Transport. London Underground and more…

Photos and images of transport in London. Underground, tube stations, tube, metro, buses in London and more.

Facts and figures about London Underground Tube

Number of miles/km travelled by each Tube train each year: 114,500 miles/184,269km
Total number of passengers carried each year: 1,229 million
Average train speed: 33km per hour/20.5mph
Length of network: 402km/249 miles
Proportion of the network that is in tunnels: 45 per cent
Longest continuous tunnel: East Finchley to Morden (via Bank) – 27.8km/17.25 miles
Total number of escalators: 426
Station with most escalators: Waterloo – 23
Longest escalator: Angel – 60m/197ft, with a vertical rise of 27.5m/90ft
Shortest escalator: Stratford, with a vertical rise of 4.1m
Total number of lifts, including four stair lifts: 167
Four passenger conveyors – two at Waterloo and two at Bank
Deepest lift shaft: Hampstead – 55.2m/181ft
Shortest lift shaft: King’s Cross – 2.3m/7.5ft
Vertical lifting platforms highest rise: Walthamstow 1.98m/6.5ft
Vertical lifting platforms shortest: Hainault 0.64m/2.1ft
Carriages in London Underground’s (LU’s) fleet: 4134
Total number of stations served: 270
Total number of stations managed: 260
Total number of staff: 19,000 approx
Stations with the most platforms: Baker Street – 10. Moorgate has 10 platforms but only six are used by LU (two are used by First Capital Connect and two were formerly used by Thameslink services)
Busiest stations: During the three-hour morning peak, London’s busiest Tube station is Waterloo, with 57,000 people entering. The busiest station in terms of passengers each year is also Waterloo with 82 million
The Underground name first appeared on stations in 1908
London Underground has been known as the Tube since 1890, when the first deep-level electric railway line was opened
The Tube’s world-famous logo, ‘the roundel’ (a red circle crossed by a horizontal blue bar), first appeared in 1908

Investment and performance

LU transferred from the control of the Government to Transport for London (TfL) on 15 July 2003
TfL is investing billions of pounds into upgrading the Tube

During 2011/12 LU:

Carried record numbers of passengers with 1.171 billion journeys made. This is 64 million more passenger journeys than the previous year, which itself had set a new record
Operated a new record of train kilometres, up 5% on last year to 72.4 million train kilometres
Beat all previous customer satisfaction evaluation scores. This year the score was 80 out of 100 the highest since records began
Improved reliability, as measured by the amount of delays to customers, with the number of customers hours lost to delays at their lowest since measurements began in 1999.
Implemented a co-ordinated and consolidated reliability improvement programme, redoubling efforts to ensure a more consistently reliable service for customers. The programme encompasses a range of measures to predict and prevent failures on the network. Find out more here

Completed the Victoria and Jubilee line upgrades increasing capacity with a faster more frequent service to cope with the ever increasing passenger demand and reduce delays
Made significant progress with the Sub-Surface Railway upgrade awarding a major signalling contract and rolling out new air conditioned trains on the Metropolitan line.
Added a 66th Tube station which is step-free from street to platform at Farringdon. Other key step-free stations include Stratford, Southfields (for Wimbledon), Green Park and King’s Cross St. Pancras.

Technical information

Average train speed

33km per hour (20.5mph) including station stops
In central London, trains cannot reach speeds of more than 30-40mph because of the short distance between stations
On the Victoria line, stations are wider apart and trains can reach speeds of up to 50mph
On the Metropolitan line, trains can reach over 60mph

Maximum number of trains required for scheduled peak period service

	AM	PM
Bakerloo line	33	32
Central line	76	76
Circle / Hammersmith & City line	32	32
District line	76	76
Jubilee line	49	50
Metropolitan line	48	50
Northern line	91	91
Piccadilly line	78	78
Victoria line	37	37
Waterloo & City line	5	5
Total	525	527

Elevation

Highest point above mean sea level	Metropolitan line (beyond Amersham station) – 150 metres (500ft)
Highest station above mean sea level	Amersham – 147 metres (490ft)
Greatest elevation from ground level	Northern line (Dollis Brook viaduct over Dollis road, Mill Hill) – 18 metres (60ft)

