Metro London: scheme, tariffs, operating mode

The uniqueness of the London Underground is not only in its venerable age, but also in an exceptional extent. And this is a successful object from the commercial point of view, which brings millions of the city treasury.

Business in British

Enterprising Englishmen were able to convert even such seemingly trifle, as a logo. Even the London metro scheme is sold as a souvenir! Today, the symbol of the subway is recognized anywhere in the world. It became a full-fledged business card of the country's capital.

Local people call their subway a pipe. All because of the specific shape of the interior spaces of the vestibules. At the moment, underground transport carries more than three million passengers daily. The length of the tunnels is about 400 kilometers. But how many subway stations are in London? There are exactly 275 of them!

The prototype of the modern metro was the corridor, which was built directly under the Thames river channel for two decades before the official works began. In the process of digging, the father and son of Brunel tried various ways of working out the ground masses, but settled on what the miners used.

The Metropolitan in Numbers

The history of the world metro begins on January 9, 1863. It was on this day between the two stations that the first underground train was launched and successfully passed its way. Taking the passengers from the Paddington station, he took them to Farrington Street.

For the construction of this site it was necessary to open the roadbed. A brick tunnel was built, after which the city was returned to the highway and sidewalks. Five years later, the capital has already acquired its own branch of the metro. She led from the Westminster area to the south of Kensington. It was a kind of Christmas gift to the inhabitants of the metropolis.

In 1869, the main tunnel was laid under the river Thames, which connected two banks. A year later, electric lighting appeared on all subway stations. In 1911, he earned an escalator, a London metro scheme was developed.

In 1977, the British Queen personally opened a transport connection at the station "Central Heathrow", which became the connecting link between the city and international terminals of the main air gates of the country.

Current tariffs

The method of pricing in the metro of London differs from the system adopted in Russia. The whole subway is conditionally divided into segments. There are six in total. Each of them has its own price for travel. Therefore, when traveling in the city by underground transport, you should follow the London metro scheme with the zones.

It will help to make the most rational route and minimize the number of transplants and transfers from one line to another. All these factors will directly affect travel costs.

The average cost of the trip is 4,5 £. For the economical, a special Oyster program is provided. First, you have to give 5 pounds, which can be returned by providing the used smart card to the cashier of the subway. This is the collateral value. The points of sale are indicated on the London metro map. To use it for payment, you must transfer any amount of money to the account, and then replenish the balance on time.

Operating mode

The metro station takes the first passengers at half past five in the morning. However, some trains start moving along the stations of the subway much earlier. Most of the lobbies are closed by 1am. The terminal points function a little longer. You can get acquainted with the conditions of entry and exit on the London metro map.

In the days of national celebrations and important sport events, the metro moves to a 24-hour mode of operation. During the Olympic Games, which took place in London in 2012, the trains cruised through the tunnels without interruption.