Metropolitan line

Metropolitan

Colour on map	Magenta
Year opened	1863
Line type	Sub-Surface
Rolling stock	A Stock and S Stock 8 carriages per trainset
Stations served	34
Length	66.7 km (41.4 mi)
Depots	Neasden
Journeys made	53.697 million (2007)
Rail lines of Transport for London  London Underground lines   Bakerloo   Central   Circle   District   Hammersmith & City   Jubilee   Metropolitan   Northern   Piccadilly   Victoria   Waterloo & City Other lines   Docklands Light Railway   Tramlink   Overground

The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. The line currently runs from Aldgate in the City of London to Amersham in Buckinghamshire, with branch lines to Uxbridge, Watford and Chesham, although before 1988 the Hammersmith & City line and the East London line were also branded as the Metropolitan line. The line is coloured in Transport for London's (TfL) Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding.

The current line is below ground for much of the way on the southern section; north of Baker Street, at Finchley Road the line runs in the open. Of the 34 stations served, nine are below ground. It is the ninth busiest line on the network. Baker Street is the central London terminus for many trains, while others continue into the City to terminate at Aldgate.

On 10 January 1863 the Metropolitan Railway opened a line between Paddington and Farringdon. It was as the first underground railway in the world.

The four-track section between Wembley Park and Moor Park allows the running of express or "fast" services to the outer suburbs which can overtake slower stopping trains. The Metropolitan is the only Underground line with this feature; on the others the general rule is "all trains call at all stations".

The Metropolitan line and the Central line are the only two Underground routes with stations outside the boundaries of Greater London and the M25 orbital motorway.

History

Construction of the Metropolitan Railway close to King's Cross station in 1861

Metropolitan Railway (1863-1933)

Main article: Metropolitan Railway

The origins of the Metropolitan line lie with the Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway built in London, in 1863 opening a line between Paddington and Farringdon Street. Opened with steam locomotives and gas-lit wooden carriages, the line was built to connect the capital's main line railway termini. After forming part of the 'inner circle' (today's Circle line), the railway began to build a railway out to the suburbs from Baker Street, reaching Harrow in 1880, and eventually out as far as Verney Junction, over 50 miles (80 kilometres) from Baker Street and the centre of London. The railway started to electrify its routes from 1905. It used electric multiple units on the electrified routes in London, but to serve stations on the unelectrified outer lines coaches would be hauled out of London by an electric locomotive which was changed for a steam locomotive en route. After World War I, the "Metro-land" name promoted the new estates being built near the railway.

London Transport (1933-88)

On 1 July 1933 the Metropolitan amalgamated with other Underground railways, tramway companies and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board. The line was successively rationalised during the following period. The section northwest of Aylesbury was closed in 1936, though services did return to Quainton Road between 1943 and 1948. In 1936 the Metropolitan line was extended from Whitechapel to Barking along the tracks of the District line. In 1939 the Stanmore branch was transferred to the Bakerloo line. (It was subsequently transferred to the Jubilee line when that line opened in 1979.)

Metropolitan line Heraldry

Steam-hauled passenger trains ran north of Rickmansworth until 1961 and maintenance trains until 1972. In September 1961 the London Transport service north of Amersham was withdrawn. Local and semi-fast services from Aylesbury to Harrow had shared the double track with main line expresses of the former Great Central route, so the line north of Harrow-on-the-Hill was quadrupled to Northwood Hills by 1961 and to Croxleyhall Junction (north of Moor Park) by 1962.

Rebranding (1988-)

In 1988, the Hammersmith & City and East London lines were rebranded as separate lines. From this date "Metropolitan line" refers to the route from Aldgate to Baker Street and then northwards, through "Metro-land" to Amersham with a branch to Uxbridge. The East London Line shared stock with the Metropolitan line until its closure in 2007 for conversion into a London Overground line.

In 1998, the infrastructure of the Metropolitan line was partly privatised in a public–private partnership. It is now part of the "Sub-Surface Railways" group, managed along with the Circle, Hammersmith & City and District lines by London Underground Limited, formerly the Metronet consortium.

