History of the London Underground and was followed by 1959 tube stock. After experiments with an AEC lightweight diesel multiple unit in 1952, steam trains were removed from the Central line following the electrification of the Epping–Ongar section in 1957. Between 1963 and 1970, London Transport reported directly to the Minister of Transport, before control passed to the Greater London Council. Electrification work on the Metropolitan line, suspended due to the war, had restarted in 1959. The line was electrified to and the unpainted aluminium (A Stock) replaced steam trains, British Rail providing services for the former Metropolitan line stations between Amersham and . The
London Underground Electronic ticketing in the form of the contactless Oyster card was introduced in 2003. London Underground services on the East London line ceased in 2007 so that it could be extended and converted to London Overground operation, and in December 2009 the Circle line changed from serving a closed loop around the centre of London to a spiral also serving Hammersmith. Since September 2014, passengers have been able to use contactless cards on the Tube. Their use has grown very quickly and now over a million contactless transactions are made on the Underground every day. The Underground serves 270 stations.