Underground


London Underground (known as “the tube”) is the biggest underground system in the world and is made up of a network of 9 major routes, called lines. The network covers central and outer London and some suburbs. You buy your ticket at the underground station from a ticket-machine or a ticket-office. Ticket-machines sometimes require the exact money: the machine will display “Change given” or “Exact Money Only” signs. The cost of the ticket depends on the length of your journey: there are 5 zones and the more zones you cross, the higher the cost

of the ticket.

Ordinary single or return tickets are available, but if you are breaking your journey (getting off at one station

on your way to another) or travelling to several places in a day, a “One-day Travelcard” will be more economical. Travelcards allow unlimited travel on London buses and the underground. They are available from London underground stations, some bus stations and newsagents, London Transport Travel Information Centres and the Tourist Information Centre at Victoria Station.

If you plan to travel extensively by bus and underground in London, ask at your nearest British Rail International Travel Office or ata travel agent for details of the Visitor Travel Card, which gives you unlimited travel on most bus and underground routes. The Visitor Travel Card cannot be bought in Britain.

Smoking is not allowed on London underground trains or in stations. Trains stop automatically at all stations: on some trains doors open automatically, on others you must press a button. Every tube train compartment has maps showing all the stations on the line you are on. A map of the whole system can be found in every station. Other cities in Britain with underground train networks are Glasgow and Newcastle.