The Metropolitan Railway, being the first underground railway in the world, has had a major influence on underground railways worldwide. The Paris Métro took its name, in full Chemin de fer Métropolitain, from the Metropolitan Railway.^{[citation needed]} The modern word metro is derived from the word Metropolitan.

Rolling stock

A60 Stock at Baker Street tube station (2011)

New S Stock at Croxley tube station (2010)

The rolling stock still largely in use on the Metropolitan line is the sub-surface-gauge A Stock built by Cravens in Sheffield, which were shared with the East London Line until 2007. It ran in service with unpainted aluminium bodywork for many years, but when refurbished in the 1990s it received the now standard white and blue Underground livery, with red ends. A Stock Metropolitan line services are formed of two four-car units coupled together to make eight-car trains, although the former Chesham shuttle service was served by a four-car train, as was the East London Line when it was an Underground route.

The A Stock trains were built between 1960 and 1962. This is now the oldest passenger rail fleet on the UK mainland, and LUL says it requires "an intense maintenance regime" to keep up an acceptable level of reliability. They replaced a wide variety of older rolling stock, including trains with hinged doors and compartments (T Stock electric multiple units for Watford services and locomotive-hauled carriages for Aylesbury services), as well as London Underground P stock (built in 1937) and F Stock (built in 1920) used on Uxbridge services.

The A Stock trains are now being progressively replaced by new S Stock. The first S Stock trains entered service in summer 2010 and it is intended that all 58 new eight-car sets for the Metropolitan will be in service by mid 2012. In combination with new signalling, the new fleet will increase overall capacity on the line by 27%.

Map

Stations

Metropolitan Main line

Legend Jubilee Line To Circle Line Baker Street Non-stop section Regent's Canal Lord's(1868-1939) St John's Wood Marlborough Road(1868-1939) Swiss Cottage(1868-1940) London to Aylesbury Line(to Marylebone station) Finchley Road Non-stop section West Hampstead(1879-1940) Kilburn(1879-1940) Willesden Green Dollis Hill(1909-1940) Neasden Wembley Park Stanmore branch (now Jubilee Line) Kingsbury(1932-1939) Queensbury(1934-1939) Canons Park(1932-1939) Stanmore(1932-1939) Preston Road(1908-1932) Preston Road(1932-) Northwick Park Harrow-on-the-Hill Uxbridge branch West Harrow Piccadilly Line from South Harrow Rayners Lane Eastcote Ruislip Manor Ruislip Ickenham Hillingdon(1923-1992) Hillingdon (1992-) Uxbridge depot Uxbridge (1904-1938) Uxbridge (1938-) North Harrow Pinner Northwood Hills Northwood Moor Park Watford Curve Croxley Proposed Croxley Rail Link Ascot Road Watford West Watford DC Line Watford High Street West Coast Main Line Watford Junction Watford Rickmansworth Chorleywood Chalfont & Latimer Chesham Amersham Closed to Brill & Verney Junction Great Missenden(1892-1961) Wendover(1892-1961) Stoke Mandeville(1892-1961) Aylesbury(1892-1893) Aylesbury(1894-1961) Waddesdon(1897-1936) Quainton Road(1896-1936, 1943-1948) Quainton Road(1891-1896) Former Great Central Railway route Granborough Road(1891-1936) Winslow Road(1891-1936) Verney Junction(1891-1936) Waddesdon Road(1899-1935) Westcott(1899-1935) Wotton(1899-1935) Wood Siding(1899-1935) Brill(1899-1935) Dates relate to Metropolitan Railway operations

Notice explaining about step-free access. This can be found inside every Metropolitan line train.

