In Pictures: London Underground in the 1960s

The 1960s in London was defined by art, music, fashion and protest. The “Swinging Sixties” was an era of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Twiggy and political activism.

During this decade London changed from being a gloomy, grimy post-war capital into a bright, shining epicentre of style.

On the London Underground the ‘60s saw the opening of the Victoria line and the end of steam and electric locomotive haulage of London Transport passenger trains.

The Victoria line’s origins can be traced back to 1943 but the shortages of the post-war years caused delays.

It opened in 1968 between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington, and on to Warren Street a few months later. The line was completed to Victoria in 1969 and it was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in March that year. 

The line was the first automatic passenger railway in the world, fully equipped with an Automatic Train Operation system (ATO)

Today the Tube handles up to five million passenger journeys a day. At peak times, there are more than 543 trains whizzing around the capital.

The network has expanded to 12 lines and serves 272 stations, making it one of the busiest metro systems in the world.

We’ve taken a look down memory lane on the London Underground in the 1960s.