The Hammersmith & City line
Key facts
Length: 25.5km
Stations: 29
Opened: 1864
Introduction
The original Hammersmith & City line opened in 1864 and now serves 29 stations between Hammersmith and Barking in Essex, sharing that route with parts of the District and Circle lines. It includes some of the oldest sections of the Underground, but since 2019 it has been controlled by the most modern Automatic Train Control technology on the network, from the new Hammersmith Service Control Centre.
Why is it called the Hammersmith & City line?
Unlike many lines on the modern Underground, the Hammersmith & City retains the name it had when it was first proposed to Parliament in 1861, with only a change from Railway to line. From its initial proposal, it was always intended to link Hammersmith in west London to the City, where it initially terminated.
Did you know?
The line runs parallel to the Great Western main line between Paddington and Westbourne Park, and parallel to the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway between West Ham and Barking
History
In 1861 work started on the Hammersmith & City (H&C) Railway to connect Hammersmith to the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Metropolitan Railway at Paddington. Finished in 1864, it terminated first of all in the City, and at Whitechapel after 1884. The H&C was jointly owned by the Metropolitan and the GWR until its takeover by London Transport in 1933. Services extended to Barking in Essex in 1936.
Did you know?
The length of the line, from Hammersmith to Barking, has remained unchanged since 1936
Though it was always identified as the Hammersmith & City, it had been shown on Underground maps as part of the Metropolitan line until 1990, when it was given a new colour, pink, and given the status of a separate line.
Between 2012 and 2014, an upgrade and modernisation programme led to the line’s C69 and C77 stock trains being replaced with S7 stock trains, increasing capacity.
Did you know?
The line passes through nine London boroughs – from west to east: Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Islington, City of London, Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Barking and Dagenham
