District line
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| District | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Colour on map | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year opened | 1868 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line type | Sub-Surface | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | C , D stocks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations served | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length (km) | 64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length (miles) | 40 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depots | Upminster Ealing Common |
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| Journeys made | 172,879,000 (per annum) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rail lines of Transport for London |
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The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines and the fourth busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground.
Contents |
[edit] History
The District line has a long history. It was built by the Metropolitan District Railway and opened in stages from 1868. The MDR was later bought by Charles Yerkes, forming part of the "Underground" group until it was nationalised in the 1930s. It had branches to Uxbridge and Hounslow West, but both are now operated by the Piccadilly line. Eastbound services ran as far as the seaside town of Southend in Essex from 1 June 1910 and to Shoeburyness from 1911, until 30 September 1939. Between 1 March 1883 and 30 September 1885 the line also served stations from Ealing Broadway to Windsor, running on the Great Western Mainline.
[edit] Trains
Most of the District line's services use sub-surface D stock, although the Wimbledon to Edgware Road service uses C stock, due to shorter platform lengths between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road. The D stock has been refurbished, having received the standard Underground livery of red, white and blue, having replaced the previous unpainted aluminium finish which is prone to damage by graffiti vandals. The stock also received a complete interior refurbishment and be fitted with CCTV and passenger information displays. The trains are maintained at Ealing Common Depot and Upminster Depot
[edit] Last unrefurbished train
A D stock - unit 7115 - was taken out of service to be refurbished on 15 February 2008. Its run may have extended into the weekend, but due to planned weekend engineering works it was taken out on Friday at the end of operations. It was the very last unrefurbished train on the London Underground.
[edit] Map
The TFL line diagram is available online.
[edit] Stations
 Gunnersbury station on the Richmond branch. As at Kew Gardens, tracks are shared with London Overground services on the North London Line |
 Ealing Common is one of only two stations where District and Piccadilly line trains call at the same platforms (the other being Acton Town) |
 The District line platforms at Wimbledon |
 Earl's Court station is the hub of the District line |
 A typical District line cut & cover station - Temple |
 Inside an unrefurbished District Line Tube Train |
 The District and Circle line platforms at Paddington station on the Edgware Road branch |
 C69/C77 Stock train leaving for Wimbledon via Fulham Broadway |
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In order from west to east
[edit] Richmond branch
[edit] Ealing branch
- Ealing Broadway
(
Trains to Heathrow) - Ealing Common
- Acton Town
- South Acton (closed branch line)
- Chiswick Park
The Richmond and Ealing branches join just west of Turnham Green.
[edit] Wimbledon branch
- Wimbledon
- Wimbledon Park
- Southfields (lift access to platforms to be provided by 2012)
- East Putney
- Putney Bridge
- Parsons Green
- Fulham Broadway
- West Brompton
(eastbound platform is accessible via National Rail lift)
[edit] Kensington (Olympia) branch
The Kensington (Olympia) branch joins the main line west of Earl's Court, and trains from it normally run to High Street Kensington.
The Wimbledon branch joins the main line west of Earl's Court.
[edit] Main Line
- Earl's Court
- Gloucester Road
- South Kensington
- Sloane Square
- Victoria ( Trains to Gatwick)
- St. James's Park
- Westminster (
Westminster Pier) - Embankment ( Charing Cross) ( Embankment Pier)
- Temple
- Blackfriars ( Trains to Gatwick and Luton) ( Blackfriars Pier)
- Mansion House
- Cannon Street
- Monument
- Mark Lane (closed)
- Tower Hill ( Fenchurch Street) (
Tower Gateway) ( Tower Pier) - Tower of London (closed)
- Aldgate East
- St. Mary's (closed)
- Whitechapel
- Stepney Green
- Mile End
- Bow Road ( Bow Church)
- Bromley-by-Bow
- West Ham
- Plaistow
- Upton Park
- East Ham
- Barking
- Upney
- Becontree
- Dagenham Heathway
- Dagenham East
- Elm Park
- Hornchurch
- Upminster Bridge
- Upminster
[edit] Edgware Road branch
The Edgware Road branch diverges from the main line east of Earl's Court.
[edit] Current service pattern
The following off-peak service pattern currently runs on the District line
- 6 tph Ealing Broadway - Tower Hill
- 6 tph Richmond - Upminster
- 6 tph Wimbledon - Upminster
- 6 tph Wimbledon - Edgware Road
- 4 tph Kensington (Olympia) - High Street Kensington
(tph=trains per hour)
The only line to not have an interchange with the District Line is the Metropolitan Line, though they may have previously before much of the Metropolitan Line was taken over by the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines.
[edit] Interavailabilty
c2c also serves Upminster, Barking, West Ham and Fenchurch Street (for Tower Hill). Tickets are interavailable between the two operators with Oyster Cards (including pay as you go) accepted on this part of c2c's route. South West Trains services occasionally operate on the Wimbledon Branch between East Putney and Wimbledon, often due to engineering works or problems on the mainline, although trains do not stop at any of the intermediate stations.
[edit] In popular culture
-The fictional Walford East tube station in the BBC television series EastEnders is on the District line, taking the place of Bromley-by-Bow. -Sheffield band Milburn wrote a song labelled 'The District Line' which refers to London.
[edit] External links
- District line - London Underground website
- A District line Driver's website
- Clive Feather's page on the District line
| West: | Crossings of the River Thames | East: |
|---|---|---|
| Kew Bridge | Richmond branch, between Gunnersbury and Kew Gardens |
Chiswick Bridge |
| Putney Bridge | Wimbledon branch, between Putney Bridge and East Putney |
Wandsworth Bridge |
