Central line (London Underground)

Central line
A Central line train leaving Theydon Bois
Overview
Type	Deep Tube
System	London Underground
Stations	49
Ridership	260.916 million (2011/12) passenger journeys
Colour on map	Red
Website	tfl.gov.uk
Operation
Opened	1900
Depot(s)	West Ruislip Hainault White City
Rolling stock	8 cars per trainset
Technical
Line length	74 km (46 mi)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Transport for London rail lines London Underground Bakerloo Central Circle District Hammersmith & City Jubilee Metropolitan Northern Piccadilly Victoria Waterloo & City Other lines Docklands Light Railway Tramlink Overground TfL Rail

The Central line is a London Underground line that runs through central London, from Ealing and Ruislip in the west to Epping, Essex in the north-east. Coloured red on the tube map, the line serves 49 stations, in 46 miles (74 km). It is the longest tube line. It is also one of only two lines on the London Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan. One of London's deep-level tube railways, the trains are smaller than those on British main lines.

The line was opened as the Central London Railway in 1900, crossing central London on an east–west axis, as the third deep-level tube line to be built after electric trains made them possible. It was later extended to the western suburb of Ealing. After the Second World War, the line was expanded considerably into the recently constructed suburbs, taking over steam-hauled outer suburban routes to the borders of London and beyond to the east. This realised plans that had been delayed by the war, when construction stopped and the unused tunnels were used as air-raid shelters and factories. However, suburban growth proved to be less than expected, and of the planned expansions one (to Denham) was cut short due to its location in the Metropolitan Green Belt and another (to Ongar) ultimately closed in 1994 due to low traffic. The Central line has mostly been operated by automatic train operation since a major refurbishment in the 1990s, although all trains still carry drivers. Many of its stations are of historic interest, from turn-of-the-century Central London Railway buildings in west London to post-war modernist designs on the West Ruislip and Hainault branches, as well as Victorian ECR and GER buildings east of Stratford, from when the line to Epping was a rural branch line.