Something you get used to pretty quickly here in London is the predictably unpredictable nature of public transportation here. In the case of trains, there is the London Underground, the London Overground and National Rail – all of which are connected some ways, and in others could not be farther apart. I have a romantic love for parts of the London Underground. I would marry the Piccadilly line if I could, even though I do not live anywhere near close to that line. However, the pace at which there are mass closures and upgrades makes one’s head spin in ways that you can’t imagine.
The London Underground, or the Tube as it is affectionately known, is one of the marvels of modern transportation engineering. Started as the Metropolitan Railway in the 1840’s, it was designed as a way to funnel people quickly through the narrow streets of London, underground and in a relatively predictable manner. There was a major run on developing many different lines through the city, none of which really had any organized way of urban planning or overall design. This resulted in some of the haphazard lines running in strange ways with no rhyme, reason or linkages to each other. Originally, the train stock was steam, with a later conversion to electric trains around the turn of the century. The electrification allowed for more capacity and overall focus on service delivery. I could write multiple entries on the Underground alone, and most likely will at a later date.
There has been a lot of focus on improvement of the reliability of the equipment of most of the lines, stations and trains with the Olympics happening here in Summer 2012. There are specific lines that need work or are never predictably reliable. Specifically, the Hammersmith and City line and the Jubilee line are two lines that go down like a two dollar hooker. Ironically, they are the oldest and newest train stocks, respectively, in the entire network. (I do not count the Waterloo and City line, as I think it has been operational once in the past five years). Interestingly, what tube stop that you live near can make your life easier, or harder as the case may be. If you move here, what zone you live in impacts how quickly you can get to and from the central city or what resources you may have at your disposal in a quick fashion.
In a nutshell, here’s a description of the lines in Central London which may be helpful if you travel here.
Bakerloo line – Short for Baker Street to Waterloo, which were the examples of its original termination points. It is almost always reliable and runs from south of the river at Elephant and Castle up to some northern suburbs. One of the unfortunate things about the Bakerloo line is that it has some of the loudest trains, especially when they put on the brakes. It’s a bit maddening, sort of like nails on a chalkboard for three straight minutes while coming into a station.
Central Line – The Central line runs, you guessed it, right through central London, mostly under Bayswater Road, Oxford Street and New Oxford Street and then out to the distant eastern and western suburbs. This one is the closest to my flat, gets me from the West End or to Notting Hill Gate or Holland Park to my flat in about 10 minutes. I never have issues on the Central line other than overcrowding on a morning rush hour. Most of their deep level stations are decorated with the original white subway tile from the 1890’s.
Circle Line – The Circle line used to actually run in a circle, but now, the route looks like a backwards number nine. It was actually nice before that it would go in a circle. Now, you have to change at Paddington or Edgware Road to switch to the other train that will take you in a circular direction. Most of these stations are above ground or with high retaining walls, shared with the District line and the Hammersmith and City line. It basically makes a big circle around Central London, hitting most of the major National Rail stations like Victoria, Paddington, Euston and King’s Cross St. Pancras. Unfortunately, this is one of the most popular tourist and commuter lines and is usually consistently busy. Also, the Circle Line is one of the most unreliable and uncomfortable. I usually avoid it if I can.
District Line – The District Line is less of a line than it is an octopus. There are arms of the District Line that go all over the western, central and eastern parts of Metropolitan London. If you so chose, you could go from Wimbledon in the south west, through Earl’s Court out to Upminster in the far northeast. The District line shares tracks and train stock with the Hammersmith and City line and the Circle Line, so, you could be in for a treat of unbearable delays based on the color of your shirt or a change in the weather. It is very convenient when it is up, however.
Hammersmith and Shitty Line – No, that is exactly what it is. Old trains, never reliable and closed almost every weekend for refurbishment. One would think that I would like it because it is colored pink on the map. But, sadly, no. Avoid this line at all costs, unless you have to take the Metropolitan line which is also unbearable. Problem is, that these lines represent the northern cross London east-west route. You’re pretty much screwed if you live by Farringdon or Barbican. Walk to a Central Line station if you can.
Jubilee Line – Ah, the young upstart that is pretty much run in an automated way. I know it sounds rather Jetsons-ish, but, on the contrary. Though the Jubilee line has been in place since 1979, and has the newest equipment, the Jubilee line has signal failures, coordination failures and equipment failures more often than my 1976 Ford LTD did in High School. When it works, it is very convenient, fast and clean and can get you to Canary Wharf in minutes from Central London. It is also one of the lines that will run out to the Olympic park in Stratford in Summer 2012.
Metropolitan Line – The Metropolitan Line seems more like a suburban railway than an underground line, as most of the stations are above ground. The cars seem more like a rundown railway, with very old trains than a tube line that seems. It does not go to many places that I go, so, I seldom take it. If you want to go to some places that are very far out from central London, the Metropolitan Line will take you there.
Northern Line – The Northern Line seems like it should be two separate lines – one via Bank and one via Charing Cross Station. It almost looks like a braided chain on the map. It goes north/south from the south side of the river up through the City and Central London. It’s a great way to get to places on the south side of the river, since I have friends who live in Clapham. Usually, there are few issues, however, changing at some stations can be challenging due to how deep the tunnels are.
Piccadilly Line – My favorite line goes from Heathrow and Uxbridge to Cockfosters. Any place called Cockfosters is up there in my book, both because I have the sense of humor of a ten year old boy, and I’m gay. It sounds like the name of an Australian Bathhouse and Beer Bar. Joking aside, it provides a cheap way to get from Heathrow Airport to many places in Central London. It stops at some significant tourist destinations like Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park Corner, Harrods, and King’s Cross/St. Pancras. The line seems to be the one that has very few problems when you hear “There is a good service on the Piccadilly Line.” You hardly hear that it’s not working. There are also some architecturally significant designed stations by Charles Holden on the Piccadilly Line, given that there was some major growth on the line in the suburbs in the 1930’s. Some of the stations, like Southgate, Arnos Grove and Sudbury Town are excellent examples of quality, clean lines and Art Deco combined with Arts and Crafts. I’ll most likely do a separate blog entry about that architecture as I go tour those stations.
Victoria Line – The Victoria Line was the first automated railway in the world, and the first deep line tunnel underground line in 60 years when it opened. It works pretty consistently and makes a solid loop from the south side of the river to Walthamstow Central at the north. At parts of it, it forms an express line that runs similarly to the Bakerloo line, for commuters going from Baker Street to Victoria.
Waterloo and City Line – I am not going to rant about this one, but, here’s a little story. I visited London around twelve times over the past five years prior to moving here. In those five years, I never once saw the Waterloo and City Line open. Not once. It was always under refurbishment or down. It is pretty much an express tram from Waterloo Station to Bank Station, enabling commuters to get to the City as quickly as possible. Otherwise, that trip would be a bit unbearable, having to go through eight stops and one or two changes.
Later on, I’ll talk about the Crossrail Projects, National Rail and the London Overground – all of which are generating a ton of infrastructure work in the current days especially as the time of the Olympics grows nearer.
Mind the gap!
American Expat in London 
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