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Every tube geek knows that most of the Underground is actually overground. (Bonus points if you can name the station where the Overground goes under the Underground.) But now here’s an interactive map that lets you take a look at exactly which bits of track are buried beneath the city, and which will let you get a decent view and maybe a bit of Vitamin D on your commute.
Mapping and analytics company Esri UK have created a visualisation based on the geographically accurate tube map, revealing some of the truth behind the convenient lies of the regular map. Not only does it let you see just how far the tube sprawls into outer London and beyond, but, with the help of snazzy slider technology, it also claims to show exactly which bits are above ground (in blue) and below (in pink).
Esri UK claims that the least-underground Underground line is the Metropolitan, with 86 percent of its tracks above ground. At the other end of the scale are the fully submerged Waterloo & City line and the Victoria line, which their mapping people say is 92 percent underground.
Now, we’re not entirely convinced by that: last time we rode the Victoria from Walthamstow Central to Brixton, it was underground roughly 100 percent of the way. And while Esri says that 21 percent of the tube is underground, TfL’s figure is 45 percent. Who’s right? We couldn’t possibly say. Still, look at that slider! Very swish.
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