The Tube

Even as I wander the streets of London today, I realize that the London Underground, also known as the Tube because of the Tube shaped tunnels the trains run through, plays a huge role in a Londoner's daily life. The London Underground first began operating in 1863 in response to an overwhelming amount of traffic on the roads, it was the first underground rail system in the world. The original London Underground had six stops: Waterloo, London Bridge, Euston, Paddington, King's Cross, and Bishopsgate. However, slowly but surely London began expanding its lines as demand grew more and more.
The London Underground first started off as a trolley/ train type system in which the cars were powered by steam, however soon enough the trains transferred over into an electric system. The first system of its kind. As the trains slowly advanced into an electric system, each line (which was owned by a different company at the time) began to construct deep underground tunnels for the trains to cause less disturbance to the people who were above ground.
In 1948 the London Underground was Nationalized and each line became the property of the government. This began the start of what we would call the modern Tube system.

Today, the tube system is owned by TFL (Transport for London) and houses 11 lines that travels all around the city of London, and into some of the suburbs also. It has over 260 stops and about 250 miles of track. Currently the tube is not only used for traveling, but is also used as a means of showing off the art of the city. In each tube station there are not only many independent musicians looking to scrape up some spare change, but there are also posters that exhibit lots of artwork and poetry made up by famous artists and poets such as R. B. Kitaj.

I do not think that London would be a good city to live in if it did not have the tube. Although it is admittedly a little expensive, it really gets you exactly where you want to go and when you want to go.