London Underground
Transport for London era

In 2000, Transport for London (TfL) was created as an integrated body responsible for London's transport system. Part of the Greater London Authority, the TfL Board is appointed by the Mayor of London, who also sets the structure and level of public transport fares in London. The day-to-day running of the corporation is left to the Commissioner of Transport for London.

TfL eventually replaced London Regional Transport, and discontinued the use of the London Transport brand in favour of its own brand. The transfer of responsibility was staged, with transfer of control of London Underground delayed until July 2003, when London Underground Limited became an indirect subsidiary of TfL.

In the early 2000s, London Underground was reorganised in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as part of a project to upgrade and modernise the system. Private infrastructure companies (infracos) would upgrade and maintain the railway, and London Underground would run the train service. One infraco – Metronet – went into administration in 2007, and TfL took over the other – Tube Lines – in 2010. Despite this, substantial investment to upgrade and modernise the Tube has taken place - with new trains (such as London Underground S7 and S8 Stock), new signalling, upgraded stations (such as King's Cross St Pancras) and improved accessibility (such as at Green Park). Small changes to the Tube network occurred in the 2000s, with extensions to Heathrow Terminal 5, new station at Wood Lane and the Circle line changed from serving a closed loop around the centre of London to a spiral also serving Hammersmith in 2009.

In July 2005, four coordinated terrorist attacks took place, three of them occurring on the Tube network. It was the UK's deadliest terrorist incident since 1988.

Electronic ticketing in the form of the contactless Oyster card was first introduced in 2003, with payment using contactless banks cards introduced in September 2014. In 2019, over 12 million Oyster cards and 35 million contactless cards were used, generating around £5 billion in ticketing revenue.

During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Underground saw record ridership levels, with over 4.3 million people using the Tube on some days. This record was subsequently beaten in later years, with 4.82 million riders in December 2015. In 2013, the Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary, with celebratory events such as steam trains and installation of a unique Labyrinth artwork at each station.

Under TfL, London's public transport network became more unified, with existing suburban rail lines across London upgraded and rebranded as London Overground from 2007, with the former East London line became part of the Overground network in 2010. Many Overground stations interchange with Underground ones, and Overground lines were added onto the Tube map.

In the 2010s, the £18.8bn Crossrail project built a new east–west railway tunnel under central London. The project involved rebuilding and expanding several central Underground stations including Tottenham Court Road and Whitechapel. By increasing rail capacity, the line aims to reduce overcrowding on the Tube and cut cross-London journey times. The railway opened as the Elizabeth line in May 2022. Although not part of the Underground, the line connects with several Underground stations.

In 2020, passenger numbers fell significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and 40 stations were temporarily closed. The Northern Line Extension opened in September 2021, extending the Northern line from Kennington to Battersea Power Station via Nine Elms. The extension was privately funded, with contributions from developments across the Battersea Power Station, Vauxhall and Nine Elms areas.
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