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
History of the London Underground the mainline railways was given priority over the maintenance of the Underground. In 1953 an unpainted aluminium train entered service on the District line, and this became the standard for new trains. In the early 1960s the Metropolitan line was electrified as far as Amersham, and steam locomotives no longer hauled passenger trains. The Victoria line, a new tube line across central London, opened in 1968–71 with trains driven automatically. In 1976 the isolated Northern City Line was taken over by British Rail and linked up with the mainline railway at Finsbury Park. In 1979 another new route, the Jubilee