In order from east to west

Shared Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Aldgate		18 November 1876	Terminus
Liverpool Street		12 July 1875	Opened as Bishopsgate, renamed 1 November 1909
Moorgate		1865	Trains from the north/west can terminate at Moorgate, but none regularly do in the current timetable
Barbican		1865	Opened as Aldersgate Street, renamed to Aldersgate in 1910, renamed Aldersgate and Barbican in 1923, current name is from 1968
Farringdon		10 January 1863
King's Cross St. Pancras		1863
Euston Square		1863	Originally Gower Street
Great Portland Street		10 January 1863	Originally Portland Road
Core Section
The Metropolitan line diverges from the Circle/Hammersmith & City lines just east of Baker Street station, where they use separate platforms, at a roughly 45 degree angle to the Circle/Hammersmith & City platforms
Baker Street		10 January 1863	Most trains begin their northbound journey here
Finchley Road*		30 June 1879
Wembley Park**		14 October 1893	Fully opened 12 May 1894
Preston Road		21 May 1908	The line passed through here en route to Harrow, 2 August 1880
Northwick Park		28 June 1923	Opened as Northwick Park and Kenton, the line passed through here en route to Harrow, 2 August 1880
Harrow-on-the-Hill		2 August 1880	At Harrow, the line splits into two branches – the main line to Watford and Amersham, and the Uxbridge branch
* – Between Finchley Road and Wembley Park the Metropolitan line's tracks run outside the tracks of the Jubilee line. Between Finchley Road and Wembley Park, Metropolitan line trains do not stop at West Hampstead, Kilburn, Willesden Green, Dollis Hill, and Neasden stations. Willesden Green and Neasden stations have platforms on the Metropolitan line tracks, but Metropolitan line trains stop there only during emergencies, or when there are major operating issues with either the Metropolitan or Jubilee lines.
** – At Wembley Park, the Metropolitan lines split from two tracks to four, with the faster lines on the outside. Fast services (to Amersham or Chesham) and semi-fast services (to Watford or Amersham) do not stop at Wembley Park, Preston Road or Northwick Park.

Uxbridge branch

Continuing from Harrow on the Hill
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
West Harrow		17 November 1913
Rayners Lane		26 May 1906	From Rayners Lane to Uxbridge the line shares tracks with the Piccadilly line
Eastcote		26 May 1906	Opened as Eastcote Halt
Ruislip Manor		5 August 1912	Opened as Ruislip Manor Halt
Ruislip		4 July 1904
Ickenham		25 September 1905	Opened as Ickenham Halt
Hillingdon		10 December 1923
Uxbridge		4 July 1904	Terminus

Northwood branch

Continuing from Harrow on the Hill
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
North Harrow		22 March 1915
Pinner		25 May 1885
Northwood Hills		13 November 1933
Northwood		1 September 1887	The last station within Greater London
Moor Park		9 May 1910	Opened as Sandy Lodge; renamed Moor Park & Sandy Lodge, 18 October 1923; current name from 25 September 1950
After Harrow-on-the-Hill the lines are re-arranged into two neighbouring pairs: the slow (the northerly pair) and the fast. The fast lines are also shared with the National Rail line to Aylesbury (operated by Chiltern Railways) which south of Harrow on the Hill run parallel. The stations between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Moor Park (exclusive) have platforms only on the slow lines, and are stopped at only by slow and semi-fast services, which usually run to Watford. At Moor Park the line splits, with the fast line forming the main line towards Amersham and the slow line heading towards Watford.

Watford branch

Continuing from Moor Park
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Croxley		2 November 1925	Opened as Croxley Green, renamed 23 May 1949
Watford		4 November 1925
A triangular connection ("the North Curve") also exists, allowing trains to run between Watford and Rickmansworth, and there are a few early-morning/late-evening services that do this.

Towards Amersham or Chesham

Continuing from Moor Park
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Rickmansworth		1 September 1887
Chorleywood		8 July 1889	Opened as Chorley Wood; renamed Chorley Wood & Chenies, 1 November 1915; reverted 1934; current name from 1964
Chalfont & Latimer		8 July 1889	Opened as Chalfont Road, renamed 1 November 1915
Stations between Rickmansworth and Amersham are also served by most Chiltern services to Aylesbury.
Here trains continue either to Amersham or on a separate branch to Chesham. Until December 2010, out of peak times, Chesham was served by a shuttle service by a 4 car A stock train, which was stabled at Chalfont & Latimer in the peak hours. The service interval to Chesham is roughly every 30 minutes.

