Which city was the first to have an underground railroad?

The world's first underground railway opened in London in 1863, as a way of reducing street congestion. Here is a very short history of the Underground.



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In the early 1800s, Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper set up a network in Philadelphia that helped enslaved people on the run.

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Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, safely escorts escaped enslaved people to freedom in Canada. Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels!

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The first subway system was proposed for London by Charles Pearson, a city solicitor, as part of a city-improvement plan shortly after the opening of the Thames Tunnel in 1843.

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The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, situated in the English city of Leeds. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd.

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The Underground Railroad was secret. Nothing was written down about where to go or who would help. So once enslaved people decided to make the journey to freedom, they had to listen for tips from other enslaved people, who might have heard tips from other enslaved people.

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7 Facts About the Underground Railroad
  • The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad. ...
  • People used train-themed codewords on the Underground Railroad. ...
  • The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it harder for enslaved people to escape. ...
  • Harriet Tubman helped many people escape on the Underground Railroad.


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Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

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In the 1700 and 1800s, major rivers were known as Freedom Roads, and if you explore the Roanoke River in Halifax County, you'll find pieces of the Underground Railroad's history still standing today.

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The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway recounts the life story of Harriet Tubman – freedom seeker, Underground Railroad conductor, abolitionist, suffragist, human rights activist, and one of Maryland's most famous daughters.

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Canada, one of the final safe havens for many fugitive slaves, was called the 'Promised Land' (Although Canada was the destination that many runaway enslaved individuals strived to reach, it was not the only destination for those escaping.

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The railroad was first developed in Great Britain. A man named George Stephenson successfully applied the steam technology of the day and created the world's first successful locomotive.

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The London Underground first opened as an underground railway in 1863 and its first electrified underground line opened in 1890, making it the world's oldest metro system.

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