The metro in London is primarily called the Underground or simply "the Tube". It is the world's oldest underground railway, featuring 11 lines and 272 stations. In other parts of England, specifically Tyne & Wear, it is formally known as the Tyne & Wear Metro.
Rapid transit in the United Kingdom consists of four systems: the London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway in London; the Tyne and Wear Metro in Tyne and Wear; and the Glasgow Subway.
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
In some American cities, the subway is a railway system in which electric trains travel below the ground in tunnels. In other cities this is called the metro.
* LONDON UNDERGROUND TRAIN * | Trains For Kids | Things That Go TV!
Is the Tube a subway or train?
The Tube (London Underground Train / Subway)
The tube is the quickest way to travel around London, and you'll find that most places you want to go will have a tube stop close by. Plan your route here.
A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as elevated, el or L trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains.
No, an Oyster card is generally not cheaper than tapping with contactless (bank card or phone), as they both use the same "pay as you go" (PAYG) system and have identical fare caps and discounts, making them the same price for most journeys. Contactless is often more convenient as it avoids the £5 Oyster card cost and the hassle of topping up, but Oyster can prevent foreign transaction fees if using a foreign bank card.
The London Underground, commonly known as the Tube, holds the distinction of being the world's oldest subway system. It began operations on January 10, 1863, with its inaugural route running between Paddington and Farringdon Street.
Record-breakers from top to bottom: The Shanghai Metro has the highest annual ridership in the world. The Beijing Subway is the largest system in the world by total track length.
The Big Smoke is perhaps the most well known of London's nicknames. London was once an industrial hotbed, with many factories all over the city. A culmination of these and the fuels used to heat residential homes caused London to be an extremely smoky city.
"Tube" slang varies by region and context, most commonly meaning an idiot (Scottish), the London Underground (British), or television (US/UK), but can also refer to failing ("down the tubes"), a beer can in the UK, or "cool" in surf culture (tubular). Its meaning shifts dramatically, from insult to public transport, so context is crucial.
What is the nickname of the underground in London?
Since then the Underground network, affectionately nicknamed the Tube by generations of Londoners, has grown to 272 stations and 11 lines stretching deep into the capital's suburbs and beyond.
Now, in the UK, we don't always call it a subway - "underpass" is more common for a pedestrian or bicycle path that passes beneath a road. For underground trains, we refer to "the subway" in Glasgow, "the metro" in Newcastle / Tyne and Wear, and "the tube" in London (or simply "the underground").