Continuing from Chalfont & Latimer
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Chesham		8 July 1889	The original northern terminus of the Metropolitan Railway from Baker Street

Continuing from Chalfont & Latimer
Station	Image	Opened	Additional information
Amersham		1 September 1892	Renamed Amersham & Chesham Bois, 12 March 1922, reverted 1937

Depot

The Metropolitan line is served by one depot at Neasden.. Trains are also stabled overnight at Uxbridge, Watford, Rickmansworth and Wembley Park.

Former stations

A 1924 map of the Brill and Verney Junction branches

St John's Wood section

• Lord's (closed 1939)
• Marlborough Road (closed 1939)
• Swiss Cottage (closed 1940)
• These stations have been replaced by underground equivalents on the Jubilee line.

Beyond Amersham

• Great Missenden (service withdrawn 1961)
• Wendover (service withdrawn 1961)
• Stoke Mandeville (service withdrawn 1961)
• Aylesbury (service withdrawn 1961)
• Waddesdon Manor (closed 1936)
• Quainton Road railway station (service withdrawn 1948, closed 1966)

Verney Junction Branch

• Granborough Road (closed 1936)
• Winslow Road (closed 1936)
• Verney Junction (service withdrawn 1936, closed 1967)

Brill Tramway

Main article: Brill Tramway

Mainline character

The Metropolitan line differs significantly from other London Underground lines, having more of a suburban mainline feel. Only 6 mi (9.7 km) of the line is underground; the other 35.5 mi (57.1 km) are above ground. It has full-size "sub-surface" rolling stock rather than "tube" trains, and it skirts rather than crosses both the West End and the City.

Also, unlike other lines, the Metropolitan operates a mixture of fast, semi-fast, and all-stations services. The "fast" services call at Baker Street, Finchley Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Moor Park and then all stations to or from Amersham or Chesham. Metropolitan line trains do not stop at Jubilee line stations between Finchley Road and Wembley Park.

The line goes well outside Greater London, serving parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. As a result it is the only Underground line to serve Travelcard zones 7, 8 and 9. It does not have any stations in Zone 3, making it the only Underground line serving non-contiguous zones.

The A Stock is fitted with transverse seating only, luggage racks, and umbrella hooks. The new S Stock that is currently being introduced to replace the A Stock has a mix of transverse and longitudinal seating and as a result has 32 per cent fewer seats. The S Stock trains have train-length gangways which allow passengers to move between coaches, like main-line trains.

The fast lines north of Harrow, including all the lines north of Rickmansworth, appear to be signalled to Network Rail standards. However, this is not actually the case. Although standard four-aspect Network Rail signal heads are installed, they actually use standard LUL signalling. The upper two lights are a standard two-aspect LUL stop signal, displaying either a single green or single red aspect. The lower two lights are a standard LUL repeater signal for the next stop signal ahead, showing either a single green or single yellow aspect. The repeater indication is suppressed when the stop signal shows a red aspect. Thus although the signal is really two-signals combined, it nevertheless appears to a train driver as a three-aspect signal. The danger indication is a single red light; the caution indication (that is the next stop signal shows danger) is a yellow light with a green light above it and the clear indication is two green lights. This combination departs from the usual railway standard of having the red light as the lowest light on the signal.

The Metropolitan line is the fastest London Undeground line, with large sections of track being at 50 or 60 mph (80 or 97 km/h) (previously 70 mph (110 km/h)). The normal line speed for an Underground line is 40–45 mph (64–72 km/h). A computerised signal control centre operates from Baker Street covering the line to Aldgate while other signalling points on the line are run locally.

Unusually for the Underground, a full timetable is published for the Amersham/Chesham to Rickmansworth section. There is also a summary timetable covering the Watford to North Harrow section.

Current service pattern

Platform information sign at Moorgate station advising passengers that some Metropolitan line trains do not call at all stations. Over the years the list of stations "non-stopped" has varied, with, for instance, at one time Harrow-On-The-Hill and West Harrow being included in the list.

Since 11 December 2011 the off-peak service has been entirely "all-stations" stopping trains, and the "fast" and "semi-fast" trains run only in Monday to Friday peak hours.

