Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides

"I know a land where the wild flowers grow,
Near, near at hand if by train you go,
Metro-Land, Metro-Land."

- untitled item
George R. Sims

"Through Amersham to Aylesbury and the Vale,
In those wet fields the railway didn't pay.
The Metro stops at Amersham today."

- Metroland
J Betjeman

Metropolitan Line

A Subsurface Line

[last modified 2007-12-11]

History

Dates

Features

Services

Topology

Layout

Depots

Connections

Rolling stock

History

For the early history of the Metropolitan Railway, and the entire history of the section from Aldgate to Baker Street, see the Hammersmith & City Line.

North of Baker Street, today's Metropolitan Line follows a later route built by the Metropolitan Railway. It was known for a time as the Metropolitan Extension (on extension to Harrow the Board of Trade inspector wrote "This new line, practically speaking, is not a Metropolitan Railway"), but eventually the Metropolitan came to feel that this, rather than their original route, was now their main line; and this is why it retains the name Metropolitan today.

The Metropolitan Railway had a history of stubborn independence - see the Circle Line page for its conflicts with the MDR. Having been the only major ^[1] underground line not to be absorbed into the Yerkes group, and having successfully avoided being caught up in the 1923 Grouping on the grounds it only served the London area, it fiercely (but unsuccessfully) fought nationalization in 1933 on the claim that it was a main line and should not be part of London Transport!

The origin of the Metropolitan Main Line was the Metropolitan & St. John's Wood Railway, a branch from Baker Street to tap the northern part of Paddington. It was built as single track with a single passing place at St. John's Wood (later Lord's). For the first year trains ran through on to the "Main Line" - today's Circle Line - but after that for many years all trains terminated at Baker Street, with the connection used only for moving empty stock and normally blocked by a drawbridge at the southern end of the M&StJWR platforms. For a while starting in 1874 the line operated with two "human tokens", one in a red cap and the other in a blue cap - a train had to have the correct person on the engine to run on the single lines. To speed the working, as the trains arrived at St. John's Wood the men would jump off the engine and slide to a halt along the platform, a source of great public entertainment.

Some years later, the Manchester, Sheffield, & Lincolnshire Railway was looking to expand towards London, and at the same time the Metropolitan Railway had its eyes on the untapped commuter market of the northwest (the only rival, the LNWR, did not become interested in commuters until much later). Since the two railways had the same chairman ^[2] co-operation was natural, and the short branch to St. John's Wood bloomed into a major trunk route. The Metropolitan extended its route north through Harrow and Rickmansworth to Aylesbury. At the same time it bought out one failed railway - the Aylesbury & Buckingham Railway from Aylesbury via Quainton Road to Verney Junction - and took over the operation of another - the Wotton Tramway from Quainton Road to Brill. It also built a branch to Chesham, an important destination in its own right as well as aiming at an eventual link to the LNWR at Tring. It would have seemed logical to extend the Brill branch to Oxford, and many such plans were made, but none came to fruition and the line remained a backwater of the system.

Meanwhile the MS&LR extended its main line south to meet the Metropolitan at Quainton Road and then ran along the latter to Finchley Road, where it diverged west to a separate terminus at Marylebone. Following a dispute between the two companies, on 1906-04-02 the Metropolitan and the MS&LR (by now renamed the Great Central) transferred the route from Quainton Road to south of Harrow (and including the two branches) to a Joint Committee. The lines south of Harrow were reorganised to give the GCR separate tracks from Harrow to Marylebone with no intermediate stations. The Joint Committee was to build one line of its own: the branch to Watford. As planned this would have served the town centre, but objections from the local council meant it finished in the middle of nowhere (something that is still the case today). Nonetheless it was given a frequent service to both Baker Street and Marylebone, though the latter was withdrawn after only 6 months, on 1926-05-03. Late the following year the Metropolitan attempted to drum up business by running a bus service from the station to the centre of the town. Though always running at a loss, the buses contributed greatly to the patronage of the branch for many years.

