The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. At the turn of the nineteenth century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield—enabled new companies to construct a series of "tube" lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding, eventually consolidating under the single ownership of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), with lines stretching across London.
In 1933, the UK Government amalgamated the UERL and the Metropolitan Railway as a single organisation, named the London Passenger Transport Board. The London Underground has since passed through a series of administrations, expanding further by the construction of new extensions and through the acquisition of existing main line routes, culminating in its current form as part of Transport for London, the capital's current transport administration, controlled by the Greater London Authority.
This timeline lists significant dates in the history of the network. Station names shown are current names; many stations have previously had different names.
1820s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020sSee also Notes References__NOTOC__
1820s
1825Using his patented tunnelling shield, Marc Brunel begins construction of the Thames Tunnel under the River Thames between Wapping and Rotherhithe. Progress is slow and will be halted a number of times before the tunnel is completed.Day & Reed 2008, p. 34.
1840s 1843The Thames Tunnel opens as a pedestrian tunnel.Day & Reed 2008, p. 37. 1845Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City of London, begins promoting the idea of an underground railway to bring passenger and goods services into the centre of the city.Wolmar 2004, p. 8.
1850s 1854Metropolitan Railway (MR) is incorporated and granted powers to construct an underground railway from Paddington to Farringdon. 1856Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) opens a line from Leyton to Loughton.
1860s
1860Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway (A&BR) is incorporated. 1862Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) is incorporated to build a railway between Finsbury Park and Edgware. 1863MR opens the first underground railway in the world.Rose 1999. 1864MR opens the Hammersmith & City Railway, its first extensions to Hammersmith and to Kensington Olympia. District Railway (DR) is incorporated.Day & Reed 2008, p. 20. North Western and Charing Cross Railway (NW&CCR) granted powers to construct an underground line from Euston to Charing Cross.Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 10. 1865MR extends to Moorgate. East London Railway (ELR) purchases the Thames Tunnel for conversion to a railway tunnel. ECR extends to Ongar. 1867EH&LR opens between Finsbury Park and Edgware.Beard 2002, p. 6. 1868MR opens the Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway, a short branch northward from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage, the first section of the company's eventual extensions into Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. DR opens between South Kensington and Westminster. The MR extends to connect to the DR at South Kensington and both companies operate services over the other's tracks. A&BR opens between Aylesbury and Verney Junction.Day & Reed 2008, p. 32. 1869DR extends from Gloucester Road to West Brompton. ELR opens between New Cross Gate and Wapping. First use of Thames Tunnel for trains. London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opens line from West London Line to Richmond. NW&CCR plans are abandoned.
1870s
1870Tower Subway opens, briefly, using a cabled-hauled carriage before conversion to pedestrian use. Constructed using a circular tunnelling shield developed by Peter W. Barlow and James Henry Greathead and lined with segmental cast-iron rings, this short tunnel under the River Thames successfully demonstrated new tunnelling techniques that would be used to construct most of the subsequent underground lines in London.Wolmar 2004, pp. 131–132. DR extends from Westminster to Blackfriars. 1871DR extends from Blackfriars to Mansion House. Euston, St Pancras and Charing Cross Railway revives NW&CCR's plans for an underground line from Euston to Charing Cross and changes its name to London Central Railway (LCR).Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 11–12. Brill Tramway opens between the A&BR's station at Quainton Road and Wood Siding. 1872Brill Tramway extends to Brill. DR extends from Earl's Court to Kensington Olympia. Great Northern Railway (GNR) extends E&HLR from East Finchley to High Barnet. 1873GNR extends EH&LR from Highgate to Alexandra Palace. 1874DR extends from Earl's Court to Hammersmith. City of London financiers establish Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway to complete the Inner Circle by linking the DR's terminus at Mansion House with the MR's planned terminus at Aldgate.Day & Reed 2008, p. 27. LCR plans are abandoned. 1875MR extends to Liverpool Street. 1876MR extends to Aldgate. ELR extends from Whitechapel to Shoreditch. 1877DR extends from Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR at Ravenscourt Park. DR and MR commence services over the L&SWR to Richmond. 1879MR extends to Willesden Green. MR takes over Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway. DR extends from Turnham Green to Ealing Broadway.
1880s 1880MR extends to Harrow on the Hill. DR extends from West Brompton to Putney Bridge. ELR opens a spur to New Cross (South Eastern Railway) 1882MR extends from Aldgate to Tower of London. 1883DR commences a service over Great Western Railway (GWR) via Slough to Windsor & Eton Central. DR extends from Acton Town to Hounslow Town. 1884City of London and Southwark Subway (CL&SS) established to build a railway from the City of London to Elephant & Castle. DR extends from Osterley & Spring Grove to Hounslow West. MR and DR connect Mansion House with Tower of London, completing the Inner Circle. MR and DR extend east to St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) and connect to ELR with services running to New Cross and New Cross Gate. DR extends to Whitechapel. 1885MR extends to Pinner. DR withdraws Ealing Broadway to Windsor & Eton Central service. 1886DR closes Hounslow Town spur. 1887MR extends to Rickmansworth. 1889MR extends to Chesham. DR connects to L&SWR at East Putney and commences services to Wimbledon.