The current off-peak service pattern is as follows:

• 4 trains an hour between Uxbridge and Aldgate;
• 4 trains an hour between Uxbridge and Baker Street;
• 4 trains an hour between Watford and Baker Street;
• 2 trains an hour between Amersham and Aldgate;
• 2 trains an hour between Chesham and Aldgate.

This requires 35 trains.

The peak-hour service pattern is more complex, with trains running between Aldgate and all the four northern termini. The southbound service in the morning peak is a 32-minute cycle of 12 trains arriving at Baker Street at 2.5- or 3-minute intervals as follows (all-stations trains except where shown otherwise):

• Amersham to Aldgate (semi-fast);
• Uxbridge to Baker Street;
• Amersham to Aldgate (fast);
• Watford to Baker Street;
• Watford to Aldgate (semi-fast);
• Uxbridge to Aldgate;
• Watford to Baker Street;
• Uxbridge to Aldgate;
• Chesham to Aldgate (fast);
• Uxbridge to Baker Street;
• Watford to Aldgate (semi-fast);
• Uxbridge to Baker Street.

The northbound service in the afternoon peak is a 32-minute cycle of 12 trains leaving Baker Street as follows:

• Baker Street to Amersham (semi-fast);
• Aldgate to Uxbridge;
• Aldgate to Watford (semi-fast);
• Baker Street to Watford;
• Aldgate to Chesham (fast);
• Aldgate to Uxbridge;
• Baker Street to Watford (semi-fast);
• Aldgate to Uxbridge;
• Aldgate to Watford (semi-fast);
• Baker Street to Uxbridge;
• Aldgate to Amersham (fast);
• Aldgate to Uxbridge.

The peak service requires 49 trains Monday to Friday mornings, and 50 in the evening.

The first train each morning from Chesham runs direct to Watford via the "north curve" between Rickmansworth and Croxley. Two other early-morning trains run direct from Rickmansworth to Watford. The last train from Watford at night runs direct to Rickmansworth.

On 12 December 2010 London Underground reduced the service to Amersham from 4 to 2 trains an hour, and provided a direct service between Chesham and central London every 30 minutes all day. The 4-car Chesham shuttle service was withdrawn. This change was made because the new S Stock trains come in 8-car sets and there will not be any 4-car trains when the A-class rolling stock is withdrawn. There was no change in the frequency between Chalfont & Latimer and Baker Street, apart from late evening and early Sunday mornings, when 2 of the 6 Watford trains per hour were diverted to Chesham.

Steam on the Met

LMS Black 5 44932 at Amersham in 1992

In 1989, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Metropolitan to Chesham, the first Steam on the Met event took place, with London Underground running two weekends of steam specials between Chesham and Watford.

The event was a great success and so in 1990, London Underground decided to run steam between Harrow and Amersham. In 1992, to celebrate 100 years of the Met at Amersham, the event was extended to 5 days at the end of May. In 1995, it was decided to run trains between Amersham and Watford.

Engines used in the event included BR standard class 4 tank, BR standard class 5, and GWR Pannier tanks. There were also various other rolling stock used as static displays at Rickmansworth sidings. Initially, London Underground hired coaching stock from British Rail for the event, but found that it was actually cheaper to buy coaches instead, thus, LU acquired numerous coaches from BR. The steam trains ran in between normal timetabled Metropolitan and main line services.

Due to the imminent part privatisation of LUL and the condition of the coaching stock, the last steam excursion took place in 2000. Since 2007, special trains run on the Met using the electric Sarah Siddons and diesel Class 20 locomotives.

Future

Line upgrade work

Track and wiring replacements have been ongoing, with weekend closures of all or parts of the line at weekends. The current signalling equipment on all the subsurface lines, some of which dates from before the Second World War and has become failure-prone, will be replaced with automatic train operation (ATO) controlled from a single new centre. The entire line is scheduled to be fully upgraded by the end of 2018.

New trains

The line upgrades are being accompanied by the gradual introduction of the S Stock, which is set to replace the current A Stock trains by 2012. S Stock trains began operating on part of the line on 31 August 2010. As from 27 June 2011, it operates across the entire Metropolitan line network with regular services to all destinations.^{[citation needed]}

Transport for London aims for a 27% increase in line capacity once all upgrade work is complete.

