10 Things you did not know about London Underground
The tube has become a part of every Londoner’s life. Many of us travel by it every day and complain about it even more often, but, we still love it despite the tourists standing on the wrong side of the escalator; the daily delays and the usual weekend line closures.
Here are 10 things you never knew
1. You can get details of the planned line closures at the tfl site or alternatively receive weekend line closure emails by registering with the tfl, so now stay prepared all the time.
2. The Jubilee line was originally going to be called the Fleet line.
3. The Central line covers the longest route – from West Ruislip to Epping you travel 34 miles without changing.
4. The oldest tube line in the world is the Metropolitan line which opened on 10th January 1863.
5. More of the London Underground is open than is in a tunnel. Tell yourself this fact if you suffer from claustrophobia.
6. Bank has more escalators than any other station on the tube – 15 plus two moving walkways – count ‘em!
7. Out of the 287 stations, only 29 are south of the river Thames.
8. All 409 escalators do the equivalent of two round the world trips every week.
9. Angel has Western Europe’s longest escalator – 318 steps.
10. A fragrance called “Madeleine” was introduced at St James Park, Euston and Piccadilly station in an effort to make the tube smell better on 23rd March 2001. It was taken out of action on 24th March 2001 as it was making people feel sick.
Source: http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/254/tubefacts.html
