Signal failures, engineering works and leaves on the track are just a few of the daily challenges that get our teeth gnashing and blood pressure boiling. Having spent many memorable hours stuck on the Met Line, a two-hour tour of the tube may seem like a strange choice for an afternoon out of the office. But love it or loathe it, life without the London Underground would be hard to imagine and compared to our predecessors, we’ve never had it so good.
Armed with our Oyster Cards, we meet our guide Michelle in a strangely serene Paddington station. Descending into “the depths of hell”, as accurately depicted by one Victorian preacher, we’re teleported back to an underworld where no lines connect and arbitrary pricing structures are the order of the day. For first class commuters, the pain would be eased by a fine scotch served on a mahogany table in a world a million miles away from the dark and airless cattle trucks in third class a few carriages down.
Just like today, each line had its own quirks. The Met line’s exclusive pricing policy earned it the nickname the “snob” line while today’s heaving Central Line enjoyed a more risqué reputation as the route to the debauched West End. It was also the only line which refused to stop for Sunday Church services.
Keeping to the right as we whizzed down to Westminster, we spared a thought for our Victorian predecessors who would brace themselves for the ascent with a generous swig of smelling salts, thoughtfully placed at each end of the escalator. Torn dresses were a frequent complaint of the day.
It was also fascinating to learn that London Underground’s ubiquitous colour-coded lines and mosaic tiles were introduced to help the largely illiterate population navigate their way round the network. The example below from Oxford Circus was to become the template for today’s distinctive London Underground roundel.
But what of the future? By 2020, it’s likely our daily commutes will be conducted by a fully automated system of driver-less trains – a move which may prove as daunting as the arrival of the escalators. Whether we’ll experience fewer signal failures or engineering works by then still remains to be seen.
Tube tours take place every Monday and Friday at 2.00pm from Paddington Station. To book visit: www.insider-london.co.uk
See my previous post for tips on how to transform your commute.