London Transport Trivia

Below you will find many fascinating, interesting and unbelievable facts

 about London's Transport system.

If you know of any trivia that I have missed, or if you spot an error, please, get in touch.

Obviously, with upgrades, new stations, extensions and the ever-changing city, these figures are likely to change, but were correct at the time of writing.

A

• Acton has the most stations, of any town, with seven: Acton Central (Mildmay), Acton Main Line (Elizabeth), Acton Town (District & Piccadilly), East Acton (Central), North Acton (Central), South Acton (Mildmay), West Acton (Central)
• Acton Town is the first station, alphabetically
• Acton Town was originally called Mill Hill Park
• Albert Gunter 'jumped' his No. 78 bus over Tower Bridge as it was opening, to avoid a catastrophe, in December 1952.
• Alcohol was banned on the network in June 2008
• Aldgate station is built on a plague pit where over 1,000 bodies were buried, in 1665
• Alperton was originally called Perivale-Alperton
• Amersham is the highest station above sea level, at 150 metres (492 feet)
• Angel station has the longest escalators on the network, and in the UK, with a vertical rise of 27 metres (90 feet) and a length of 61 metres (200 feet)
• Archway was originally called Highgate, then Archway (Highgate), then Highgate (Archway)
• Arnos Grove station was inspired by the Stockholm Public Library
• Arsenal was originally called Gillespie Road, then Arsenal (Highbury Hill)

B

• Baker Street has the most platforms, with 10
• Bakerloo line has 25 stations
• Bakerloo line is 23.2 km (14.4 miles) long
• Bakerloo line opened on March 10, 1906
• Balham is the only station on the network that contains none of the letters from the word ‘underground’
• Bank station has two moving walkways
• Bank was originally called City
• Barbican was originally called Aldersgate Street, then Aldersgate, then Aldersgate & Barbican
• Bayswater became Bayswater (Queen's Road) & Westbourne Grove, then Bayswater (Queen's Road), with the suffix gradually dropped 
• Becontree was originally called Gale Street
• Boston Manor was originally called Boston Road
• Brent Cross was originally called Brent
• British Museum (disused) sits between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn, but it hasn’t been used since 1932
• Bromley-by-Bow was originally called Bromley
• Burnt Oak became Burnt Oak (for Watling), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Bus route 24 is London's oldest, still running bus route, between Pimlico and Hampstead Heath

C

• Cable Car has 2 stations
• Cable Car is 3,600 ft (1.100 m) long
• Cable Car opened on July 4, 2012
• Canons Park was originally called Canons Park (Edgware)
• Central line has 49 stations
• Central line has the longest single journey, from West Ruislip to Epping, at 54.5 km (34 miles)
• Central line is the longest underground line at 74 km (46 miles) long
• Central line opened on July 30, 1900
• Chalfont & Latimer to Chesham is the longest distance between stations, at 6.3 km (3.9 miles)
• Chalfont & Latimer was originally called Chalfont Road
• Chancery Lane became Chancery Lane (Grays Inn), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Chancery Lane has the shortest escalator, which has only 50 steps
• Charing Cross (Bakerloo line) was originally called Trafalgar Square
• Charing Cross has the most exits to street level, with 13
• Charing Cross was created in 1979, when Trafalgar Square and Strand stations were merged
• Charles Holden took inspiration from the Moscow Metro for his design of Gants Hill station
• Chesham is the furthest station from central London, at 40 km (25 miles)
• Chesham is the most northerly station on the network
• Chesham is the most westerly station on the network
• Chiswick Park was originally called Acton Green, then Chiswick Park & Acton Green
• Chorleywood was originally called Chorley Wood, then Chorley Wood & Chenies, before becoming Chorleywood
• Circle line has 36 stations
• Circle line is 27 km (17 miles) long
• Circle line opened in 1863, but wasn't completed until 1884. It became the Circle line in 1936
• Circle line stopped being a true circle in 2009
• Clapham North was originally called Clapham Road
• Cockney rhyming slang for the Tube is ‘The Oxo’, as in 'Oxo cube'
• Covent Garden to Leicester Square is the shortest journey on the network, with the platforms just 260 metres (853 feet) apart
• Croxley was originally called Croxley Green

