Facts & Figures about the London Underground - Part 2


About this time last year I wrote the first article on facts and figures. I can hardly believe that a year has gone by already.

Lots of people have trivia questions about the London Underground. What's the oldest station? What's the deepest station? How many people travel on it? etc etc. But here we look at some of these pieces of trivia and discover what they actually mean to your journey.

Only one tube birth

Despite what seems like half of London living in the London Underground during the war, only one person was ever born in a tube carriage. So this is good news if you are pregnant as I'm sure you would now be transported to the next station quickly and taken to hospital. Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor (note her initials) was born in 1924 on a Bakerloo line train at Elephant & Castle.

Watch out for green grapes.

Everyone's seen the comedy banana skin routines in silent movies, but green grapes seem to cause more problems on the London Underground than banana skins. More accidents have been caused by people slipping on grapes than on discarded bananas.

Let them eat chocolate

The Cadbury's Whole Nut chocolate bar is the biggest seller in the chocolate machines on tube station platforms. Cadbury's have the contract for supplying these vending machines. At their Bourneville HQ in Birmingham, a Cadbury spokesperson said: "We are delighted to have won the biggest vending contract in the UK. The Tube is a great shop window for us with three million potential buyers every day." So if you don't like Cadbury's chocolate and you're stuck at tube stations you'll have to go hungry!

Stations to avoid if you're feeling depressed

Victoria and King's Cross record the highest number of tube suicides each year. This isn't surprising as Victoria is the tube's busiest station with 85 million passengers each year and King's Cross has 70 million passengers each year. The peak hour for tube suicides is 11am. This is contrary to popular belief amongst commuters who always think "one unders" or "track pizza" (to use a delightful New York phrase) cause delays in the rush hour.

Stations to avoid if you don't like mice

The best places to spot mice running around the tracks of the underground are Waterloo station (northbound on the Bakerloo line) and any platform at Oxford Circus.

Underground conditions

Strange but true. More of the London Underground is open than in a tunnel. Tell yourself this fact if you suffer from claustrophobia. The air in the underground is on average 10°C hotter than the air on the surface. A fragrance called "Madeleine" was introduced at St James Park, Euston and Piccadilly stations in an effort to make the tube smell better on 23rd March 2001. It was taken out of action on 24th March 2001 as it was making people feel sick.

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