London Underground (& tramways
etc.) For other London railways,
main line and suburban. see GB railways.
1)
Click Here for more events relating to London
2)
Click Here for image of construction of London Underground
tunnel (ca. 1920?)
3)
Click
Here for image of 1930s London
tube train.
4)
Click here for map of proposed Edgware-Bushey-Watford railway.
5)
Click here
for How Deep is
Your Tube Station. Map of depth/elevation of London tube stations, both
absolute (to sea level) and relative (to ground level. Also which stations are
vulnerable to a 10 metre tidal surge.
2009, Work on London’s Crossrail began.
2001, Lots Road power station, which had generated
electricity for the London Underground, became redundant.
1994, The
Beckton branch of the Docklands Light Railway opened.
30/9/1994, On
the London Underground, the Epping to Ongar
line and the Aldwych spur closed. The Ongar line
only caried 100 passengers a day. At Aldwych, only 450 people a day used the
line, and a lift needed replacing at a cost of £3million. Aldwych (opened
30/11/1907) had served as an air raid shelter during World War Two and was not
reopened until 1946. Postwar proposals to extend the Aldwych spur to Waterloo
never materialised.
31/8/1987, London’s
Docklands Light Railway began running, a month behind schedule.
17/12/1981, The
Law Lords ruled the Greater London
Council’s cheap fares policy, effectively subsidised from rates, was
illegal.
31/10/1981, Blake Hall station on the Central
Line, London Underground, closed. It had been the least-used station on the network, with
an average 6 passengers a day.
30/4/1979, Prince Charles opened the new Jubilee Line on the London Underground.
16/12/1977. The
Piccadilly Line was extended from Hatton Cross to London Heathrow Airport.
7/3/1969, London’s
Victoria Line opened, from Warren Street
to Victoria, see
3/11/1968.
3/11/1968. The second section of London’s Victoria Line opened,
from Highbury to
Warren Street, see 1/9/1968 and 7/3/1969.
1/9/1968, The
first section of London’s new Victoria line opened, from Walthamstow to
Highbury,
see 3/11/1968.
4/10/1964, Services on the Moorgate to Finsbury Park line, north London, were cut
back to Drayton Park to allow for Victoria Line trains at Finsbury Park, see 1/9/1968.
9/4/1964. The first driverless trains ran on the London Underground. They were
first trialled on the Central Line between Woodford and Hainault.
5/1/1964, The first automatic ticket barrier on
the London Underground was installed, at Stamford Brook station.
9/9/1961, London Metropolitan line services
north of Amersham were withdrawn.
1960, London’s Metropolitan line was electrified from Rockmansworth
to Amersham and Chesham.
27/9/1960. Bank Underground Station, London, opened the
first travelator, or moving
pavement, in Europe.
18/11/1957, London’s
Central Line opened from Epping to Ongar.
25/9/1949, The Central Line, London, opened from Woodford to Epping.
21/11/1948, In London, Central Line
trains began
running between Hainault and
Woodford.
31/5/1948, In London, Central Line
trains began running over the loop from Newbury Park to Hainault, and North Acton to West Ruislip.
14/12/1947, In London, the Central Line was extended from Leytonstone to Woodford and through the north Ilford tunnels to Newbury Park. The former surface rail connection between
Newbury Park and the Romford line was used by goods trains until March 1956.
30/11/1947. In London, steam trains
from Liverpool Street ceased to run on the Chigwell to Newbury Park loop.
5/5/1947, In London, Central Line trains began running to Leytonstone.
4/12/1946, In London, Central Line
trains began running to Stratford.
1/7/1946. London’s Aldwych to
Holborn spur line re-opened. It had been closed during the War and used as an air raid
shelter.
20/11/1939, Bakerloo Line trains began through
running to Stanmore from Baker Street.
8/3/1939, London Transport collected four
million used tickets, which were then analysed manually to see which were the
most and least used routes, in order to plan for future development.
