History of the District line History of the District line The history of the District line started in 1864 when the Metropolitan District Railway was created to create an underground 'inner circle' connecting London's railway termini. The first part of the line opened using Metropolitan Railway gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. The District introduced its own trains in 1871 and was soon extended westwards through Earl's Court to Fulham, Richmond, Ealing and Hounslow. After completing the 'inner circle' and reaching Whitechapel in 1884, it was extended to Upminster in East London in 1902. To finance electrification at the beginning of the 20th century,
London Underground D78 Stock designated as the Olympic 2012 Train with London Underground Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins carrying the Olympic Torch from Wimbledon to Wimbledon Park. This is the only London Underground train to be an Olympic Torch train. De-icing equipment was fitted to trailers 17000 to 17048 (evens). The mid-life refurbishment was the first to be carried out under the Public–private partnership (PPP), by Metronet, and was delayed until contract negotiations were completed. A prototype unit of three cars (7008/17008/8008) was prepared by London Underground's Train Modification Unit at Acton Depot in 2001. This had some detail differences from the eventual refurbishment,