Croxley Rail Link

Diagram of the rail link proposals

Main article: Croxley Rail Link

There are plans to divert the Watford Branch from the current Watford tube station and reroute it over the disused Croxley Green branch line to Watford Junction. Funding was agreed in December 2011, and construction work is expected to start in June 2014 and be finished by January 2016.

Reorganisation

As part of a wider overhaul of the sub-surface lines, there were plans to run Metropolitan line trains from Uxbridge through Aldgate East to Barking, with the Hammersmith and City line taking the Metropolitan's old terminus of Aldgate instead. These plans, if implemented, cannot go forward until the Metropolitan line's stock is totally replaced, as its trains are not permitted to travel beyond Aldgate due to technical reasons.

Maps

• ^map 1 Aldgate – 51°30′50″N 000°04′34″W
• ^map 2 Liverpool Street – 51°31′07″N 000°04′53″W
• ^map 3 Moorgate – 51°31′07″N 000°05′19″W
• ^map 4 Barbican – 51°31′13″N 000°05′52″W
• ^map 5 Farringdon – 51°31′12″N 000°06′19″W
• ^map 6 King's Cross St. Pancras – 51°31′49″N 000°07′27″W
• ^map 7 Euston Square – 51°31′33″N 000°08′09″W
• ^map 8 Great Portland Street – 51°31′26″N 000°08′38″W
• ^map 9 Baker Street – 51°31′19″N 000°09′25″W
• ^map 10 Finchley Road – 51°32′50″N 000°10′49″W
• ^map 11 Wembley Park – 51°33′49″N 000°16′46″W
• ^map 12 Preston Road – 51°34′20″N 000°17′43″W
• ^map 13 Northwick Park – 51°34′43″N 000°19′07″W
• ^map 14 Harrow-on-the-Hill – 51°34′46″N 000°20′13″W
• ^map 15 West Harrow – 51°34′47″N 000°21′12″W
• ^map 16 Rayners Lane – 51°34′31″N 000°22′17″W
• ^map 17 Eastcote – 51°34′36″N 000°23′49″W
• ^map 18 Ruislip Manor – 51°34′24″N 000°24′45″W

• ^map 19 Ruislip – 51°34′17″N 000°25′16″W
• ^map 20 Ickenham – 51°33′43″N 000°26′31″W
• ^map 21 Hillingdon – 51°33′14″N 000°27′00″W
• ^map 22 Uxbridge – 51°32′45″N 000°28′42″W
• ^map 23 North Harrow – 51°35′06″N 000°21′45″W
• ^map 24 Pinner – 51°35′34″N 000°22′50″W
• ^map 25 Northwood Hills – 51°36′02″N 000°24′33″W
• ^map 26 Northwood – 51°36′39″N 000°25′28″W
• ^map 27 Moor Park – 51°37′47″N 000°25′58″W
• ^map 28 Croxley – 51°38′51″N 000°26′29″W
• ^map 29 Watford – 51°39′27″N 000°25′03″W
• ^map 30 Rickmansworth – 51°38′25″N 000°28′24″W
• ^map 31 Chorleywood – 51°39′15″N 000°31′06″W
• ^map 32 Chalfont & Latimer – 51°40′04″N 000°33′40″W
• ^map 33 Chesham – 51°42′19″N 000°36′41″W
• ^map 34 Amersham – 51°40′27″N 000°36′27″W
• ^map 35 Neasden Depot – 51°33′28″N 000°15′31″W

Further reading

• Foxell, Clive (2010). The Metropolitan Line. History Press. ISBN 978 0 7524 5396 5. 

External links

• "Metropolitan line facts". Transport for London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/linefacts/?line=metropolitan. Retrieved 11 July 2008. 
• "Metropolitan Line". Clive's Underground Line Guide. http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/metropolitan.html. Retrieved 11 July 2008. 
• "Railways Around Amersham & The Metropolitan Line". Metro-land. http://www.metroland.org.uk/. Retrieved 11 July 2008.