Completing the Loop: The Circle Line
When is a circle not a circle? Follow the story of how the Circle line got - and lost - its loop
A Parliamentary Proposal
Parliamentary committees of 1863-1864 decided that an inner circuit should be permitted to connect both ends of the Metropolitan Railway with mainline stations
A separate company to complete the circle
The Metropolitan was extended east to Tower Hill and west to South Kensington, creating part of the present route of the Circle line.
The Metropolitan District Railway was to complete the rest.
The 2 companies were to merge as soon as possible.
The Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Shares (1877-10-31) by Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway CompanyTfL Corporate Archives
Inner Circle completion in doubt
The District was less profitable and so the Metropolitan's shareholders blocked the merger. This led to the formation of the Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway Company, who sold shares in the Inner Circle - while it was still a work in progress
This forced negotiation. The Metropolitan bought the Inner Circle Completion Company and a new arrangement between the Metropolitan and the District received Parliament’s approval in 1879.
Diagram of complete Inner Circle (1884)TfL Corporate Archives
Inner Circle completed in 1884
A new station was built to complete the circle, named Mark Lane. It was later renamed Tower Hill and then relocated, leaving Mark Lane disused
Diagram showing Density of Service on The Inner Circle (1934-01-15) by London Transport ExecutiveTfL Corporate Archives
In 1933 the London Passenger Transport Board was formed
This joined all the underground railways under one company, including the Metropolitan and District. The route was still called the Inner Circle at this time
The line began to gain its own identity in the late 1930s, with the name Circle line appearing on a 1936 poster
Interior of an S Stock Train on the Circle Line (2013-10-31) by Mike GarnettTfL Corporate Archives
All Circle line stations are shared with another line
Until 1970 it also never had its own new stock - all trains were hand me downs from other lines! In 1970 it took delivery of new C69 stock trains and in 2013 these started being replaced by new, walk-through, S stock trains
The July 7th Memorial in Hyde Park (2017-07-07) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
Tragedy
On the morning of 7 July 2005, 15 people died in terrorist bomb attacks on 2 Circle line trains, at Edgware Road and near Aldgate. Bombs were also detonated on the Piccadilly line at Russell Square and on a bus nearby. In total, 56 people lost their lives
Underground map May 2015 (2015-05-01)TfL Corporate Archives
When is a circle not a circle?
In 2009 the closed loop of the Circle line was officially ended, replaced by an end-to-end service between Hammersmith and Edgware Road via a single circuit of a new loop and the existing route
This was done to make the service more resilient to minor delays; it also nearly doubled the service between Edgware Road and Hammersmith (from 7 to 12 trains per hour).
Circle Line Car Diagram (2017-05-01) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
Did you know?
The Circle line is 17 miles long and has 36 stations. Every single one of its stations is shared with another line
Story compiled by TfL using information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives. The Corporate Archives seeks to preserve and make accessible records, not to interpret them. A wider range of material is available for physical consultation.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.
This story has been enhanced using images from the collections of the London Transport Museum. All enquiries regarding those images should be made directly to that institution.
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