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Been on the tube lately and noticed that it’s a little more rammed than usual? Well, time to get used to it. While tube usage has been lower over the past few years than it was before the pandemic, now TfL says the London Underground is nearing pre-pandemic passenger levels.
Recent TfL data says that more than four million tube passengers rode the tube in one day for the first time in four years. On November 23, apparently there were about 4.05 million journeys on the network.
While that’s pretty far from the tube’s busiest day (recorded in December 18, when the network saw 5,013,000 journeys in a single 24-hour period), it shows just how much Londoners are returning to the Underground in recent months.
TfL said that midweek journeys averaged about 3.7m per day in November, and this follows the news that the Elizabeth line also just had its busiest month yet, carrying 17 million passengers over a 28-day period.
In response to the passenger landmark, TfL urged the government for more investment in new trains. While the Central Line is seeing its trains refurbished and the Piccadilly is getting brand-new trains (get a first look of those here), much of London’s tube network needs sprucing up a little.
TfL is apparently seeking £500 million a year to improve the tube, while it has serious concerns over the age of the Bakerloo Line’s trains. According to the Standard, the Bakerloo’s fleet dates back to 1972 but might not be replaced for another decade.
Time Out on the tube
From our regular posts highlighting London Underground disruption to our to-the-minute strikes hub, we at Time Out are on the pulse of all things tube-related.
Did you see that London’s old City Hall could be getting a massive green makeover?
Plus: the Shard will be lit up with a huge animated snowman this Christmas.
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