page_title: Transport in London
section_title: London Underground
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in London / Metro and light rail / London Underground
context_page_description: London has an extensive and developed transport network which includes both private and public services. Journeys made by public transport systems account for 37% of London's journeys while private services accounted for 36% of journeys, walking 24% and cycling 2%. London's public transport network serves as the central hub for the United Kingdom in rail, air and road transport.
  Public transport services are dominated by the executive agency for transport in London: Transport for London. TfL controls the majority of public transport, including the Underground, Buses, Tramlink, the Docklands Light Railway, London River Services and the London Overground. Other rail services are either franchised to train operating companies by the Department for Transport or, like Eurostar and Heathrow Express, operated on an open-access basis. TfL also controls most major roads in London, but not minor roads. In addition, there are several independent airports serving London, including Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe.
context_section_description: Colloquially known as the Tube, the London Underground was the first rapid transit system in the world, having begun operations in 1863.  More than 3 million passengers travel on the Underground every day, amounting to over 1 billion passenger journeys per year for the first time in 2006. The Underground has 11 lines, most of which connect the suburbs to Central London and together form a dense network in central London, linking major railway stations, central business areas and icons. The Underground serves North London much more extensively than South London. This is the result of a combination of unfavourable geology, historical competition from surface railways and the historical geography of London which was focused to the north of the River Thames. South London is served primarily by surface railways (the majority of London Underground's route length is actually on the surface rather than in tunnel.)
  Carrying nearly 50% of London's commuters, the Tube is the most heavily used mode of public transport in the area.
caption: London Underground's Jubilee line at Green Park station.
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