Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tube geek (14) Going Underground
Only 45% of the London Underground network is actually underground. The earliest underground railways were shallow sub-surface tunnels, dug using the cut and cover method beneath the roads of central London. By the time later lines came to be built there was only room beneath the ground for deep level tubes. But out in the suburbs the trains arrived in advance of the houses, so there was plenty of space on the surface and no tunnels were required. Today London has a total of 113 miles of tube tunnel (20 cut and cover, and 93 deep level) - an underground nirvana which no mobile phone signal can yet penetrate. So, where are these tunnels? Here's my line-by-line guide to subterranean travel (compiled via geoff's special underground map). I hope it's correct, near enough...
Where the Underground goes underground (very roughly)
Bakerloo: Harrow & Wealdstone → Queen's Park → Kilburn Park → Elephant & Castle
Central: West Ruislip → White City → Shepherd's Bush → Mile End → Stratford → Leyton → Leytonstone → Wanstead → Gants Hill → Newbury Park → Hainault → Woodford → Epping
Circle: Edgware Road → Baker Street → King's Cross St Pancras → Farringdon → Barbican → Moorgate → Victoria → Sloane Square → South Kensington → Gloucester Road → High Street Kensington → Notting Hill Gate → Bayswater → Paddington → Edgware Road
District: Ealing Broadway & Richmond & Wimbledon → Earl's Court → Gloucester Road → South Kensington → Sloane Square → Victoria → Aldgate East → Whitechapel → Stepney Green → Mile End → Bow Road → Upminster
East London: Shoreditch → Whitechapel → Shadwell → Wapping → Canada Water → Surrey Quays → New Cross (Gate)
Hammersmith & City: Hammersmith → Paddington → Edgware Road → Baker Street → King's Cross St Pancras → Farringdon → Barbican → Moorgate → Aldgate East → Whitechapel → Stepney Green → Mile End → Bow Road → Barking
Jubilee: Stanmore → Finchley Road → Swiss Cottage → North Greenwich → Canning Town → Stratford
Metropolitan: Amersham & Watford & Uxbridge → Finchley Road → Baker Street → King's Cross St Pancras → Farringdon → Barbican → Moorgate → Aldgate
Northern: Edgware → Golders Green → Hampstead → ... / High Barnet & Mill Hill East → East Finchley → Highgate → South Wimbledon → Morden
Piccadilly: Heathrow → Hounslow West → Hounslow Central → Barons Court → Earl's Court → Bounds Green → Arnos Grove → Southgate → Oakwood → Cockfosters
Victoria: Walthamstow Central → Brixton
Waterloo & City: Waterloo → Bank
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