Celebrating the World's Oldest Underground Rail System

January 10 is the birthday of the world's oldest (successful) public underground rail system. The London Underground opened 1863 with trains running every ten minutes. The noisy steam engines carried 40,000 passengers between Paddington and Farringdon that day, and transformed our thinking of urban design. The electric underground railway line was added in 1890, and London's system was given the affectionate name, The Tube.

^{Photo: The London Underground Railway, ©Transport for London 2005}