On January 10, 1863 the first
subway system, the Metropolitan Railway, began operation in
London. However, smoke from steam engines operating through tunnels caused
discomfort for passengers, and limited the appeal of this mode of transport.
Between 1863 to 1890 there were numerous proposals to build pneumatic or cable-hauled
railways in London to overcome this problem, but none proved successful, until
the system was electrified in the 1890s.
"The 3.75-mile (6 km) railway opened to the
public on Saturday 10 January 1863. There were stations at Paddington (Bishops
Road) (now Paddington), Edgware Road, Baker Street, Portland Road (now Great
Portland Street), Gower Street (now Euston Square), King's Cross (now King's
Cross St. Pancras) and Farringdon Street (now Farringdon).
"The railway was hailed a success, carrying
38,000 passengers on the opening day, using GNR [Great Northern Railway] trains to supplement the service.
In the first twelve months 9.5 million passengers were carried and in the
second twelve months this increased to 12 million. The original timetable
allowed 18 minutes for the five intermediate stations. Off-peak service frequency
was one train every fifteen minutes, increased to one every ten minutes during
the morning peak and reduced to one every twenty minutes in the early mornings
and after 8 pm.
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