1936, Metropolitan Line services were cut
back from Verney Junction to terminate at Amersham. London Transport had taken
over the Metropolitan Railway in 1933, inheriting its servoices from Baker
Street to the remote Verney Junction.
4/5/1935, London’s Leicester Square tube station opened.
1934, At Holborn, the Picadilly and Central
lines were connected by a subway and escalators. Previously, passengers had to
exit British Museum Station and cross High Holborn to change.
1933, Northfields station, on London’s Piccadilly
Line, opened.
23/10/1933, The Piccadilly Line was extended from South Harrow to Uxbridge.
31/7/1933, London’s Piccadilly Line was extended from Enfield West (now Oakwood) to Cockfosters, see 13/3/1933.
1/7/1933, The
new London passenger Transport Board came into existence, coordinating all bus,
tram and tube services within a radius of 20-30 miles of Charing Cross. Only main line rail
services were excluded. The tube map was also reorganised according to a new
design by Harry Beck.
13/3/1933, London’s Piccadilly Line was extended from Arnos Grove to Enfield West (now Oakwood), see 19/9/1932
and 31/7/1933.
10/12/1932, The Metropolitan railway branch from Wembley to Stanmore opened.
5/11/1932, London Transport changed the name of
Gillespie Road station to Arsenal after the local football club.
10/1932, The Piccadilly Line was extended to South Harrow.
19/9/1932, The Piccadilly Line, London, was extended 4 ½ miles from Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove, see 13/3/1933.
21/5/1932. Down
Street Station, on the Piccadilly Line, closed. It was very close to Hyde Park Corner and
Dover Street, now renamed Green Park, in a prosperous area of Mayfair where
many had their own transport.
10/12/1928, In London, the new
Underground Station at Piccadilly Circus opened.
13/9/1926, In London, the Underground extensions
from Charing Cross (Embankment) to Kennington
and from
Clapham
Common to Morden (5 miles) were opened. There were
plans for further extensions to the Northern Line south west from Morden as
suburban development took place in the Sutton area; however it was agreed that
the Southern Railway would serve these new residential areas,
1925, The Metropolitan line
from Harrow to Rockmansworth was electrified. The
Metropolitan line branch to Watford opened.
2/11/1925, The Metropolitan line branch to
Watford opened.
18/8/1924, London’s Northern Line opened from Hendon Central to Edgware, 3 miles, see
19/11/1923. The line was to have been
extended to Bushey Heath but this never materialised due to the instigation of
the Green Belt, meaning the housing necessary to make this extension viable
would not be built.
20/4/1924, The interchange at Camden Town between
the City and South London Lines and the Northern Line to Golders Green,
Highgate, came into use.
19/11/1923, London’s Northern Line opened from Golders Green to
Hendon Central, 1 ¾ miles, see
18/8/1924.
3/8/1920, London’s Central Line was extended from Shepherd’s Bush to Ealing
Broadway.
16/4/1917, Bakerloo line trains began running
from Queens Park through to Watford.
1915, London’s last horse tram route (Tower Bridge to
Rotherhithe) was electrified.
11/2/1915. London’s Bakerloo Line was
extended
from Kilburn Park to join the Euston main line
railway at Queens Park. See 31/1/1915.
31/1/1915, London’s Bakerloo Line
was extended
from Paddington to Kilburn Park. See 11/2/1915.
6/4/1914, The short Northern Line extension from Strand (Charing Cross) to Charing Cross (Embankment)
opened, to
improve connections to the District and Bakerloo lines.
1/12/1913, The Bakerloo Line was extended from Edgware Road to Paddington.
28/7/1912. London’s Central Line was extended from Bank to Liverpool Street.
15/6/1912, The railway from Watford to
Croxley Green was opened.
4/10/1911. Britain’s first escalators were introduced, connecting the District
and Piccadilly lines at Earl’s Court station in London.
1/7/1910. The Central Line was extended from White City to
Ruislip.
1909, Dollis Hill station, N W
London, opened.
2/5/1909, The railway spur from Osterley to Hounslow Town,
originally closed on 1/4/1886, but later re-opened with electrification, finally closed.
