The London Underground’s first section was opened on 10 January 1863, running between Paddington (Bishop’s Road) and Farringdon Street as the world’s first underground passenger railway.

Quick Scoop

  • The core answer to “when was the London Underground built” is tied to its opening date : 10 January 1863, when the original Metropolitan Railway section began carrying passengers.
  • Construction for that first line started a few years earlier, around 1860, using “cut-and-cover” methods under existing streets.
  • Over the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more lines were added and electrified, gradually creating the wider London Underground network recognised today.

In simple terms: it was built in the early 1860s and opened in 1863, marking the birth of the Tube as the world’s first underground railway.

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