D

• Dagenham East was originally called Dagenham
• Dagenham Heathway was originally called Heathway
• Debden was originally called Chigwell Road, then Chigwell Lane
• District line has the most stations, with 60
• District line is 64 km (40 miles) long
• District line opened on December 24, 1868
• District line rail maps were originally published, in the 19th century, with the maxim 'Time is Money' on the cover.
• Docklands Light Railway has 45 stations
• Docklands light Railway is 38 km (24 miles) long
• Docklands Light Railway opened on August 31, 1987
• Down Street station (disused) was used as a bunker, by Winston Churchill, during World War II

E

• Ealing Common became Ealing Common & West Acton, before returning to Ealing Common
• Earl's Court had the network's first escalator installed, in 1911
• Edward Johnston designed the font used by London Underground, in 1916
• Elizabeth line has 41 stations
• Elizabeth line is 117 km (73 miles) long
• Elizabeth line opened on Mat 24, 2022
• Escalators across the network travel the equivalent distance of twice around the world, every year
• Epping has the largest car park on the network, with 599 spaces
• Epping is the most northeasterly station
• Euston Square was originally called Gower Street

F

• Farringdon was originally called Farringdon Street, then Farringdon & High Holborn
• Finchley Central was originally called Finchley & Hendon, then Finchley, then Finchley (Church End)
• Finchley Central southbound platform has a framed tube map, from 1933, on display
• Frank Pick was chief executive officer and vice-chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board from its creation in 1933 until 1940
• Fulham Broadway was originally called Walham Green

G

• Gloucester Road was originally called Brompton (Gloucester Road)
• Goodge Street was originally called Tottenham Court Road
• Great Portland Street was originally called Portland Road, then Great Portland Street, then Great Portland Street & Regent's Park
• Green Park was originally called Dover Street
• Gunnersbury station was damaged by a tornado, in 1954
• Gunnersbury was originally called Brentford Road

H

• Hammersmith & City line is the only line not to have any unique stations. All of its 29 stations are shared with another underground line
• Hammersmith & City line opened on January 10, 1863
• Hammersmith & City line is 25.5 km (15.8 miles) long
• Hampstead station has the deepest lift shaft, at 55.2 metres (181 feet)
• Hampstead station has the most stairs, with a total of 320 steps
• Hampstead station is the deepest, at 58.5 metres (191 feet) below ground
• Hannah Dadds was the first female Tube driver, beginning her driving career in 1978
• Harold Stabler designed bespoke tiles to be used at five underground stations: Aldgate East, Bethnal Green, St John's Wood, St Paul's and Swiss Cottage
• Harrow & Wealdstone was originally called Harrow
• Harrow-on-the-Hill was originally called Harrow
• Harry Beck based his Tube map design on an electrical circuit diagram and was reportedly paid five Guineas
• Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 was originally called Heathrow Central, then Heathrow Central Terminals 1, 2, 3, then Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3
• Highbury & Islington was originally called Highbury
• Hillingdon became Hillingdon (Swakeleys), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Hobbs End station, part of the Central line extension in Knightsbridge, is a fictional station from the film 'Quatermass and the Pit'
• Holborn became Holborn (Kingsway), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Hounslow Central was originally called Heston Hounslow
• Hounslow East was originally called Hounslow Town
• Hounslow West was originally called Hounslow Barracks

I

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J

• Jerry Springer, a former TV personality, was born inside Highgate station, where his mother took shelter during an Air Raid.
• Jill Viner was London's first female bus driver
• Joseph Clough, known as Joe to his friends and family, was London's first Black bus driver
• Jubilee line has 27 stations
• Jubilee line is 36.2 km (22,5 miles) long
• Jubilee line is the only line to connect with all other Underground lines
• Jubilee line opened on May 1, 1979. The line wasn't completed until December 1999
• Jubilee line platforms at Westminster are the deepest platforms below sea level, at 32 metres (105 feet)

K

• Kensington (Olympia) was originally called Kensington, then Kensington (Addison Road)
• Kilburn was originally called Kilburn and Brondesbury
• King's Cross St Pancras is the underground station served by the most lines: Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria
• Kingly Court Underground station is a fictional location used as the theme for the Cahoots cocktail bar in Soho

