Historical story

London celebrates 150 years underground

In 2013 it will be exactly a century and a half since the first underground in London started running. Meanwhile the London tube immensely popular, transporting more than a billion travelers a year.

The London Underground was the first in the world. When the metro was opened in 1863 – then the largest city in the world – electric transport already existed in Asia. Initially, the wagons in London – which resembled railcars rather than underground trains – were powered by steam power. That didn't last long, because of the nuisance of steam and sulfur fumes at underground stations.

Electrification

“The solution to vent the underground spaces as quickly as possible was to build large vents, exhaust valves down to street level,” says Candice Jones of Transport for London.

Electrification of the London Underground soon started, but it took decades before all routes were supplied with power.

Just as large infrastructural works, such as the North Sea Canal, were dug by hand in the 19th century, the metro tunnels were largely hand-made. The technique of cut and cover was common, whereby a hole was dug that was then covered over. Depending on the location and buildings, the tunnels were also excavated underground.

Underground and aboveground

More than half of the total rail length of the London Underground is above ground, and it always has been. Because in the early days, the heart of London was connected to largely undeveloped patteland areas or growth centers, comparable to our Vinex locations, outside the city limits. In those sparsely populated areas it was not necessary to lay the rails underground.

More companies on one track

For us in the Netherlands it takes some getting used to that more than one company can run trains on the track or provide public transport in a city or region. Those who have traveled in Great Britain know that it is very common there that several companies are active on the railway, such as First Great Western, Northern, South West Trains etc. The London Underground has also been operated by several companies since the early days, and the establishment and construction was not limited to one initiator and financier.

Great Western Railway

The construction of the London Underground started during the height of the Victorian era, when new technological developments followed quickly. By the time the underground excavation work starts, a lot of experience has already been gained with ambitious infrastructure projects, such as the Great Western Railway, from London to Bristol. This required unprecedentedly large operations for that time, such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the route from London to Bristol.

Tunnel under the Thames

Experience had already been gained with tunnel construction through mountainous areas during the construction of the train track. But tunneling in London's swampy subsoil was new. The English had already gained experience in digging a tunnel under the Thames in the early 19th century. The idea for this was first suggested in 1798 and construction started around 1820. The Thames Tunnel was a world first because the Thames both flowed and was a busy river. The Thames Tunnel was opened exactly 170 years ago, in 1843.

Tidal waves

The construction of the Thames Tunnel was anything but smooth sailing. Tidal waves that occasionally filled the tunnel unannounced and led to partial collapses halted the project several times. It also turned out that geologists had misjudged the soil type, which turned out not to be clay, and there was quicksand in some places. Ultimately, it is Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who takes over from his father, Marc Brunel (also a famous Victorian-era engineer), and pushes through and completes the construction of the Thames Tunnel.

Continue digging

Eventually the Thames Tunnel – which was also initially built for a carriage underpass – became part of the major metro network and several tunnels were dug under the Thames in the decades that followed. The old Thames Tunnel is now part of a relatively short section, the East Line, between Rotherhithe and Wapping stations.

The first section of the London Underground is the Metropolitan Railway (opened 150 years ago this year). Modern London Underground lines, such as District and Piccadilly Line, use this ancient route. The tunnel system has gradually expanded and was intended to provide London – then the largest city in the world – with an alternative to horse-drawn carriages and buses.

Return fresh air

Underground passenger transport not only benefited people's trade and commuting, it also boosted tourism. But using the trains, which were not yet running fast, was too expensive for many people. According to 19th century statistics walked still a significant portion of the workers to London! It took until the end of the 19th century before train travel became affordable for everyone.

Appealing posters to get citizens into the underground were created by famous artists, such as the lower right poster with the logo of the London Undergroudn and the planet Saturn by Man Ray.

Big brother

Today, 20,000 technicians are working on the tube . every day to keep in operation. That is a huge job in which the entire track is divided into short sections for which one technician is responsible. The Network Operation Center coordinates all 274 stations and the 500 trains running at the same time. With cameras, travelers are monitored and via microphones, or by employees on the platforms, directly addressed about their behavior, such as fare evasion, drunkenness or soiling the stations. For example, there is a code for every calamity:code 1 for blood, code 2 for urine, code 5 for glass, etc.

'The only constant is change'

In the coming years, the old trainsets will be replaced by new ones (of around 10 million euros per train) and until 2020 work will be done on replacing 140 km of rail, an operation worth more than 10 billion euros.

The London Underground still inspires, perhaps not the greatest artists, but video artists like this video by Tim McCready, who portrayed all the stations of the London Underground.

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