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| Colour on map | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year opened | 1868 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line type | Sub-Surface | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | C69 & C77 , D78 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations served | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 64 km (40 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depots | Upminster Ealing Common (D Stock only) Hammersmith (C Stock only) |
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| Journeys made | 188 million (2002) (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 third busiest overall on the Underground network. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground.
Contents |
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-on-Sea 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 Main Line.
Trains
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This article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (July 2009) |
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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, replacing the previous unpainted aluminium finish which is prone to damage by graffiti vandals. The stock also received a complete interior refurbishment and was fitted with CCTV and passenger information displays. The trains are maintained at Ealing Common Depot and Upminster Depot.
Last unpainted train
D stock unit 7115 was taken out of service to be refurbished on 15 February 2008. Its run could 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 silver train on the London Underground; fittingly running on the line which first introduced unpainted trains. The unit left Ealing for it's refurbishment on 28 February 2008.
Map
The TFL line diagram is available online.
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 |
In order from west to east
Richmond branch
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.
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)
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.
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
Edgware Road branch
The Edgware Road branch diverges from the main line east of Earl's Court.
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)
Safety
In early 2009, three safety failures occurred on the line. All of them were recorded to have passed red signals. In August 2009 it was reported that the line had been given a period of less than a month to improve safety features or legal action, involving possible temporary line closures, may be taken.[1][2]
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.
Future
The District line, like the Hammersmith & City Line and the Circle Line (by then part of the Circle and the Metropolitan Line alone) and the Metropolitan line, will have London Underground S Stock trains running by 2014/2015.
The proposed Chelsea-Hackney Line may take over part of the Wimbledon branch.
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 called 'The District Line' which refers to London.
References
- ^ Tobin, Dominic (27 August 2009). "Tube to face rap over District safety lapses". The London Paper. pp. 4. http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/news/london/tube-to-face-rap-over-district-line-safety-failures. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- ^ Littlejohn, Georgina (27 August 2009). "Tube risks legal action over safety". London Lite. pp. 5.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: District Line |
- "District line facts". Transport for London. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/linefacts/?line=district. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- "District Dave's London Underground Site". http://www.trainweb.org/districtdave/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- "District Line". Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides. 2008-04-15. http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/district.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
| 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 |
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