1908, Brondesbury Park station,
London, opened.
30/11/1907, Aldwych Station, London, opened. The Great Northern and Strand Railway (GNSR) was intended
to have its southern terminus at Holborn but the creation of Kingsway and
Aldwych as a slum clearance programme by the Greater London council persuaded
the GNSR to continue another 524 metres to serve the theatres and offices in
the new development. However the plan by Charles Yerkes to join up the Brompton
and Picadilly line with the GNSR at Holborn left Aldwych as an awkward spur,
see 15/12/1906 and 30/9/1994.
23/7/1907, London’s Northern Line opened between Kennington, Camden Town and Golders
Green.
22/6/1907, London Underground’s Northern Line opened, from Strand (Charing Cross) to Golders Green, also the branch
from Camden
to Highgate (now Archway).
15/6/1907, The Bakerloo Line was extended from Marylebone to Edgware Road.
12/5/1907, London’s Northern Line was extended from Angel Islington to Euston. Total mileage, from Clapham Common to Euston, was now
7.26 miles.
27/3/1907, The Bakerloo Line was extended from Baker Street to Marylebone.
1906, Lots Road power station opened, for generationg power fot the
London Underground.
1906, Eastcote Station, on the
Metropolitan Line to Uxbridge, opened.
15/12/1906, London’s Piccadilly Line opened, from Hammersmith
to Finsbury Park. Originally two companies had been formed, the Brompton
and Piccadilly Circus Railway (incorporated 6/8/1897), to build a line from
Piccadilly to Earls Court; and the Great Northern and Strand Railway, to build
a line from Wood Green via Finsbury Park to a terminus at The Strand. In 1901 both companies were bought by the
Yerkes Group, which sought to merged the two schemes and abandon the section
north of Finsbury park. The two schemes
were merged on 8/8/1902. See 30/11/1907.
5/8/1906, The Bakerloo Line was extended south from Kennington Road (now Lambeth North) to Elephant and
Castle. There were planned future southward
extensions to Camberwell and Lewisham.
10/3/1906, The Bakerloo Line
on the
London Underground was opened, between Baker
Street and Waterloo.
1905, A tunnel for the Northern Line, London, was
driven under Hampstead Heath to emerge in the rural countryside of Golders
Green (which had been forest and heath until the 1700s until enclosed for
farmland). Urban development began almost immediately.
1904, The street
tramway from London was extended from Southall to Uxbridge through Hayes.
Perivale station.
13/12/1904. London’s Metropolitan
Railway went electric.
14/2/1904, The railway from Finsbury Park to Moorgate, north London, opened.
1903, The electric tram
was extended from Isleworth to Kingston and Hampton Court.
28/6/1903, The Piccadilly Line was extended from Ealing to Rayners Lane.
6/2/1903, In the UK, a Royal
Commission was set up to find a solution to London’s traffic jams. Options
included new electric tramways, but these would take up valuable road space, or
new tube lines, following the success of the ‘twopenny tube’ opened in 1900
from Shepherds Bush to Bank (now the Central Line).
1902, London’s District line was
extended
east from Whitechapel to Upminster.
9/4/1902 In London, the Underground Electric Railways Company was formed.
1901, Trams began running from Purley via Croydon to London; the
service was withdrawn in 1951.
17/11/1901, London’s Northern Line was extended from Moorgate to
Angel Islington. It was also extended south from Clapham North
through Tooting.
4/1901, London’s first electric tramway began operations, from Shepherds Bush
along the Uxbridge Road to SActon and Kew, operated by London United Tramways
Ltd.
27/6/1900. London's Central Line opened, from Shepherd’s Bush to Bank station, 7.5 miles.
3/6/1900, London’s Northern Line was extended from Stockwell to Clapham Common.
25/2/1900, London’s Northern Line opened from Bank to Moorgate.
8/8/1898, London’s Waterloo and City line, from Waterloo to Bank, opened.
18/12/1890, Passenger services began on the City branch of the Northern Line, see
4/11/1890. Services ran from Stockwell
to King William Street (now Bank).
