Urban rail transit systems

London's Underground is associated with a multitude of ghostly stories and sightings, particular stations and abandoned lines, many of which are in close proximity to burial sites from centuries ago. This chilling book reveals well-known and hitherto unpublished tales of spirits, spectres and other spooky occurrences on one of the oldest railway networks in the world. The stories of sightings include the ghost of an actress regularly witnessed on Aldywch Station and the 'Black

Did You Know?

- In 1884 the Circle Line opened and was described in The Times as 'a form of mild torture which no person would undergo if he could conveniently help it.'

- According to one psychologist, Tube commuters can experience greater levels of stress than a police officer facing a rioting mob or even a fighter pilot going into a dogfight.

- Underground trains have only twice been used to transport deceased people in coffins: William Gladstone and Dr Barnardo.

Manuel Suárez Lastra, Carlos Galindo-Pérez y Masanori Murata.

Why did London have to wait so long for a main-line railway beneath its streets? For a few years in the mid-nineteenth century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad-gauge Great Western trains ran from Reading to Faringdon. Now, after many false starts, his vision is being realised as the Elizabeth Line prepares to carry passengers from Reading to the City once again, and beyond to Essex and Kent, using engineering that would have earned the admiration of the greatest Victorian engineers. London histo

The London Underground has always been key to the lives of Londoners, from when its stations and stairwells offered refuge from the barrage of the Blitz through to its unique ability across the years to transport people safely all around the capital. It has remained strong in the face of devastation, surviving horrors like the Moorgate Tube crash and the 7/7 bombings. An icon throughout the world, the Tube is as resilient as any Londoner, and is the thread that holds the capital together. These

Der Zug ist verspätet, überfüllt oder fällt aus, Klimaanlage und Toiletten sind defekt, das Bordbistro geschlossen: Bei der Deutschen Bahn ist die Betriebsstörung ein Dauerzustand. Trotz hoher Ticketpreise und Subventionen sind Fahrzeuge und Schienennetz verlottert, für die Steuerzahler droht der größte Staatskonzern ein Fass ohne Boden zu werden. Dabei brauchen wir eine funktionierende Bahn mehr denn je, wenn wir den Verkehrskollaps vermeiden und unsere Klimaziele erreichen wollen.
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Used extensively and somewhat taken for granted by millions of commuters and tourists every day, the London Underground has long been a part of our national heritage and way of life. It was the first underground railway in the world, and is now central to lives of millions of Londoners. Here Ben Pedroche explores the realities of building the railway from the beginning, 150 years ago, exploring this dangerous, back-breaking job and how it culminated in the rail system we see today. He works his