Tube geek (7)Growth of the tube network 1860s: 33 new stations, 3 new lines (Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City) 1870s: 27 new stations, 2 lines extended (Metropolitan, District) 1880s: 33 new stations, 3 new lines (Circle, East London, Northern), 2 lines extended (Metropolitan, District) 1890s: 24 new stations, 1 new line (Waterloo & City), 1 line extended (Metropolitan) 1900s: 84 new stations, 3 new lines (Central, Bakerloo, Piccadilly), 2 lines extended (Metropolitan, District) 1910s: 26 new stations, 2 lines extended (Bakerloo, Central) 1920s: 19 new stations, 2 lines extended (Metropolitan, Northern) 1930s: 23 new stations, 4 lines extended (Bakerloo, Piccadilly, District, Northern) 1940s: 41 new stations, 2 lines extended (Northern, Central), 1 line cut back (Metropolitan) 1950s: erm, nothing 1960s: 4 new stations, 1 new line (Victoria), 1 line cut back (Metropolitan) 1970s: 5 new stations, 1 new line (Jubilee), 2 lines extended (Victoria, Piccadilly), 1 line cut back (Northern) 1980s: 1 new station, 1 line extended (Piccadilly), 1 line cut back (Bakerloo) 1990s: 7 new stations, 1 line extended (Jubilee), 2 lines cut back (Central, Piccadilly) 2000-2010: 13newstations planned, 3 lines due to be extended (East London, Metropolitan, Piccadilly)
The numbers may be a bit approximate in places because it's not always easy to tell what is a new station and what isn't. But it is clear that the golden age of tube building was exactly 100 years ago at the turn of the 20th century, back when property developers were trying to open up suburbia for London's commuters. Things dropped off somewhat from the 1950s onwards, which you might argue is because governments are more careful with their money than private companies, or maybe they're more cautious, or maybe they're more short-sighted. And maybe, just maybe, expansion is picking up again in the 21st century. Let's hope so.
Tube geek (7) Growth of the tube network