4/11/1890, The first electrified underground
railway system, what is now the City branch of
the Northern Line, was officially opened
by the Prince of Wales. Passenger
services began on 18/12/1890.
8/7/1889, The Metropolitan Line, west London,
was extended
from Rickmansworth to Chesham, see 1/9/1887
and 1/9/1892.
3/6/1889, The District Line was extended from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon, west London.
1/9/1887, The Metropolitan Line, London, was extended from Pinner to Rickmansworth, see 25/5/1885 and 8/7/1889.
25/5/1885, London’s Metropolitan Line opened as far west as Pinner.
See
1/9/1887.
21/7/1884, In west London, the railway from Osterley to Hounslow West opened, see 1/5/1883 and 1/4/1886.
1/5/1883, The railway from Acton Town to Hounslow, west London, opened. At Osterley the
line as opened went to a station at Hounslow Town, see 21/7/1884.
25/9/1882, The London Underground line from Aldgate to Tower Hill was opened.
12/8/1880, London’s Metropolitan Line was extended from Willesden Green
through Harrow.
1/3/1880, The District Line railway from West Brompton to Putney Bridge, west London,
was opened.
24/11/1879, The Metropolitan Line from Baker Street to
Willesden Green opened.
1/7/1879, The District
Line railway between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway, west London,
was opened.
On the Metropolitan Line, Swiss Cottage to West Hampstead opened.
1/6/1877, The District Line from Hammersmith to Ealing Broadway, W London, opened.
1876, The horse tramway from Shepherd’s Bush
to Acton opened.
18/11/1876, The last section of London’s Circle
Line, from Mansion House to Bishopsgate,
1.5 miles was completed. The two companies involved,
the Metropolitan and District, had fallen out but City interests compelled the
completion after an independent railway company was floated, the Metropolitan
Inner Circle Completion Company.
1/2/1875, The Metropolitan Line, London, was extended from Moorgate
to Liverpool Street.
9/9/1874, The railway between Earl’s Court and Hammersmith, London, opened.
6/1874, The horse tramway from
Shephreds Bush and Acton opened. It was suoerseded by an electric tramway in
1901.
1/4/1872, The railway from Finchley to High
Barnet, north London, opened.
3/7/1871, The London Underground (District Line)
railway from Blackfriars to Mansion House opened.
10/4/1871, The
London railway between Wapping and Shoreditch opened.
30/5/1870, The London Underground (District Line)
railway from Westminster to Blackfriars opened.
7/12/1869, The East London Railway opened from New Cross Gate to Wapping. It used a
former pedestrian tunnel under the Thames that had opened in 1843. In 1876 a
link with the Great Eastern Railway at Bishopsgate was opened. In 1880 a branch
from Surrey Docks began operations. Until 1941 District Line trains from
central London ran direct to New Cross via the St Marys Curve, just west of
Whitechapel, but after that date the East London Line ran as a separate route,
from Shoreditch.
1/3/1869, London’s Metropolitan railway, opened
10/1/1863 and operating on both broad and standard gauge, changed to standard
gauge only.
24/12/1868, The
London Underground (District Line) railway from Gloucester Road to Westminster opened.
1/10/1868,The London Underground railway from Paddington to Gloucester Road was opened.
13/4/1868, The London Underground line from Baker
Street to Swiss Cottage opened.
23/12/1865, The Metropolitan Line was extended 0.75 miles east from Farringdon to Moorgate.
13/6/1864, The Hammersmith branch of London’s Metropolitan Line,
2 ½ miles of
line from Westbourne Park, was opened.
10/1/1863. London’s
four mile long Metropolitan Railway was opened
by Gladstone.
The line had seven stations and ran from Paddington to Farringdon Street. It was aimed at
relieving growing congestion on London’s streets. The railway company tried to
relieve the public’s fears about breathing in sulphurous fumes by claiming they
were beneficial.
1853, UK Parliament authorised
construction of the 3.75 mile railway from Farringdon Street to Paddington.
