Line History:

Five years after the original Metropolitan Railway, the St John's Wood Railway Company opened a line in 1868 from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage. That Company had amalgamated with the Metropolitan by 1879, when t he line was extended to Willesden Green. The next extensions were to Harrow-on-the-Hill in 1880, Pinner in 1885, Rickmansworth in 1887 and Chesham in 1889. Finally, in 1892, the main line reached Aylesbury.In 1904, the branch from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Ux bridge opened but another 21 years elapsed before the Metropolitan expanded its system further, with an extension from Moor Park via Croxley to Watford. In 1932, the Metropolitan opened yet another new branch, from Wembley Park to Stanmore (although after only seven years this became part of the Bakerloo Line which simultaneously took over the Metropolitan's stopping service between Finchley Road and Wembley Park, allowing Metropolitan trains to run non-stop between these two stations). The line from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Moor Park was double-tracked in 1962 to allow some trains to operate non-stop between these stations, speeding the service for longer-distance passengers. Electric trains began running from Baker Street to Uxbridge in 1905 and to Rickmansworth in 1925. The Watford branch was electrified from the outset (1925), but steam survived north of Rickmansworth until 1961 when the line was electrified to Amersham and Chesham and the service beyond Amersham was taken over by British Rail (now Chiltern Railways). However, steam-hauled trains still run on the Metropolitan Line at special annual events, usually held in May or June, when the general public can enjoy the exhilaration of travelling behind a steam engine as it tackles the gradients of the Chilterns.

Although today's Metropolitan Line had its origins in the world's first Underground railway, in fact only 9.7km (six miles) out of the line's 67 km (41 miles) are actually under ground. This makes what is often popularly known as the Met, more like a suburban railway than a typical part of the London Underground. The Metropolitan Line now runs from Aldgate and Baker Street via Finchley Road and Wembley Park to Harrow-on-the-Hill, where the branch to Uxbridge separates. Fro m Harrow, the line proceeds north to Moor Park and splits again, with one branch going to Watford and the other continuing on to Amersham via Rickmansworth. A single track branch to Chesham joins the Amersham line at Chalfont and Latimer, but is usually r un as a shuttle service. Trains on the Amersham service normally run non-stop between Finchley Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Moor Park. \par In all, the Met serves 34 stations, the busiest being King's Cross (also served by Northern, Circle, Hammermith & City, Pi ccadilly and Victoria Line trains) used by 69 million passengers in 1996. The line currently has 42 trains operating at peak periods, and conveyed some 54 million passengers in 1996.

Stations and Trains:

Metropolitan Line trains are known as A stock. They were built in two batches between 1960 and 1962 and run as eight-car trains made up of two units each con sisting of four cars permanently coupled together. One four-car unit is used for the shuttle service between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer. The trains were recently refurbished by ABB Adtranz works in Derby.

Depots:

The main Metropolitan Line depot is at Neasden, but there are several other minor sidings, including Wembley Park, Uxbridge and Rickmansworth. Jubilee Line trains are maintained by GEC Alsthom and East London Line trains are maintained by the Metropolitan Line.

Metropolitan route map:

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