Following the success of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Metropolitan sponsored a similar but larger (353m or 1159') Wembley Tower, and in anticipation of the large crowds it would draw opened a new station at Wembley Park to serve it. As it turned out, only about the first 60m (200') of the tower was built as problems with the ground meant it was starting to topple; the venture was a financial disaster and the structure was removed in 1907, allowing the land to be used for building. Part of the area was reused in the 1920s for the Empire Exhibition and for Wembley Stadium. To serve these a separate Exhibition station was opened in 1923 on the east side just south of Wembley Park station, with non-stop trains to Baker Street; this remained until 1937, when it was replaced by an additional platform at the main station.

For much of its independent life, the Metropolitan was known for encouraging commuter traffic and new development on "green-field" sites; this policy was supported by a unique legal position that allowed the company to own property for such purposes rather than being required to sell off any land not needed for railway use. Both the Watford and Uxbridge branches - and the Stanmore branch now part of the Jubilee Line - were built to this end, and the whole became known as "Metro-land"^[3], a term first appearing in publicity material in May 1915 and more recently popularized by the late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. It was also the only Underground line to run Pullman coaches (two luxury coaches - "Galatea" and "Mayflower" - owned by the Pullman Car Company) in its trains. In 1931 it even fitted chocolate vending machines in some trains.

Traffic on the Metropolitan was heavy enough that it was quadrupled from Finchley Road to Kilburn in 1913, Wembley Park in 1915, Harrow in 1932, Northwood Hills in 1961, and Croxleyhall Junction (north of Moor Park) in 1962. Originally the fast lines were the eastern pair south of Wembley Park and the western pair north of there (meaning that most trains had to cross sides at Wembley Park), but in 1938 the lines south of Harrow were reorganised with the fast tracks on the outside and the slow on the inside (south of Wembley Park the Bakerloo Line was about to take over the latter). From 1901 the GCR had its own separate pair of tracks on the west side from Finchley Road to Harrow.

Present-day services operate only as far as Amersham, with main line trains from Marylebone extending this to Aylesbury. Beyond there, the line to Quainton Road remains as a goods route (and distances along it are still officially measured from Baker Street), though north of there the line follows the route of the GCR to its intersection with the LNWR line from Cambridge to Oxford. The two branches have vanished: operation of the Wotton Tramway ceased in 1935, after which its owners sold the track for scrap and let the route merge back into the countryside, while the sparse passenger service to Verney Junction was withdrawn the following year in order to make an annual saving of £42; goods services lasted until 1947 after which it was mothballed for 11 years before the track was lifted (the platforms are just about still visible from the LNWR line, itself currently out of use here).

From 1939-07-17 to 1941-10-05 trains from Uxbridge ran all the way to Barking via the Hammersmith & City Line.

^[1] Two minor lines - the ELR and W&CR - were owned by main line railways that were nationalized in 1948 as part of BR, and the GN&CR was owned by the Metropolitan for part of its lifetime before becoming part of the Northern.

^[2] He also ran the SER, and had visions of a Manchester to Paris service via Baker Street, the ELR, and a Channel Tunnel.

^[3] Note how the official spelling and the two quotes at the top of this page all disagree.

Dates

Note that dates are not given for services described on the Circle Line and Hammersmith & City Line pages, even when these were operated by the Metropolitan Railway. The term "Circle" in these dates always refers to whatever part of the line between Aldgate and Baker Street was open at the time.

The dates for the Brill branch are a little uncertain. Sources indicate that all the stations, including the endpoints, opened on dates rather later than the line itself. Very likely the line was first operated as a tramway with no formal stops, with stations being added later.

