'London Underground' Commemorative Strike

London's Underground system boasts the world's first urban underground line, the Metropolitan Railway. Its steam trains were first used by the public on 10 January 1863. This first stretch measured six kilometres and ran between Paddington and Farringdon St. The track was laid mostly in a shallow cutting excavated along the street, which was then roofed over. Today, London Underground is a major business with three million passenger journeys made every day, serving 275 stations and over 408 km of railway.

150 Years ago on 10th January 186 an icon was born as the world's very first underground train began its 3½ mile journey under the capital's streets from Farringdon to Paddington and thereby transported itself into the history books. Today the tube covers some 249 miles, serving 270 stations, and last year in 2011-2012 a record 1.171 billion passenger journeys were made.