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(English) How The World's First Metro System Was Built - Christian Wolmar (DownSub - Com)

The first underground subway system opened in London in 1863, built by the Metropolitan Railway to alleviate road congestion in the rapidly growing city. Construction involved digging trenches and building brick tunnels that were then covered over, though some lines went under existing roads to minimize disruption. Despite accidents during construction and initial skepticism, the subway was soon deemed a success and became integral to London's transport system, with additional lines built and suburbs sprouting around stations. A new tunneling technique using a shield allowed deeper tunnels without disturbing the surface, enabling expansion of the network under dense urban areas. This set the stage for underground rail systems around the world to combat traffic problems in major cities.

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97 views4 pages

(English) How The World's First Metro System Was Built - Christian Wolmar (DownSub - Com)

The first underground subway system opened in London in 1863, built by the Metropolitan Railway to alleviate road congestion in the rapidly growing city. Construction involved digging trenches and building brick tunnels that were then covered over, though some lines went under existing roads to minimize disruption. Despite accidents during construction and initial skepticism, the subway was soon deemed a success and became integral to London's transport system, with additional lines built and suburbs sprouting around stations. A new tunneling technique using a shield allowed deeper tunnels without disturbing the surface, enabling expansion of the network under dense urban areas. This set the stage for underground rail systems around the world to combat traffic problems in major cities.

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Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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It was the dawn of 1863,

and London’s
not-yet-opened subway system,

the first of its kind in the world,


had the city in an uproar.

Digging a hole under the city


and putting a railroad in it

seemed the stuff of dreams.

Pub drinkers scoffed at the idea

and a local minister accused the railway


company of trying to break into hell.

Most people simply thought the project,

which cost more than


100 million dollars in today’s money,

would never work.

But it did.

On January 10, 1863,

30,000 people ventured underground


to travel on the world’s first subway

on a four-mile stretch of line in London.

After three years of construction


and a few setbacks,

the Metropolitan Railway


was ready for business.

The city’s officials were much relieved.

They’d been desperate to find a way

to reduce the terrible


congestion on the roads.

London, at the time the world’s largest


and most prosperous city,

was in a permanent state of gridlock,

with carts,

costermongers,

cows,

and commuters jamming the roads.


It’d been a Victorian visionary,
Charles Pearson,

who first thought of putting railways


under the ground.

He’d lobbied for underground trains


throughout the 1840s,

but opponents thought the idea


was impractical

since the railroads at the time


only had short tunnels under hills.

How could you get a railway


through the center of a city?

The answer was a simple system


called "cut and cover."

Workers had to dig a huge trench,

construct a tunnel out of brick archways,

and then refill the hole


over the newly built tunnel.

Because this was disruptive

and required the demolition


of buildings above the tunnels,

most of the line went


under existing roads.

Of course, there were accidents.

On one occasion, a heavy rainstorm


flooded the nearby sewers

and burst through the excavation,

delaying the project by several months.

But as soon as
the Metropolitan Railway opened,

Londoners rushed in
to ride the new trains.

The Metropolitan quickly became


a vital part of London’s transport system.

Additional lines were soon built,

and new suburbs grew around the stations.


Big department stores opened
next to the railroad,

and the railway company


even created attractions,

like a 30-story Ferris wheel in Earls


Court to bring in tourists by train.

Within 30 years,

London’s subway system covered


80 kilometers,

with lines in the center of town


running in tunnels,

and suburban trains operating


on the surface, often on embankments.

But London was still growing,

and everyone wanted


to be connected to the system.

By the late 1880s,

the city had become too dense with


buildings, sewers, and electric cables

for the "cut and cover" technique,

so a new system had to be devised.

Using a machine
called the Greathead Shield,

a team of just 12 workers could


bore through the earth,

carving deep underground tunnels


through the London clay.

These new lines, called tubes,


were at varying depths,

but usually about 25 meters deeper than


the "cut and cover" lines.

This meant their construction


didn’t disturb the surface,

and it was possible


to dig under buildings.

The first tube line,


the City and South London,

opened in 1890 and proved so successful


that half a dozen more lines
were built in the next 20 years.

This clever new technology was even used


to burrow several lines

under London’s river, the Thames.

By the early 20th century,

Budapest,

Berlin,

Paris,

and New York

had all built subways of their own.

And today, with more than 160 cities


in 55 countries

using underground rails


to combat congestion,

we can thank Charles Pearson


and the Metropolitan Railway

for getting us started on the right track.

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