Underground

UNDERGROUND- the two capital font sizes used here is the letter sign of the world's first underground railway, commonly referred to as 'The Tube'. The engineering marvel Tube went into operation 150 years ago on January 9, 1863 between London Paddington and Farringdon. That was 67 years after the British first arrived in Sri Lanka. It was criticised as a bad idea running steamed trains underneath London streets. The gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives carried 38,000 passengers on the opening day. It became a huge success overnight and to date 3.6 million passengers use the Tube daily as the most popular method of transport.

It helped the rapid expansion of London and got people to work on time. By 1884 there were more than 800 underground trains under the city. It was funded by private companies until 1930. Now it's owned by the Transport for London, as a part of Greater London Authority and its directors are appointed by the London Mayor. The day to day running is the responsibility of the Commissioner of the Transport for London. Turned electric in 1890 the Tube trains serves 270 station in and around London. Some stations are above ground. There are eleven Tube lines running a total of 250 miles (402 km) in length, making it the fourth longest metro system in the world. By 1906, it had nine Tube lines in operation.

Each line was colour- coded as follows for easy reference:

Bakerloo line Brown, Central line Red, Circle line Yellow, District line Green, Hammersmith and City line Pink, Jubilee line Silver, Metropolitan line Dark Magenta, Northern line Black, Piccadilly line Dark Blue, Victoria line Light Blue, Waterloo and City line Turquoise. Victoria line was added in 1968 and Jubilee line was created in 1979 to mark the Silver Jubilee of the Queen's reign.

One end of the Piccadilly line starts at London Heathrow Airport terminals and runs through the city towards north London. The Central line runs the longest length with 74 kilometres.

The underground platforms were used as bunkers during German bomb raids on London. It was estimated that 300,000 people were taking shelter in deep-level Tube stations every night during the war.

The first escalator on the London Underground was installed in 1911 and to date there are 426 escalators on the system. The longest at 60 metres and the shortest is 4.1 metres. There are also 164 lifts. This has a 17.25 miles continued tunnel between East Finchley and Morden stations. The deepest station below street level in central London is Bank, which is 41.4m deep.

In 1956, to fill staff shortages, London Transport began to directly recruit from Barbados and Jamaica. By 1969 over 4,000 staff from the West Indies had been recruited by London Transport. In 1978 Hannah Dadds became the first woman to be employed as an underground train driver.

The classic diagrammatic underground map was designed by Harry Beck and offered to the underground in 1931, but it was rejected as it was considered too radical for the public. But they changed the decision and printed it. It is the only map which is in use since 1931 and given out free.

There were around 20 fatal accidents in the history of the Tube. In 2011, 80 passengers committed suicide on the Underground. In July 2005, four suicide attacks killed 52 passengers and four bombers. A fascinating story of a ghost named Annie Naylor, a dead milliner, is said to haunt Farringdon station and actor William Terris 'haunts' Covent Garden.

It has been estimated that around half a million mice live across the Underground network. It is also said that there are mosquitoes in the Tube tunnels. But I never saw one. Three babies have been born in the London Underground. The most recent was a boy, born in December 2008.

It is said that when the British Empire ruled half the world, they took back most of the wealth generated in those countries. It was mentioned that the British had a profit of 150,000 Sterling Ponds per year in mid 1850s running then Ceylon. I don't know the value of that in Sterling now. May be a few million. They must have invested some of the profits to develop their country. Whatever it is, the British have achieved a place in the world as a developed nation.

I mentioned various measurements of tunnels etc to compare with other countries we know.

Infrastructure in Sri Lanka is growing rapidly than any other decade since Independence and I enjoy the independence, freedom and unity in Sri Lanka today.