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- It’s the oldest underground in the world, it was opened on 10 January 1863.
- It is the largest in Europe, covers 402 km, compared to 588 km of Shanghai, which is the largest in the world.
- Londoners call it the Tube, because of its tunnel’s shape.
- The world’s first underground railway, which opened in 1863, is now part of the Circle line (yellow, opened in 1884) that is the first to be completed. In 1898 it was the turn of Hammersmith and Circle, in 1904 the Great Northern. In 1906 the Bakerloo and Piccadilly and finally in 1907 the Hampstead Tube.
- During the second world war the subway was used as a bomb shelter and the stations were used as underground storage.
- The first trains, which went from Paddington and Farringdon Street, worked by steam.
- It operates every day of the year except December 25. It is opened h 24 on Friday and Saturday,(the Circle and Vistoria line), since August 2016.
- The roundel was introduced i in 1908. Initially known as “the bar and the circle ‘, it had a precise aim: placed in the docks, gave the right emphasize to the station’s name, which then was immediately seen by the passengers.
- The map of the tube, which is an icon of the city, was designed in 1931 by Harry Beck. He was inspired by the representations of electrical circuits to create a simplified map, which does not respect the real distances and the main features. But it is clear to read.
- Many films have been shot on the London underground: among them, the main ones are Sliding Doors, Skyfall, death can wait and Creep the surgeon.
