How the Tube Created London - Christian Wolmar Talk - Westminster Society

On Wednesday 22nd February 2012, The Westminster Society are hosting what looks like a fantastic talk "How The Tube Created London" for fans of London Underground's history. Leading transport expert @Christian Wolmar will be speaking at London Canal Museum from 7pm to 9pm, and his talk will be  illustrated with over 50 images focussing on how the engineers that created the Tube effectively created the London we know today.


Obviously the Tube was a great engineering achievement, but also responsible for stimulating the development of London as a city.

The Westminster Society who are hosting the event said: "The Tube allowed people to traverse the city in a way which would be impossible by any form of surface transport, and became a global icon of the city, in terms of its roundel ‘logo’, map design, station architecture, and also for its transport model, which in the 1930s became envied and studied around the world. After the war, London Transport changed the demography of the capital by recruiting directly in the Caribbean and Africa for cheap labour to run the Tube and buses at a time of full employment among the native population. Taken together, it is no exaggeration to say that the Underground helped build the London we know today."


After Christian's presentation there will be an open question & answer session: "Will the Tube Make or Break London?" where Theresa Villiers MP (Minister of State for Transport) will take questions from the audience.

They're hoping to cover Londoners' love-hate relationship with the Tube.  The fact that to tourists it's both iconic and perplexing. We all know there are massive changes taking place with a hugely ambitious investment and renewal programme.


At the same time it faces significant challenges – increased passengers, increased fares, constant threats of industrial action &  millions of new travellers using the system due to the 2012 Olympics.

The Westminster Society ask "Will the renewal succeed and will the challenges be overcome? Is the Tube going to get better or worse over the next decade? Will it still be of importance to London’s future, or should we all start getting on our bikes now?"

The evening is only £10 or £5 for concessions (Students & over 60's) and can be booked online here. As I've never heard Christian speak before, I'll certainly be going, along with Pete from The Londoneer. Plus with the debate with Theresa Villiers it sounds like it will be an excellent evening.

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