1890s
1890CL&SS changes name to City and South London Railway (C&SLR), and opens between Stockwell and King William Street, the world's first deep-level underground and electric railway. Central London Railway (CLR) incorporated to build a tube railway from Bank to Shepherd's Bush. 1891MR takes over A&BR between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. 1892MR extends from Chalfont & Latimer to Aylesbury. Great Northern & City Railway (GN&CR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Finsbury Park to Moorgate. 1893Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Strand to Hampstead. Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Waterloo to Baker Street. 1897Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway (B&PCR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Piccadilly Circus to South Kensington. DR obtains powers to construct a tube railway from Gloucester Road to Mansion to run below its sub-surface line. Anarchists bomb a MR train which explodes at Barbican, injuring 60 and killing one. Whitaker Wright's London & Globe Finance Corporation purchases BS&WR.Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 113. 1898City and Brixton Railway granted powers to build a tube railway from King William Street to Brixton. Waterloo and City Railway opens between Waterloo and Bank. 1899Great Northern and Strand Railway (GN&SR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Wood Green to Strand. MR services commence over the Brill Tramway.
1900s
1900C&SLR closes King William Street and extends north to Moorgate and south to Clapham Common. CLR opens between Bank and Shepherd's Bush. Consortium led by Charles Yerkes takes over CCE&HR.Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 94. London & Globe Finance Corporation and BS&WR collapse following Whitaker Wright's fraudulent concealment of large losses.Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 114. 1901C&SLR extends to Angel. Yerkes consortium takes over DR, B&PCR and GN&SR and merges the tube routes to form the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR).Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 118. 1902Yerkes consortium takes over BS&WR. Yerkes establishes the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) as the holding company of the tube lines under his consortium's control. DR extends from Whitechapel to Bromley-by-Bow and commences a service from there over the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway to Upminster. Edgware & Hampstead Railway incorporated to build a railway from Golders Green to Edgware. 1903C&SLR takes over City and Brixton Railway and allows its plans to lapse.Badsey-Ellis 2005, p. 213. DR extends from Ealing Common to South Harrow. DR reopens Hounslow Town spur. Watford and Edgware Railway incorporated to build a railway from Edgware to Watford.Beard 2002, p. 11. CCE&HR takes over Edgware & Hampstead Railway.Beard 2002, p. 10. Great Eastern Railway opens Fairlop Loop from Ilford to Woodford via Hainault. 1904GN&CR opens between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. MR opens branch between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge. Whitaker Wright commits suicide by swallowing cyanide after being convicted of fraud. 1905UERL opens Lots Road Power Station to provide electricity for the DR and the UERL's forthcoming tube lines.Day & Reed 2008, p. 64. MR and DR replace steam trains with electric over majority of routes.Wolmar 2004, pp. 121–126. DR withdraws service between East Ham and Upminster. DR opens branch from Acton Town to South Acton. DR withdraws service between St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) and New Cross. Charles Yerkes dies and is replaced as Chairman of the UERL by Edgar Speyer.Barker 2004 (1). 1906Sir George Gibb becomes Managing Director of UERL. Frank Pick, later Managing Director and Vice Chairman of London Transport, begins work at UERL.Elliot 2004. MR withdraws services between Hammersmith and Richmond. BS&WR opens between Elephant & Castle and Baker Street. It becomes known as the Bakerloo tube. GNP&BR opens between Finsbury Park and Hammersmith. It becomes known as the Piccadilly tube. MR withdraws service between St Mary's (Whitechapel Road) and New Cross, pending electrification of the ELR. 1907Albert Stanley, later Chairman of London Transport, begins work at UERL.Barker 2004 (2). C&SLR extends to Euston. CCE&HR opens between Golders Green, Archway and Charing Cross. It becomes known as the Hampstead tube. Piccadilly tube opens branch from Holborn to Aldwych. Bakerloo tube extends to Edgware Road. 1908CLR extends to Wood Lane. DR restarts service between East Ham and Barking. The underground railway companies begin to use the "Underground" brand for joint marketing.Badsey-Ellis 2005, pp. 282–283. First version of the Underground roundel comes into use—a solid red disk with a bar carrying station names is based on a device used by the London General Omnibus Company. 1909DR closes Hounslow Town spur again.
1910s
1910District line extends from South Harrow to connect to the MR at Rayners Lane and commences services to Uxbridge. District line starts excursion services from Upminster to Southend-on-Sea. Separate managements of the Bakerloo tube, Hampstead tube and Piccadilly tube companies merge into a single company—the London Electric Railway (LER).Day & Reed 2008, p. 79. The lines continue to be identified by individual names. 1911First escalators come into use at Earl's Court.Wolmar 2004, p. 182.