The London Underground, launched over 160 years ago, is the world’s oldest metro transit system, created to reduce congestion in one of the busiest cities on the planet. It opened on January 10, 1863, at a cost of one million pounds sterling, and initially operated with steam-powered locomotives. On its first day, around 38,000 passengers used the service, a figure that grew to 9.5 million in its first year and 12 million by the second.

Electric-powered trains were introduced in 1890, and during World War II, the Underground served as a refuge and a covert manufacturing site for weapons and aircraft parts during the German bombings of 1940-41.

Today, the London Underground accommodates 1.3 billion passengers annually, with 272 stations and 15 lines. It continues to evolve, ranking as the world’s second-largest metro system, just behind Shanghai’s. — KUNA