Then you might want to think again, as through its 160 years of service, the transport system has racked up a lot of history.
From the first trains having no windows to tunnels and stations being built on top of mass graves, the Tube has a lot of odd and interesting facts.
To help you impress fellow travellers on the London Underground, we’ve rounded up just a few of the mad and fascinating facts you might not know about the TfL service.
@tfl Our hidden vault? 150 metres underground… in a salt mine? 🤯 #TfL #History #Archive #TransportForLondon ♬ Crazy – Louis La Roche
5 fascinating you never knew about the London Underground
Stations are built on huge burial sites
Liverpool Street Station and Aldgate Station are both built above mass burial sites.
In 2015, it was discovered that Liverpool Street Station was built on an ancient burial site when archaeologists found 3000 skeletons.
While Aldgate Station is built on a massive plague pit that holds more than 1000 bodies.
Victoria or Viking line?
During the early proposal stages of the London Underground, the Victoria Line was nearly called the Viking Line.
The Viking Line became a choice for its connections to maintain stations Victoria and King’s Cross.
While the Viking Like was popular (and sounds cooler) it was Victoria who won the battle.
Bond Street was nearly called ‘Selfridges’
In 1909, Selfridges campaigned to change the name of Bond Street Station to Selfridges to reflect the department store.
Unfortunately for the historic store, the campaign failed and it has yet to get a Tube stop named after it.
The escalators go around the world
Every week, the escalators across the London Underground travel the equivalent distance of twice around the world.
That’s a lot of hard work for those escalators.
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Babies born aboard
Five babies have been born on the London Underground since it first opened in 1863.
The first was reportedly in 1924 at Elephant and Castle station, with the most recent being in 2019 at Warren Street station.
It’s understood that although born at London Underground stations, it does not entitle you to free travel for life, but it’s a pretty cool story.
