Pipe Dreams, Tube Hell

Pipe Dreams: An unrealistic hope or Fantasy.
Origins: The allusion is to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes.

Tube Hell: A journey on the London Underground.
Origins: Any passenger taking a journey on the tube during rush hour at the height of summer know two things. The London underground is a godless place and that HELL would be cooler.

With close to a billion passengers each year it is easy to understand why a Victorian designed underground railway system would not always be able to cope with modern day life.

It is not, however, that easy to see why after 144 years they could not have sorted out their act! I mean they have had 106 years since the death of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) to improve it a little bit.

Being a tube passenger is as much a state of mind as it is just getting on a tin can with wheels and waiting around for trains to arrive.

You need to a certain sadism to actually think that its a good idea in the first place. In the winter it is cold, miserable and dirty. In the summer it is hot, sweaty and dirty. The staff while they are doing a valuable job, cannot hide the fact that the system is run by a bunch of muppets that put the name of Jim Henderson to shame...

The London underground is the oldest underground railway system in the world and with 12 lines, 250 miles of track and some 275 stations it has some interesting facts hidden away.

Latest London Underground News

27 November 2007 - Emma Clarke, "the voice of the Tube", has been sacked after criticism about the London Underground.

This is just a day after she annoyed the London Underground by making a series of spoof anouncements. These light-hearted clips similar in tone as "Mind the Gap" stated "We would like to remind our American tourist friends that you are almost certainly talking too loudly"

More »


From 26 - 30 November, free posters designed by leading artists are to be given away to the public at major central London Tube stations.

More information on Art on the Underground »



November 22 2007 the new London Transport Museum re-opens, after two years and £22 million. The improved Museum features new galleries and interactive exhibits, telling the story of transport in London - past, present and future.

Opening times & Tickets

  • Saturday to Thursday 10.00 to 18.00
  • Friday 11.00 to 21.00
  • (Closed 25 and 26 December)

Entry fee: Adults £8, Seniors £6.50, Students £5.00, Under-16s Free

More information on the LT Museum »
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