Sign up to FREE email alerts from MyLondon - London Underground News Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A packed Tube is not quite how it used to be before the coronavirus lockdown changed our day to day lives so drastically.

With social distancing in place and face coverings having to be worn on the London Underground we hope you haven't had any recent experiences of being jam packed in so tightly that you've spent your journey with your face stuck in someone's sweaty armpit.

It could be that is now the long lost odour of the Tube.

Things weren't always this way though. Back in 2001 there were visionaries who felt there was another way - another fragrance for passengers to take in.

However, as is the case with some of the most ambitious plans, things didn't quite work out as hoped.

For more news and features about London directly to your inbox sign up to our newsletter here









The plan to change the smell on the London Underground

A trial attempt to freshen up the tunnels and walkways of the London Underground was launched on April 23, 2001.

The fragrance unleashed was even given a name - Madeleine.

Madeleine was applied to station floors and then released when passengers walked over it.

It wasn't simply rolled out across the entire network - we're British, we like to dip our toes in the water before diving in.

Nevertheless, Madeleine did get a run out at some busy locations. A month-long trial was planned at St James' Park, Euston and Piccadilly Circus.

(Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Fragrance already popular in Paris and Hong Kong

The chances of success seemed good. The smell was already popular in Paris (where it had been used since 1998) and Hong Kong.

Pierre Nuyens, the perfumier, said he had modified his scent to suit London.

"There are a lot of elements to the Underground," he explained at the time.

"There's a mechanical scent, and railway sleepers impregnated with chemicals.

"Other smells I detect from people - perfume, food or sweat."

The London version of the Paris scent lacked the "heavy woodiness" of the original, Mr Nuyens added.

The verdict

The scent was described as "a fresh, watery floral bouquet of rose and jasmine, combined with citrus top notes, tiny touches of fruit and herbs, giving way to woody accents and a hint of sweetness in the base", according to a Guardian report.

But did Madeleine leave commuters happier?

Um... unfortunately not.

There's a reason we're not all wandering around gleefully sniffing the floors on the Tube in 2019.

Reaction at the time was not positive.

(Image: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Some people called the smell medicinal. Others branded it cheap.

One traveller described it as having a "slightly naff suburban" vibe - of course Central London types don't want to be reminded of the suburbs, God forbid!

"Smells slightly like industrial cleaner," another Tube user mused.

They added, scathingly: "It's a good idea as long as you use a fragrance that doesn't make the station smell like a toilet."

Another passenger said the smell of the Tube was part of its "charm" and the authorities should not have tried to cover it up or mask it.

The BBC did manage to find some fans of Madeleine, who called it "clean and fresh" and also "not too floral".

Get live updates on public transport and what the roads are like near you by entering your postcode into our handy widget below.

But overall the project simply did not win over Londoners.

It was ultimately abandoned after reports of people feeling sick.

Maybe that passenger who embraced the natural smell of the Tube is right, though.

Let's be proud of London's magnificent Underground, no matter what it smells like.

We can all just practice holding our breath, right?