key to symbols

1868-04-13	2	Baker Street to Swiss Cottage opened with through running to the Circle
1868-09-23	[3]	Aylesbury (1) to Verney Junction opened [ABR]
		Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Waddesdon, Quainton Road (MR)
1869-07-03		Through running to the Circle withdrawn
1871-04-01	[0]	{Quainton Road (WT)} to {Wotton} opened [Wotton Tramway]
1871-08-19	0	{Wotton} to {Wood Siding} opened [Wotton Tramway]
1871-11-	0	{Wood Siding} to 400m before Brill opened [Wotton Tramway]
1871-11-		Church Siding, Wood Siding
1872-01-		Quainton Road (WT), Waddesdon Road, Westcott, Wotton
1872-04-	0	Last 400m to Brill opened [Wotton Tramway]
1879-06-30	1	Swiss Cottage to West Hampstead opened
1879-11-24	1	West Hampstead to Willesden Green opened
1880-08-02	[1]	Willesden Green to Harrow-on-the-Hill opened
		Neasden
1885-05-25	[0]	Harrow-on-the-Hill to Pinner opened
1887-09-01	[1]	Pinner to Rickmansworth opened
		Northwood
1889-07-08	2	Rickmansworth to Chesham opened
1891-07-01		Aylesbury (1) to Verney Junction started [Metropolitan]
1892-09-01	3	Chalfont & Latimer to Aylesbury (2) opened
1893-10-14		Wembley Park (football Saturdays only)
1893-12-31		Aylesbury (2)
1894-01-01	0	{Aylesbury (2)} to Aylesbury (1) opened
1894-05-12		Wembley Park (continuous service)
1894-08		Church Siding
1896-11-29		Quainton Road (ABR), Quainton Road (WT)
1896-11-30		Quainton Road (MR)
1897-01-01		Waddesdon
1899-03-15		Finchley Road to Quainton Road (MR) started [GCR]
1899-12-01		Quainton Road (MR) to Brill started [Metropolitan]
1904-07-04	[1]	Harrow-on-the-Hill to Uxbridge opened
		Ruislip
1905-01-01		Baker Street to Uxbridge
1905-07-01		Aldgate to Baker Street
1905-09-25		Ickenham
1906-05-26		Rayners Lane, Eastcote
1907-01-28		Through running to the Circle restored
1907-05-		Through running to the Circle withdrawn
1908-05-21		Preston Road
1909-07-01		Through running to the Circle restored
1909-10-01		Dollis Hill
1910-05-09		Moor Park
1910-06-01		Pullman coaches first operated
1912-08-05		Ruislip Manor
1913-11-17		West Harrow
1915-03-22		North Harrow
1917-02-11		Ruislip Manor
1919-04-01		Ruislip Manor
1923-06-28		Northwick Park
1923-12-10		Hillingdon
1925-01-05		Harrow-on-the-Hill to Rickmansworth
1925-11-02	1	Moor Park to Watford opened
	0	Croxley to Rickmansworth opened
1931-11-22		Preston Road, southbound only
1932-01-03		Preston Road, northbound only
1932-12-10	[2]	Wembley Park to Stanmore opened
		Queensbury
1933-11-13		Northwood Hills
1933-12-31		Croxley to Rickmansworth closed
1934-12-16		Queensbury
1935-11-30		Quainton Road (MR) to Brill closed
1936-07-04		Quainton Road (MR) to Verney Junction closed
		Aylesbury (1) to Quainton Road (MR) withdrawn
		Waddesdon
1938-12-04		Uxbridge
1939-10-07		Pullman coaches withdrawn
1939-11-19		Wembley Park to Stanmore withdrawn
		Lord's, Marlborough Road
1940-08-17		Swiss Cottage
1940-12-07		West Hampstead, Kilburn, Willesden Green, Dollis Hill, Neasden
1941-10-06	0	Croxley to Rickmansworth reopened [Sunday only]
1943-05-03	[0]	Aylesbury (1) to Quainton Road (MR) restored
1948-05-29		Aylesbury (1) to Quainton Road (MR) withdrawn
1960-01-03		Croxley to Rickmansworth closed
1960-09-12		Rickmansworth to Amersham and Chesham
1961-09-10		Amersham to Aylesbury (1) withdrawn
		Last passenger steam services on LU withdrawn
1963-03-02		Quainton Road
1966-09-03		Aylesbury (1) to Quainton Road closed
1987-05-11	0	Croxley to Rickmansworth reopened [occasional trains only]
1992-12-06		Hillingdon
2005-01-02		Ruislip Manor, southbound only (reconstruction)
2005-07-07		Aldgate to Moorgate closed (bomb explosion on Circle Line train at Aldgate)^[1]
2005-07-09		Ruislip Manor, southbound only
		Ruislip Manor, northbound only (reconstruction)
2005-07-25	1	Aldgate to Moorgate reopened
2005-12-22		Ruislip Manor, northbound only
2005-12-26		Willesden Green
2005-12-30		Willesden Green
2010	0	Aylesbury to Aylesbury Vale Parkway reopened

^[1] On 2005-07-08 only the closure extended from Aldgate to Baker Street.

