<kuid:563140:100271> London Underground District Line (Upminster Depot - )

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District Line

The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a 'sub-surface' line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are below ground. Two of the four (Richmond and Wimbledon) western branches of the route are also the only lines across the entire network to cross the Thames by bridge and not by tunnel. Although the District line is only the fourth longest line on the network, it serves more stations than any other line.

HISTORY:
The District line was built by the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) and opened in stages from 1868. The MDR was later bought by Charles Yerkes, forming part of the 'Underground' group until it was nationalised in the 1930s. It had branches to Uxbridge and Hounslow West, but both are now operated by the Piccadilly line. Eastbound services ran as far as the seaside town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex from 1 June 1910 and to Shoeburyness from 1911, until 30 September 1939 (now part of the London, Tilbury and Southend railway). Between 1 March 1883 and 30 September 1885 the line also served stations from Ealing Broadway to Windsor, running on the Great Western Main Line.

ROLLING STOCK:
Most of the District line's services use sub-surface D stock trains, although the Wimbledon to Edgware Road service is operated with C stock trains due to shorter platform lengths between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road. The D stock trains were refurbished between 2005 and 2008, receiving the standard Underground livery of red, white and blue to replace the previous unpainted aluminium finish, which was prone to damage by graffiti vandals. The stock also received a complete interior refurbishment and was fitted with CCTV and passenger information displays. The trains are maintained at Ealing Common Depot and Upminster Depot.

From 2013 both the C stock and D stock fleets will gradually be replaced by new S stock trains from Bombardier Transportation. The fleet is expected to be completely renewed by 2016. The new trains, which are shorter (7-car) versions of the new trains already appearing on the Metropolitan line, will be air-conditioned. Because they will be longer than the trains currently in use, some station platforms will need to be lengthened.