Secrets of the London Underground

Exuberant railway historian Tim Dunn and London Transport Museum’s Siddy Holloway, who seemingly has the keys to every hidden part of the underground network, explore the bowels of Charing Cross station. The Fleet Line, as the Jubilee line was originally called, was planned to pass through here and continue to Lewisham but it proved too expensive so in the 1980s it was rerouted to Docklands bypassing Charing Cross. We hear how the disused platforms are used for movies (Skyfall among them), the tunnels were diverted to avoid disturbing the foundations of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square and “platform humps” were trialled. Then they get to walk the Kennington Loop which is used when trains need to turn around. Even non- tube users will find this fascinating.