Hammersmith & City line

The Hammersmith & City line is a London Underground route running between Hammersmith in the west and Barking in the east. Coloured pink on the Tube map, it serves 29 stations along 25.5 kilometres of track. The line skirts the City of London between Farringdon and Aldgate East, giving it its name. Its tunnels run just below the surface and match the size of British main-line tracks. Most of the route and all stations are shared with the Circle, District or Metropolitan lines. The line carries over 141 million passenger journeys each year. It began in 1863 as the world’s first underground railway, running from Paddington to Farringdon with steam locomotives. The following year a branch opened west to Hammersmith, jointly run by the Metropolitan and Great Western Railway companies. Electrification came in 1906, and in 1936 services were extended east to Barking. The route appeared on the Tube map as part of the Metropolitan line until 1990, when it became a separate line. Visitors find a straightforward journey through west and east London. The line runs parallel to the Great Western Main Line between Paddington and Westbourne Park. Between Bromley-by-Bow and Barking it follows the London, Tilbury and Southend line. Stations include Shepherd’s Bush, Westbourne Park and Plaistow, with Hammersmith and Barking as the two main termini.