L

• Ladbroke Grove was originally called Notting Hill, then Notting Hill & Ladbroke Grove, then Ladbroke Grove (North Kensington), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Lambeth North was originally called Kennington Road, then Westminster Bridge Road
• Leyton was originally called Low Leyton
• Liberty line has 3 stations
• Liberty line is 5.4 km (3.4 miles) long
• Lioness line has 20 stations
• Lioness line is 35 km (21.7 miles) long
• Liverpool Street station is built upon an ancient burial, where 3,000 skeletons were discovered, in 2015
• Liverpool Street was originally called Bishopsgate
• London Clay, through which the underground was dug, had a temperature of 14°C (57.2°F), in 1863. In 2025, the London Clay, surrounding the underground lines, had a temperature of 26°C (78.8°F). This is because the clay stores heat from the passing trains and the people using the platforms. There is no way, currently, to reduce the temperature of the clay, which is why the underground gets so hot.

M

• Maida Vale was staffed entirely by women when it opened, in 1915
• Mansion House and South Ealing are the only two underground stations that contain all five vowels
• Marylebone Road to Bank was London's first regular scheduled bus route, beginning in 1829
• Marylebone was originally called Great Central
• Metropolitan and the Waterloo & City lines are the only two lines, on the London Underground, that do not connect at any point
• Metropolitan line has 34 stations
• Metropolitan line is 67 km (36 miles) long
• Metropolitan line is the only line with its own Coat of Arms
• Metropolitan line is the world's oldest underground line
• Metropolitan line opened on January 10, 1863
• Metropolitan line trains can reach speeds of 96 kph (60 mph)
• Mildmay line has 22 stations
• Mildmay line is 19 km (12 miles) long
• Mile End station is so named because it is exactly one mile from the eastern boundary of The City of London
• Mill Hill East was originally called Mill Hill
• "Mind the gap" first originated on the Northern Line, in 1968
• Monument was originally called East Cheap
• Moor Park was originally called Sandy Lodge, then Moor Park & Sandy Lodge
• Moorgate was originally called Moorgate Street
• Morden is the most southwesterly station on the network

N

• Neasden Depot is the largest depot on the London underground, responsible for the maintenance and overhaul of the 191 'S' Stock trains
• Neasden was originally called Kingsbury & Neasden, then Neasden & Kingsbury
• Northern line carries more passengers per year than any other Underground line
• Northern line has 52 stations
• Northern line is 58 km (36 miles) long
• Northern line opened on December 18, 1890
• Northfields was originally called Northfield Halt, then Northfields & Little Ealing
• Northwick Park was originally called Northwick Park & Kenton

O

• Oakwood was originally called Enfield West, then Enfield West (Oakwood)
• On average a Tube train travels 184,269 km (114,500 miles) every year
• Osterley was originally called Osterley & Spring Grove
• Oval was originally called The Oval
• Overground has 113 stations
• Overground is 167 km (103.8 miles) long
• Overground opened on November 11, 2007
• Overground lines were renamed and given distinct colours in 2024
• Oyster Cards were introduced in 2003

P

• 'Park' is the word that appears most on the Tube map
• Park Royal was originally called Park Royal & Tywford Abbey, then Park Royal, then Park Royal (Hanger Hill)
• Penalty fares were introduced in 1994
• Perivale was originally called Perivale Halt
• Piccadilly line has 53 stations
• Piccadilly line is 73.97 km (45.96 miles) long
• Piccadilly line opened on December 15, 1906
• Pimlico station is the only station, on the Victoria line, that does not have an interchange.
• Preston Road was originally called Preston Road Halt for Uxendon and Kenton
• Putney Bridge was originally called Putney Bridge & Fulham, then Putney Bridge & Hurlingham

Q

• Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning royal to take the Tube, in 1969
• Queen's Park was originally called Queen's Park (West Kilburn)
• Queensway was originally called Queen's Road

R

• Ravenscourt Park was originally called Shaftesbury Road
• River Boat Service has 33 stations
• River Boat Service is 59 km (22 miles) long
• River Boat Service opened in 1999
• Roundel, as we know it today, was established by guidelines in a 'Standard Signs Manual', in 1938, although the first Roundel was designed in 1908
• Routemasters first ran on bus route 4

