How did the Victorians build the London Underground?

The line was built just below street level using a technique known as 'cut and cover'. A trench about ten metres wide and six metres deep was dug. Brick walls were then constructed, and the cutting roofed over with a brick arch. A two-metre deep layer of topsoil was laid on top and the road above was rebuilt.



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It has been over 90 years since the extensions to the Northern Line were dug by hand. Today there are 8 monster tunnel machines, 1000 tons a piece, digging out tunnels underneath London. With Crossrail's machines digging as deep as 40 meters the effects of ground settlement must be assessed and monitored.

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About half of the underground lines, in terms of length, are actually on the surface when out of the central area. It is easier and safer to dig at depth in London because of the nature of the soil and to avoid other infrastructure and the Thames.

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Our network includes 272 functioning Tube stations, but at least another 40 Overground and Underground stations exist that are no longer used for travel.

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Metropolitan line Opened in 1863, The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon was the first, urban, underground railway in the world. An extension from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage in 1868, however, put an end to this claim to fame.

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Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened on 10 January 1863.

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Opening in 1863 as Metropolitan Railway, the Metropolitan line includes the oldest underground railway in the world and starting the whole of the London Underground network.

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The current operator, London Underground Limited (LUL), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in London.

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Its history is linked to both the oldest line on the Underground, the Metropolitan, and the youngest, the Jubilee.

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The Shanghai Metro is the world's longest metro network at 803 kilometres (499 mi) and has the highest annual ridership at 2.83 billion trips.

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The Waterloo and City Line was opened in 1898 and is just two miles long, making it the shortest line in the system. The line is served by two stations both of which are situated underground at deep level.

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The bunker goes to the Old War Office (used by Winston Churchill during the war). The Postmaster General's tunnel stretches to the working-class East End in a network of secret underground tunnels complete with more than 30 gears and a dozen elevators.

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