TALK LESS DO MORE: 150 Years of London Underground

The London Underground had its 150th Anniversary on the 9th January 2012 and to commemorate the event 150 people have been selected to tell their stories relating to the tube. I found an article by Steve Cording from the Evening Standard talking about the events.

Arriving at Earl’s Court with my two mates, I was faced with a choice: Wimbledon or Richmond branch? Little did I know then that five years later my decision to take the District Line on platform four to Wimbledon would change my life for ever.

I met my wife on that Friday night back in 2007 in the Alexandra pub — the Tube having brought us both to SW19 after work.

This year the London Underground celebrates its 150th anniversary with a series of events, including an exciting journey back in time. This will see the return of Met Locomotive No.1 which will pull Jubilee carriage No. 353 this Sunday and again on 20 January on the very first tube line — the Metropolitan, which was opened in 1863.

I have the honour to have been chosen as one of 150 individuals who will help to mark the occasion with our stories of the Tube.

It has become such an integral part of our routine that many Londoners, like me, are simply unable to function in our daily working lives without it.

The Tube carries more than one billion passengers a year — as many as the entire national rail network — with around four million passenger journeys made a day.

But it is not just about the morning and evening rush hour. The trips that I have made to the many sporting events that I covered as a journalist, and been to as a fan, in the capital have only been possible because of the Tube. My family all have their favourite stations. For me, you can’t beat the walk down the steps at Wembley Park on FA Cup Final day, with fans swarming all over Wembley Way. South Kensington is a particular favourite stop for my son, as it signals the beginning of a trip to a museum; Bond Street popular with my wife at the start of a shopping expedition; Covent Garden for my parents, as it takes them to the heart of the West End.

London Underground will continue to play a significant role in all our lives in the future and there have been major improvements to the system as part of the upgrade plan since 2006 that will carry on for the next nine years.

Any visitor to central London cannot fail to see the extent of the work being done at Tottenham Court Road station. It handles nearly 150,000 passengers every day, a figure set to rise to 200,000 with the arrival of Crossrail in 2018. When complete, in 2016, the station will have a new ticket hall, six times bigger than the current one. If you have used Tottenham Court Road, as I do every week, you will also know that this work is being carried out with the minimum of disruption.

Without the Tube, last summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games would not have been the undoubted success that they were. I took two journeys to Stratford to watch swimming and athletics without delay or distraction as London Underground passed its biggest test with the millions of extra passengers that used the Tube.

We all have stories and memories of travelling on the Tube that make it special for every single one of us. My earliest was when, as a ten-year-old, travelling down south for one of my first visits to London, my brother lost his toy Smurf at Clapham South. Then there was the time that my university rugby team had an entire carriage full of strangers singing on the Piccadilly Line on our way back to Osterley after a match.

It’s moments like these that make the Tube special for all of us, so celebrate its anniversary this year and look forward to the next 150.'

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tube150/

Events and Poster Art exhibition at the London Transport Museum on poster art

Poster Art 150- London Undergrounds greatest designs runs from the 15th February to October 2013. It showcases some of the best poster design commissioned for the London underground. To commemorate 150 years Art on the underground are also presenting major commons by high profile British artists for each of the tube stations on the network. There will also be 15 artworks by contemporary artists that will be a lasting visual legacy for the event. Other events organised by the London transport museum will look at the vital role the tube will play in the future and its history so far.