London UndergroundThe London Underground is a metro system that covers the Greater London area and beyond. It is an electric railway and, despite its name, runs both above and below ground.The London Underground usually referred to by Londoners as either "the Underground" or, more familiarly, "the Tube", owing to the cylindrical shape of its deep-bore tunnels. It is the oldest underground system and one of the three largest in the world. Operations on the London Underground began on 10 January 1863 on the Metropolitan Railway; most of the initial route is now part of the Hammersmith & City Line. The London Underground (see Map) currently serves 275 stations and runs over 253 miles (408 km) of lines. There are also a number of stations and tunnels that are now closed. In 2004–2005, total passenger rides or journeys reached a record level of 976 million, an average of 2.67 million per day. Since 2003, the London Underground has been part of Transport for London (TfL), which also administers London's buses, including the famous red double-decker buses, and carries out numerous other transport-related functions in the capital. Previously, London Regional Transport was the holding company for London.
The London Underground does not run 24 hours a day because all track maintenance must be done at night after the system closes (unlike systems such as the New York City Subway, only a very few parts of the London Underground have express tracks that would allow trains to be rerouted around maintenance sites). Recently, greater use has been made of weekend closures of parts of the system to allow scheduled engineering works. London Underground uses Transport for London's Travelcard zones to calculate fares, including fares for use on the Underground only. Travelcard Zone 1 is the most central, with a boundary just beyond the Circle Line and Travelcard Zone 6 is the most outlying and includes London Heathrow Airport.All of Greater London is covered by zones 1 to 6, although London Underground stations in the outlying reaches of the Metropolitan Line outside Greater London are in the special zones A to D. There are staffed ticket offices open for limited periods and ticket machines usable at any time. While some machines which sell a limited number of tickets accept only coins, other touch-screen ticket machines will accept coins and English paper money—though not Northern Irish or Scottish notes—in good condition, and usually give change. These machines also accept major credit and debit cards and some newer machines will accept payment only by card. If you need to get around the city quickly then the London Underground is definately the quickest way to travel. Further information can be found on the London Underground official website.
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