Metropolitan Line

About the Metropolitan Line

The Metropolitan line holds a unique place in world history - its opening on 10 January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon made it the world's first underground railway. Today it runs 66.7 km from Aldgate in the City of London to Aldgate, Chesham, Amersham, Watford and Uxbridge in the outer suburbs, serving 34 stations. The Metropolitan is the furthest-reaching of all the London Underground lines, stretching deep into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire and serving some of the most affluent commuter towns in the London orbit - an area that the railway itself famously marketed as 'Metro-land' in the early 20th century.

History

The Metropolitan Railway opened on 10 January 1863, inaugurating the world's first underground passenger railway. Initial services ran between Paddington (Bishop's Road) and Farringdon Street using steam locomotives in cut-and-cover tunnels. The railway expanded aggressively, reaching Baker Street, Hammersmith, Kings Cross and eventually Chesham and Aylesbury by the late Victorian era. The term 'Metro-land' was coined by the Metropolitan Railway's marketing department in 1915 to promote housing developments along its rural routes - a phenomenon that shaped the character of north-west London's suburbs. The line was absorbed into London Transport in 1933 but retains much of its distinctive character as a semi-main-line railway.