Depths

Maximum depth below mean sea level		Jubilee line – 32 metres (105ft)
Deep level Tube lines	Maximum depths below ground level	Northern line – Holly Bush Hill, Hampstead – 68.8 metres (221ft)
Sub-surface cut and cover lines	Maximum depths below ground level	East London line – (Wapping) – 18.3 metres (60ft)
Central London	Deepest stations below street level	Northern line – Bank (DLR concourse) – 41.4 metres (136ft)
Outer London	Deepest stations below street level	Northern line – Hampstead – 58.5 metres (192ft)

Depots

Bakerloo line	Stonebridge Park
Central line	West Ruislip/Hainault/White City
Circle / Hammersmith & City line	Hammersmith
District line	Ealing Common/Upminster
Jubilee line	Stratford Market
Metropolitan line	Neasden
Northern line	Golders Green/Morden
Piccadilly line	Northfields/Cockfosters
Victoria line	Northumberland Park
Waterloo & City line	Waterloo

Most distant places served

Approximate distances from central London

Epping to Liverpool Street 27km (16 miles) – North

Morden to Moorgate 16km (10 miles) – South

Upminster to Tower Hill 25km (15 miles) – East

Chesham to Aldgate 47km (29 miles) – West

Distances

Longest distance between stations	Metropolitan line – Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer – 6.3km (3.89 miles)
Shortest distance between stations	Piccadilly line – Leicester Square to Covent Garden – 0.3km (0.161 miles)
Longest continuous tunnel	Northern line – East Finchley to Morden (via Bank) – 27.8km (17.3 miles)
Longest journey without change	Central line – West Ruislip to Epping – 54.9km (34.1 miles)

Length of route : Owned/managed

Single lines	12km (seven miles)
Double lines	355km (220 miles)
Triple lines	5km (three miles)
Quadruple lines and over	30km (19 miles)
Total lines	402km (249 miles)

Length of route: In tunnel

Sub-surface cut and cover	32km (20 miles)
Deep level Tube	149km (93 miles)
Totals	181km (113 miles)
Proportion of route in tunnel	45 per cent

Underground lines

Bakerloo line	Elephant & Castle to Harrow & Wealdstone – 23km (14.5 miles) – serves 25 stations
Central line	Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip to Woodford (via Hainault) or Epping – 74km (46 miles) – serves 49 stations
Circle line	Connects to most of London’s National Rail termini – 27km (17 miles) – serves 36 stations
Hammersmith & City line	Hammersmith to Barking – 25.5km (16 miles) – serves 29 stations
District line	Upminster and Ealing Broadway to Richmond or Wimbledon, with other branches to Edgware Road and Olympia – 64km (40 miles) – serves 60 stations
Jubilee line	Stanmore to Stratford – 36km (22.5 miles) – serves 27 stations
Metropolitan line	Aldgate to Amersham, with branches to Chesham, Watford and Uxbridge – 67km (41.5 miles) – serves 34 stations
Northern line	Morden to Edgware, Mill Hill East or High Barnet, with two central London branches – 58km (36 miles) – serves 50 stations
Piccadilly line	Cockfosters to Heathrow or Uxbridge – 71km (44.3 miles) – serves 53 stations
Victoria line	Walthamstow Central to Brixton – 21km (13.3 miles) – serves 16 stations
Waterloo & City line	Waterloo to Bank – 2.4km (1.5 miles) – no intermediate stations

Generating stations’ installed capacity

Greenwich Gas Turbine Plant – 105MW (Megawatts)

Fuel consumption for year

197,077 litres gasoil

Resource use

Total electricity supplied	1,163 (Gigawatt hours) Percentage of energy used which is renewable: 17 per cent Carbon efficiency: 78.9g CO2/passenger km travelled
Energy efficiency	143 Watts-hours/passenger km travelled
Water used each year	624m litres

Recycling and waste management

Station, depot and office waste generated	12,385 tonnes
Station, depot and office waste recycled	74 per cent
Construction and demolition waste generated	183,456 tonnes
Construction and demolition waste recycled	92 per cent

Wildlife and habitats

LU manages about 10 per cent of all green spaces in London.
Wildlife observed on the Tube network

Woodpeckers, deer,
sparrowhawk, bats,
grass snakes, great
crested newts, slow worm

Pumping systems

Number of individual pumps	1,125
Number of installations	714
Daily discharge	Over 47 million litres water per day – enough to fill a standard leisure centre swimming pool(25 metres x 10 metres)every 15 minutes