The London Underground is the railway system serving the large part of Greater London and some of the neighbouring Home Counties, including Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Usually referred to as the London Underground, or the Tube, the system sets a number of records.

The first line, now the Bakerloo Line, was the first underground system in the world, opening in 1863. In 1890, the Tube was the first to have electric trains.

With approximately 260 miles of track, and 270 stations, it is the biggest metro system in the world. In 2008, 1.1 billion passenger journeys were made on the system.

If you’re staying in London, you would be well advised to get to grips with the system as it’s one of the easiest ways of getting around in London.

The system is divided into different lines, each with its own name and colour system on Tube maps. Stations which have more than one line going through them are handy for changing from line to another.

The system has continued to develop, with most recently a major extension to the Jubilee Line which goes out to the Millennium Dome. The Jubilee Line itself was built to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The system does not operate all around the clock. It does on New Year’s and Day and for particular special events such as the Queen’s Jubilee in 2002, but in general trains start running on most lines between 4.30 and 5.30am, and stops between 1 and 1.30am.

Because the system is so complicated, a stylised map of the Tube was first designed by an underrated engineer, Harry Beck, in the early 1930s. It became a design classic, and was adopted around the world.

The common red circle with a blue line across holding the name of the station has been used since the earliest days of the 20th century.

Fares on the system vary. London Transport as a whole is divided into 6 zones, which are concentric circles. The centre of London, for example, is Zone 1. Zone 6 is the far outer edges of Greater London.

Almost all the Tube stations have ticket barriers, and you must buy a ticket before you descend to the platforms to catch a Tube train.

