |last2=Reed |first2=John |title=The Story of London's Underground |edition=10th |year=2008 |orig-year=1963 |publisher=Capital Transport |location=Harrow |isbn=978-1-85414-316-7 }}
* {{cite book |first=Desmond |last=Fennell |title=Investigation into the King's Cross Underground Fire |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-10-104992-4 |publisher=[[Department for Transport|Department of Transport]] }} [http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoT_KX1987.pdf Scan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514195912/https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoT_KX1987.pdf |date=14 May 2021 }} available online at ''railwaysarchive.co.uk''. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
* {{cite book |last=Green |first=Oliver |year=1987 |title=The London Underground— An illustrated history |publisher=[[Ian Allan Publishing|Ian Allan]] |isbn=978-0-7110-1720-7 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hardy |first=Brian |title=London Underground Rolling Stock |edition=15th |year=2002 |orig-year=1976 |publisher=Capital Transport |location=Harrow Weald |isbn=978-1-85414-263-4 }}
* {{cite book |last=Horne |first=Mike |title=The Metropolitan Line |year=2003 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-275-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/metropolitanline00mike }}
* {{cite book |last=Horne |first=Mike |title=The District Line |year=2006 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-292-4 }}
* {{cite book |title=London's Metropolitan Railway |last=Jackson |first=Alan |year=1986 |publisher=David & Charles |isbn=978-0-7153-8839-6 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=x4ZPAAAAMAAJ Snippet view] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119080911/https://books.google.com/books?id=x4ZPAAAAMAAJ |date=19 January 2023 }} at google.com, retrieved 20 August 2012
* {{cite book |last=Lentin |first=Antony|author-link=Antony Lentin |title=Banker, Traitor, Scapegoat, Spy? The Troublesome Case of Sir Edgar Speyer |publisher=Haus |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-908323-11-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ovenden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Ovenden |title=London Underground by Design |year=2013 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-1-84614-417-2 }}
* {{cite book |title=Great Western London Suburban Services |last=Peacock |first=Thomas B. |publisher=Oakwood Press |year=1970 |asin=B0006C7PD2}}
* {{cite book |last=Rose |first=Douglas |title=The London Underground: A Diagrammatic History |edition=8th |date=December 2007 |orig-year=1980 |publisher=Capital Transport |isbn=978-1-85414-315-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Bill |title=A History of the Metropolitan Railway. Vol 1 |publisher=Lamplight Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-899246-07-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Wolmar |year=2004 |title=The Subterranean Railway: how the London Underground was built and how it changed the city forever |publisher=Atlantic |isbn=978-1-84354-023-6 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/too-close-for-comfort.pdf |title=Too Close For Comfort: Passengers' experiences of the London Underground |publisher=[[London Assembly]] |date=December 2009 |author=Transport Committee |access-date=1 April 2013 |ref={{harvid|LA Transport Committee|2009}} |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815084359/https://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/too-close-for-comfort.pdf |archive-date=15 August 2012 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/10-11-19-Accessible%20transport%20report%20final.pdf |title=Accessibility of the transport network |date=November 2010 |publisher=London Assembly |author=Transport Committee |access-date=20 April 2013 |ref={{harvid|LA Transport Committee|2010}} |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821195602/http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/10-11-19-Accessible%20transport%20report%20final.pdf |archive-date=21 August 2012 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/FINAL%20REPORT_3.pdf |title=The State of the Underground |date=September 2011 |author=Transport Committee |publisher=[[London Assembly]] |access-date=1 April 2012 |ref={{harvid|LA Transport Committee|2011}} |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505092840/http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/FINAL%20REPORT_3.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2015 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/your-accessible-transport-network.pdf |title=Your accessible transport network |publisher=Transport for London |date=December 2012 |access-date=20 April 2013 |ref={{harvid|TfL|2012}} |archive-date=25 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925004803/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/your-accessible-transport-network.pdf |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons and category}}
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
{{wiktionary|Underground|aboveground|underground|overground}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121227090259/http://www.fourthway.co.uk/realunderground/ London Underground Morphing Map]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130404003728/http://robb19y.altervista.org/JavaLondonTube/ London Underground API]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130613071953/http://maplondonunderground.com/ London Underground map and history]
* [http://www.martinbrake.de/tramsystem/netz_london.html London Underground history in a dynamic timeline map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026135500/http://www.martinbrake.de/tramsystem/netz_london.html |date=26 October 2016 }}
* {{PM20|FID=co/072926|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

===London Underground track maps===
* [https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/175555/response/438758/attach/3/LU%20Track%20Map.pdf TfL Track Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306152811/https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/175555/response/438758/attach/3/LU%20Track%20Map.pdf |date=6 March 2021 }} (shows only London Underground-operated trackage)
* [http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ Carto.metro Track Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609032126/http://cartometro.com/cartes/metro-tram-london/ |date=9 June 2021 }} (more detailed; shows Underground, Overground, Crossrail, DLR, and mainline railway tracks as well)

{{Transport in London}}
{{Britishmetros}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Lines of the London Underground
|list= {{Bakerloo line navbox}}
{{Central line navbox}}
{{Circle line navbox}}
{{District line navbox}}
{{Hammersmith & City line navbox}}
{{Jubilee line navbox}}
{{Metropolitan line navbox}}
{{Northern line navbox}}
{{Piccadilly line navbox}}
{{Victoria line navbox}}
{{Waterloo & City line navbox}}
}}
{{Rapid transit in Europe}}
{{Internationally Metro Organizations}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:London Underground| ]]
[[Category:Busking venues]]
[[Category:Electric railways in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Modes of transport in London]]
[[Category:Rail infrastructure in London]]
[[Category:Subterranean London]]
[[Category:Underground rapid transit in England]]
[[Category:1863 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Transport organisations based in London]]
[[Category:Reportedly haunted locations in London]]