Features

From Aldgate (where the Metropolitan Line has its own platforms) to Baker Street Junction, the line shares track with the Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines; this section is mostly in tunnel, but with short sections, and some stations, in the open. From Baker Street to Finchley Road is in tunnel, surfacing at Finchley Road station.

From Finchley Road to just south of Wembley Park, there are four tracks, with the Jubilee tracks between the Metropolitan, plus the National Rail line from Marylebone to the west. At Wembley Park the Metropolitan tracks split into fast (on the outside) and slow (on the inside), and there are 6 platforms including the Jubilee. After the Jubilee diverges, there remains 4 Metropolitan tracks (with the slow tracks remaining on the inside), plus two National Rail tracks on the west side, until Harrow-on-the-Hill, where again there are 6 platforms; LU takes over ownership of all 6 tracks just south of the station, and all platforms are electrified. Normal use of the platforms is:

1	northbound main line services, plus a few fast LU trains
2	southbound main line services, plus one LU train turning back south-to-north
3	northbound Watford, Amersham, and Chesham services
4	northbound Uxbridge services
5	southbound all-stops services
6	southbound services running non-stop to Finchley Road

The layout of the station and Harrow North Junction is (north is at the left):

                                                            SB fast
                   /---------*-----*-----6-----*-*------------------
                  /           \   /   ########  X           SB local
                 /   [----*----*-*--*----5-----*-*------------------
    SB local    /    [   /   ------*                        NB local
    -----------*     [--*---*-----*-*----4-----*-*------------------
    NB local  /              \   /    ########  X           NB fast
    ---------X--*-------------*-*--------3-----*-*-*----------------
    SB fast /  /                                  /         SB NR
    -------*--X--------------------*-----2-----==X==================
    NB fast  /                    /   ########  /           NB NR
    --------*--------------------*-------1-----*====================

(== indicates non-electrified track; [ is the diveunder to the Uxbridge branch).

The Uxbridge branch, after diving under the northbound tracks, is double track. The main line remains 4-track (fast lines to the west of the local lines) to Croxleyhall junction, where it reverts to double track. The Watford branch separates at Watford South Junction, and there are no intermediate connections between fast and local lines, meaning that Watford trains must use the local lines. There is a connecting curve between Watford East and North junctions; currently this is only used for empty stock movements and a few trains at the start and end of service, but has previously seen a full service.

The Watford branch and the main line north of Croxleyhall Junction are both double track. The Chesham branch is single track, with its own platform at Chalfont & Latimer; the branch runs beside the main line for some distance.

Services

[Northbound services are described; the southbound ones are, of course, identical in reverse.]

The Metropolitan Line is the only line to operate express service. Off-peak, service presently consists of:

Baker Street to Amersham four times an hour, stopping only at Finchley Road, Wembley Park, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Moor Park, and then all stations;
Aldgate to Uxbridge every 10 minutes, calling at all stations;
Baker Street to Watford every 10 minutes, also calling at all stations;
Chalfont & Latimer to Chesham (the "Chesham shuttle").

This is a simplication of previous services, which additionally involved:

any route might start from Aldgate, Baker Street, or a mixture;
some Amersham trains might call at all stations north of Harrow-on-the-Hill;
all routes might involve running fast from Finchley Road to Harrow-on-the-Hill, calling at all stations on that section, or a mixture;
fast trains did not normally stop at Wembley Park.

During the peaks, other services are operated, mostly only in the peak flow direction:

trains starting at Moorgate instead of Aldgate (though there are currently no such services);
trains to Watford (but not, at present, Uxbridge) running fast from Finchley Road to Harrow-on-the-Hill;
trains to Chesham instead of Amersham (while these trains are on the Chesham branch, the shuttle stays in the bay at Chalfont & Latimer);
Amersham and Chesham trains not stopping at Wembley Park.