S

• Shepherd's Bush Market was originally called Shepherd's Bush
• Sloane Square has the River Westbourne funnelled above a platform in a large iron pipe, which is suspended from girders
• Snaresbrook was originally called Snaresbrook & Wanstead
• South Ealing and Mansion House are the only two underground stations that contain all five vowels
• South Ruislip was originally called Northolt Junction, then South Ruislip & Northolt Junction
  
• South Wimbledon became South Wimbledon (Merton), with the suffix gradually dropped
• South Woodford was originally called George Lane, then South Woodford (George Lane), with the suffix gradually dropped
• St James's Park is the only Underground station with Grade I listed architecture
• St Paul's was originally called Post Office
• Suffragette line has 13 stations
• Suffragette line is 22 km (13 miles) long
• Suffragette line was known as the GOBLIN (Gospel Oak to Barking LINe) line

T

• TFL Rail had 32 stations
• TFL Rail opened on May 31, 2015 and closed on May 23, 2022
• TFL Rail was 59 km (36 miles) long
• 'The Knowledge' was brought in as a requirement for taxi drivers, in 1865
• Theydon Bois was originally called Theydon
• Tottenham Court Road station, on the Northern line, was used for the chase scene in the film 'An American Werewolf in London'
• Totteridge & Whetstone was originally called Totteridge
• Tower Hill was originally called Tower of London, then Mark Lane
• Tram network has 39 stations
• Tram network is 28 kn (17 miles) long
• Tram network opened on May 10, 2000
• Tube trains travel over 69 million km (43 million miles) every year, which is halfway to the sun

U

• Underground covers 402 km (250 miles)
• Underground has 11 lines
• Underground has 272 stations
• Upminster is the most southeasterly station on the network

V

• Victoria line has 16 stations
• Victoria line is 21 km (13 miles) long
• Victoria line is the only line that has automatic train operation
• Victoria line opened on September 1, 1968

W

• Walthamstow Central was originally called Hoe Street
• Warren Street was originally called Euston Road
• Waterloo & City and the Metropolitan lines are the only two lines, on the London Underground, that do not connect at any point. 
• Waterloo & City line has the fewest stations, with 2
• Waterloo & City line is the shortest line, at 2.37 km (1.47 miles), and takes four minutes
• Waterloo & City line opened on August 8, 1898
• Waterloo station has the most escalators, with 23
• Waterloo station has two moving walkways
• Weaver line has 25 stations
• Weaver line is 28.5 km (17.75 miles) long 
• Wembley Central was originally called Sudbury, then Sudbury & Wembley, then Wembley for Sudbury
• West Ham became West Ham (Manor Road), with the suffix gradually dropped
• West Ham bus garage is the largest bus garage in London and the UK
• West Kensington was originally called North End (Fulham)
• West Ruislip was originally called Ruislip & Ickenham, then West Ruislip (for Ickenham), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Westminster was originally called Westminster Bridge
• Whitechapel was originally called Whitechapel (Mile End)
• Windrush line has 29 stations
• Windrush line is 30-38 km (20-24 miles) long
• Woodside Park is the last station, alphabetically
• Woodside Park was originally called Torrington Park, Woodside, then Woodside Park for North Finchley, then Woodside Park and North Finchley for Woodside Garden Suburb

X

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Y

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Z

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In Numbers

• 4 moving walkways can be found on the network: 2 at Bank and 2 at Waterloo
• 4 stations have the word 'Square' in their names: Euston, Leicester, Russell and Sloane
• 5 London Boroughs are not served by the Underground network: Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton 
• 5 stations lie outside the M25 London Orbital Motorway: Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, Chorleywood, and Epping
• 6 stations are named after pubs: Angel, Elephant & Castle, Manor House, Maida Vale, Royal Oak and Swiss Cottage
• 33 kph (20.5 mph) is the average speed on the Underground
• 33 stations lie south of the River Thames
• 35 stations are outside the London region
• 39 Tram stations
• 45% of the Underground is below ground
• 49 disused, or ghost, stations are spread across the network
• 55% of the Underground is above ground
• 239 stations lie north of the River Thames
• 400 kms (250 miles) of tracks on the network
• 450+ escalators are spread across the network
• 6,300+ traffic lights are manged by TFL
• 9,300+ buses are in the fleet
• 19,000+ bus stops