London Underground Named One Of The Most Important Projects Of The Past 200 Years

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London Underground Named One Of The Most Important Projects Of The Past 200 Years

The London Underground has been welcomed into a civil engineering hall of fame as one of the top 200 projects of the past 200 years.

The compilation by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is naming 200 projects which illustrate how civil engineering has helped shaped the world and improve people's lives.

ICE said the London Underground was the oldest, and one of the largest, underground railway networks in the world, serving up to five million customer journeys each day. It is a key piece of transport infrastructure for the capital, stretching over 1,000km across 11 lines.

“We are very proud that the London Underground has been recognised as one of the top 200 engineering projects of the past 200 years. We recently celebrated the 155th anniversary of the Underground which continues to be an iconic symbol of our capital city and remains as vital as it ever was in the lives of Londoners," said Mark Wild, LU's managing director.

“We are carrying out a multi-billion pound modernisation of the Tube network to increase capacity and make journeys quicker and more comfortable.”

Jonathan Baggs, director of ICE's London region, said:

From the ‘cut and cover’ construction of the Metropolitan line over 150 years ago to the recent tunnelling for the Elizabeth line and the Northern line extension, the London Underground is a truly inspirational transport network with pioneering innovations which have inspired civil engineers the world over.

It has been held dear by successive generations of Londoners and visitors to London and is still growing and adapting.

The Underground joins other London projects on the list including Crossrail, Thames Tideway and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.

Beckton was announced at the same time as the London Underground, cited for it now being the largest sewage treatment works in Europe, treating the waste of over 3.5million people.

This article originally appeared on City AM.

Last Updated 15 February 2018