By 1907, Londoners had seen the network of deep tube underground railways expand from the original C&SLR line of 1890 with its six stations to a network of seven lines serving more than 70 stations. These companies, along with the sub-surface Metropolitan Railway and District Railway, criss-crossed beneath the city streets, competing with one another for passengers as well as with the new electric trams and motor buses. In several cases pre-opening predictions of passenger numbers had proven to be over optimistic. The reduced revenues generated from the lower numbers of passengers using the lines made it difficult for the operators to pay back the capital borrowed and pay dividends to shareholders.