Is the Metropolitan line running this weekend March 18-19? Watford, Uxbridge, Amersham and Bucks to Aldgate

Now running between Aldgate and west London and Buckinghamshire, the Metropolitan line was the world’s first urban, underground railway.

The line services Chesham and Amersham in Zone 9 in Bucks, and the Watford area of Hertfordshire (Zone 7), as well as Uxbridge in Hillingdon (Zone 6).

Metropolitan line - March 18-19

On Saturday (March 18), until 8.30am, there will be no service between Wembley Park and Aldgate. Travellers are advised to use Jubilee line connections for central London.

The line is otherwise scheduled to run as usual this weekend, although on Saturday RMT union members from train operators are planning to strike on the national rail network.

History of the Metropolitan line

The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon opened in 1863, and was extended from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage in 1868.

Metropolitan Railway turned developer when it realised it could promote living in the suburban areas in the north west of London, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex (‘Metroland’) in the 20th century,

As the owner of surplus land, by 1919 it began developing housing under the name of Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Limited.

Metroland was the subject of a 1973 BBC TV documentary, narrated by the then-Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman.

A Metropolitan timeline

1863 - Opens between Paddington and Farringdon

1868 - Extension from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage

1892 - Extension reaches Aylesbury

1904 - Uxbridge branch opens

1905 - First electric trains appear and are gradually introduced across the line, apart from the line beyond Rickmansworth

1925 - Watford branch opens

1932 - Branch to Stanmore opens, but this becomes part of the Bakerloo line in 1939

1961 - The steam trains operating north of Rickmansworth stop as the line is electrified to Amersham and Chesham. Services beyond Amersham are taken over by British Rail (now Chiltern Railways)

2012 - A new fleet of electric trains is introduced, the first on the Underground to feature air conditioning and full-length, walk-through interiors