Central line (London Underground) Central line (London Underground) The Central line is a London Underground line that runs through central London, from , Essex, in the north-east to and in the west. Coloured red on the Tube map, the line serves 49 stations over , which makes it the longest Tube line. It is also one of only two lines on the Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan line. One of London's deep-level railways, Central line trains are smaller than those on British main lines. The line was opened as the Central London Railway in 1900, crossing
Timeline of the London Underground Timeline of the London Underground The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. At the turn of the nineteenth century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield—enabled new companies to construct a series of "tube" lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding,