The London Underground...

Today it was off to London on a special college day trip and, even with the greatest will in the world, taking a vehicle into the City Centre (especially a minibus!) is never the best plan! Therefore, we opted to leave the minibus parked at Watford High Street station, taking the "Overground" service to Wembley before changing to the famous "London Underground".

Serving 270 stations across 11 different track routes, the London Underground is a hugely successful 'mass transport system' serving the capital beautifully on a day-to-day basis. The first section of the line opened in 1863 and trains now operate a network which includes around 250 miles of track! Trains run at extremely regular intervals and, in most cases, the stations are shaped as tunnels, giving the network the nickname, "The Tube". Todya we used the "Bakerloo Line", 14.5 mile section of line which serves 25 stations in total. We used the section between "Oxford Circus" and "Queens Park" today, as well as using the Circle Line system around "Embankment" & "Temple". The underground system allows the hustle & bustle of the thriving city centre to be left far above (as it were!) with the trains running below the road and the ever-compiling traffic jams! Although the views from the carriage window are somewhat, shal we say, "boring"(!), the amount of mileage covered in such a short space of time with great ease more than makes up for this! Fantastic! Trains on the network are powered by electricity, normally conducted by an extra-rail at the trackside. Though electric, some of the stock on the network is by no means new! For example, on the Bakerloo Line today, we rode on in 1972 stock! Great stuff!

Though not something I would normally be interested in, the London Underground is well worth note in my book! It provides fantastic transport links around the capital avoiding congestion, noise, crowds and of course, the weather (though the heat in the very deep tunnels in on the "Bakerloo" can get very warm at times. i.e. today!). So, next time you step onto a London Underground train, think about the fantastically simple and often overlooked service that is provides. When you think about it, YOU would be the one stuck on the traffic-jammed buses on the crowded roads above if it was not for the Underground! The system celebrated its Centenary in March 2006 therefore, its provided a fantastic 103 year old service so far(!) and, long may it continue! More posts coming soon! Night All!...