structural:expansion, quality:corruption
Research

The London Underground is frequently studied by academics because it is one of the largest, oldest, and most widely used systems of public transit in the world. Therefore, the transportation and complex network literatures include extensive information about the Tube system.

For London Underground passengers, research suggests that transfers are highly costly in terms of walk and wait times. Because these costs are unevenly distributed across stations and platforms, path choice analyses may be helpful in guiding upgrades and choice of new stations. Routes on the Underground can also be optimized using a global network optimization approach, akin to routing algorithms for Internet applications. Analysis of the Underground as a network may also be helpful for setting safety priorities, since the stations targeted in the 2005 London bombings were amongst the most effective for disrupting the transportation system.

A study in March 2023 showed that over £1.3 million worth of mobile phones were stolen on the London Underground in 2022, more than the entire UK rail network combined.