40 years of the Jubilee Line

40 years ago today Prince Charles opened the Jubilee line from Stanmore to Charing Cross, although passenger services started running from 1 May. The Jubilee line now extends to Stratford and carries over 210 million passengers a year. Although it is still the newest line on the network, some of the stations state back to 1879.

The stations west beyond Baker Street were previously a branch of the Bakerloo line, with the track to Bond Street, Green Park and Charing Cross being new. The Jubilee line is coloured silver on the map because the line was supposed to open the same year as Queen Elizabeth II's silver jubilee, 1977. The line was initially going to be called the Fleet line, but the Conservative party pledged to change the name in the run-up to the Greater London Council elections in 1977.

The line was extended to Stratford in 1999, named the Jubilee Line Extension. This extension saw the line being extended from Green Park under the River Thames to Westminster, and out East to Stratford, however, Charing Cross Jubilee line platforms closed. The London Transport Museum runs tours of the abandoned platforms and is used for TV and film sets. The platforms featured in Paddington (2013), an episode of Fresh Meat (2016) and most notably Skyfall (2012). Skyfall features James Bond chasing Raoul Silva through the London Underground from Temple to Embankment, although eagle-eyed Tube geeks will spot that they travel on a 1996 stock train (used on the Jubilee line) yet Temple to Embankment is on the District and Circle lines.

The Jubilee Line Extension is famous for featuring Platform screen doors at stations between Westminster and North Greenwich. The design of the extension is impressive, which is why it is no surprise that Westminster station is the most popular station for Londoners according to Transport by Design. Canary Wharf is another impressive station and is often described as a Cathedral as One Canada Square, the once tallest building in London can fit inside the station, and with room to spare. A poll by Yougov in 2013 revealed that Canary Wharf is the "Most Loved" on the London Underground. My favourite fact about the Jubilee line is that the largest roundels to feature at platform level are at Canary Wharf station. 

The Jubilee line is full of interesting stations, and not just the more modern stations in the Jubilee Line Extension. Swiss Cottage and St John's Wood are almost identical inside, but their design is intriguing and well worth a visit. St John's Wood is located near Abbey Road studios and is popular for tourists wanting to take the iconic photo walking across the zebra crossing - however, I would not recommend this as the crossing is on a particularly busy road. St John's Wood features an apostrophe on the tube map, on the signs outside and even on the platform tiles, but does not feature an apostrophe on the platform roundels.

There is lots to like about the Jubilee line. The mixture of classic stations and modern makes travelling the line a unique experience. The Jubilee line is one of the five lines I have successfully visited all stations. My favourite Jubilee line station is Canary Wharf, but one of my favourite photo opportunities is at the bridge at Kilburn that with the name metropolitan railway along it. 

Do you like the Jubilee line? What is your favourite thing about it? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@TubeSpottingDan)

What do the borough's of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton have in common?

There are 270 London Underground stations serving 5 million people a day, and with 402 km of track the network covers all of London, or does it? Despite the first passenger railway in London (London & Greenwich Railway opening in 1836) being south of the river Thames, it is largely acknowledged that the tube does not serve south London. Walthamstow and Gypsy Hill are roughly the same distance away from central London but in opposite directions, yet Walthamstow is much easier to travel to.

Just 10 percent of all London Underground stations are south of the river Thames. The borough's of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton are all south of the river, and the one thing they have in common is that they have never had a London Underground station. Of 32 London boroughs (and the City of London) it is no surprise that the only five to never have a tube station are in south London.

Lewisham, also south of the river, is another borough that does not have any Underground stations. Until 2007, however, two Underground stations served Lewisham, New Cross and New Cross Gate. These stations were on the East London Line from 1933 (although from 1933 to 1968 the line appeared on the tube map as the same colour as the Metropolitan line), which is now part of the London Overground network.

Hackney, north of the river, is also an interesting borough. Situated in East London, Hackney is often associated with the London Overground, especially with Hackney Downs/Hackney Central being key stations for the network. Despite this association, Hackney does have one London Underground station, Manor House. Served by the Piccadilly line, Manor House station is situated on the border between the boroughs of Hackney and Haringey. The postal address and three of the four entrances are located in the borough of Hackney.

The only other borough that has just one London Underground station is the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The only station in this borough is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line. As far as I am aware, there are 15 stations on the network that are not in a London borough; Amersham, Buckhurst Hill, Chalfont & Latimer, Chesham, Chigwell, Chorleywood, Croxley, Debden, Epping, Loughton, Moor Park, Rickmansworth, Roding Valley, Theydon Bois, and Watford.