Organisations including the Royal Mail, the London Transport Museum and even Google are celebrating the 150 anniversary of London’s tube system.
The first underground journey took place 150 years ago today (January 9) between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Railway.
Today the network covers 402 kilometres of track, serves 270 stations, runs across 11 lines, and carries 1.2 billion passengers per year.
To celebrate the anniversary the Royal Mail has released a set of ten special stamps, depicting the evolution of the London Underground, from the first steam driven Metropolitan Line service to the most modern Jubilee Line station at Canary Wharf.
The postal service has also released four stamps celebrating classic London Underground posters, influenced by art movements including Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism.
The London Transport Museum is celebrating London Underground artwork over the decades, in its Poster Art 150 exhibition running from February until October.
The exhibition showcases 150 of the best designs chosen by an independent panel, and the museum is inviting visitors to vote for their favourite poster, which will be unveiled at the end of the exhibition.
And today Google is celebrating the anniversary by producing one its regular Google Doodles in the form of the London Underground map.
Business Traveller will be celebrating the anniversary in the Snapshot section of our February 2013 print edition.
For more information visit tfl.gov.uk.
Report by Mark Caswell