At the start and end of service there are a few oddities:

some trains may stop at Willesden Green and Neasden;
until mid-2000, some trains ran on the Jubilee Line tracks and stopped at all stations (this ceased when ATO was brought into operation on the Jubilee);
services terminating at Rickmansworth or starting at Wembley Park or Harrow-on-the-Hill;
a few Watford to Rickmansworth, Amersham, or Chesham services;
all-stops Baker Street to Chesham trains.

Other variations also occur. The line is also unique in having extra allowances for slow running north of Rickmansworth during autumn, because of problems with leaves on the line.

From 2004-09-26 until 2005-02-13 (inclusive) reconstruction work at Wembley Park meant that southbound trains using the slow line could not stop there. All Amersham and Watford southbound services therefore ran fast from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Wembley Park, stopping there, while Uxbridge southbound services stopped at Northwick Park and Preston Road but skipped Wembley Park. Northbound fast Amersham trains were also unable to stop. From 2005-02-12 to 2005-05-28 the opposing arrangements were in effect: northbound Uxbridge trains skipped Wembley Park but called at Northwick Park and Preston Road, while all other trains stopped at Wembley Park but then ran fast to Harrow-on-the-Hill. Southbound Amersham trains (and two evening peak trains from Watford) ran fast from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Finchley Road.

Minimum running times from Baker Street for stopping trains are:

Aldgate	16 minutes
Amersham	50 minutes
Chesham	54 minutes
Harrow-on-the-Hill	21 minutes
Uxbridge	40 minutes
Watford	41 minutes

Trains that do not stop between Finchley Road and Harrow-on-the-Hill save about 2 minutes, while those that do not stop between Harrow and Moor Park save 4 to 5 minutes. The Chesham shuttle takes 8 minutes each way.

Topology

                        <= North   South =>

    1                           W
    |/-\                        |
    V   \           C           a                                  2
    |    \           \         / \                                /
    \--1--Q---Y---M---L-------b-c=d========H====P~~~~~F-----K----J--A--3
        /      \                          / \---4--*--4    /
    B--/        4                        /        /    \  5
                                U-------R--6     4      4

= = quadruple track
~ = double track with Jubilee tracks between
A = Aldgate
B = Brill
C = Chesham
F = Finchley Road
H = Harrow-on-the-Hill
J = Aldgate Junction
K = Baker Street Junction
L = Chalfont & Latimer
M = Amersham
P = Wembley Park
Q = Quainton Road
R = Rayners Lane Junction
U = Uxbridge
V = Verney Junction
W = Watford
Y = Aylesbury (1)
a = Watford East Junction
b = Watford North Junction
c = Croxleyhall Junction
d = Watford South Junction
1 = NR goods line to Bletchley
2 = Hammersmith & City Line to Barking
3 = Circle Line via Tower Hill
4 = Chiltern line (NR) from Marylebone via Amersham or via Ruislip
5 = Circle Line and Hammersmith & City Line via Edgware Road
6 = Piccadilly Line to Cockfosters

Layout

key to notation

Northbound is upwards on the page and southbound is downwards.

SP738274	128=01	[junction with LNWR]
SP739275	127=83	(Verney Junction)
SP750260	125=58	(Winslow Road)
SP745242	123=73	(Granborough Road)
SP733192	118=18	[junction with GCR]
SP736190		(Quainton Road (ABR))
SP737189	117=56	(Quainton Road (MR))
SP757180	115=57	(Waddesdon)
SP787153	111=3	{{Aylesbury Vale Parkway}}
SP817134	107=83	{Aylesbury (1)}
SP819133		[Aylesbury Junction]
SP822131		(Aylesbury (2))
SP839106	104=23	{Stoke Mandeville}
SP865077	100=37	{Wendover}
SP893012	93=16	{Great Missenden}
	87.08	[Mantles Wood Junction]
SU964982	84.83	Amersham
SU983978	83.0	[divergence]
SU996975	81.58	Chalfont & Latimer
TQ025960	78.12	Chorleywood
057945	74.52	Rickmansworth
070946	73.35	[Watford North Junction]
	73.10	[Croxleyhall Junction]
073945	72.77	[Watford South Junction]
086935	71.16	Moor Park
092913	68.95	Northwood
103902	67.33	Northwood Hills
122894	65.25	Pinner
135886	63.77	North Harrow
	62.83	[Harrow North Junction]
153880	61.78	Harrow-on-the-Hill
	61.25	[LU/NR boundary]
166879	60.49	Northwick Park
182872	58.84	Preston Road
193863	57.38	Wembley Park
213853	55.09	{Neasden}
222851	54.24	{Dollis Hill}
233848	53.03	{Willesden Green}
245846	51.84	{Kilburn}
256846	50.75	{West Hampstead}
261848	50.14	Finchley Road
	49.59	(Swiss Cottage)
	48.83	(Marlborough Road)
	47.88	(Lord's)
271827	47.68	[tunnel mouth]
273825	47.02	[tunnel mouth]
279820	46.75	Baker Street
280820	46.59	[Baker Street Junction]
288821	45.79	Great Portland Street
294823	45.17	Euston Square
302828	44.32	King's Cross St. Pancras
304829	43.90	(King's Cross Thameslink)
315818	42.47	Farringdon
320818	41.96	Barbican
324814	41.33	Moorgate
331815	40.81	Liverpool Street
335813	40.32	[Aldgate Junction]
TQ336812	40.19	Aldgate

SP656153	128=2	(Brill)
SP673154		(Wood Siding)
SP690156		(Church Siding)
SP694153	123=47	(Wotton)
SP720167	120=49	(Westcott)
SP725175	119=51	(Waddesdon Road)
SP735188		[divergence from original route]
SP737189	117=56	(Quainton Road (MR))

SP735188		[divergence from later route]
SP736189		(Quainton Road (WT))

TQ055841	73.03	Uxbridge
075850	70.93	Hillingdon
	70.86	(Hillingdon Swakeleys)
081858	69.85	Ickenham
086864	69.11	[Ruislip siding entrance]
095869	68.00	Ruislip
101872	67.28	Ruislip Manor
112876	66.14	Eastcote
129875	64!41	Rayners Lane
131874	64.33	[Rayners Lane Junction]
141880	63.03	West Harrow
153880	61.78	Harrow-on-the-Hill

095965	76.08	Watford
079954	74.10	Croxley
072948	73.26	[Watford East Junction]
073945	72.77	[Watford South Junction]

070946	73.35	[Watford North Junction]
072948	72.80	[Watford East Junction]
TQ079954	71=96	Croxley

SP860016	87.93	Chesham
SU983978	83.0	[divergence]
SU996975	81.58	Chalfont & Latimer

Depots

The line is served by Neasden Depot, on the east side of the track between Neasden and Wembley Park stations. At the south end, trains can depart on to either of the southbound tracks, and enter from the northbound Jubilee Line. At the north end, the depot can be entered from any southbound track, and a diveunder allows trains to leave the depot northwards on to any northbound track (and also to cross to the southbound Jubilee line) without fouling southbound movements.

There is also a small depot at the north end of Wembley Park station, with the same name, connected only to the Metropolitan southbound fast track.

Connections

The Metropolitan Line runs over the Hammersmith & City tracks from Baker Street Junction eastwards, and shares tracks with the Piccadilly Line from Rayners Lane Junction to Uxbridge; the latter section also has a connection with Ruislip Depot on the Central Line, opened on 1975-09-28. Metropolitan Line trains can also use the Jubilee Line tracks between Neasden and just north of Finchley Road (but are normally barred because of ATO issues).

The line also connects to National Rail at Harrow-on-the-Hill and Mantles Wood Junction.

Rolling Stock

The line is operated by 8-car A stock trains (two 4-car units), except that the Chesham shuttle, but not the through services, uses a 4-car train (which must be a unit with both cabs fully equipped; "single-ended" units may not operate alone in passenger service).

All LU stock may run on the line. NR stock running between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Mantles Wood Junction must be fitted with tripcocks.

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