Editing East London line (section)

===London Underground era===
{{Infobox rail line
| name           = East London line
| logo           = File:London flag boxes - Underground East London line.svg
| logo_width     = 250px
| logo_alt       = 
| image          = File:New Cross station - geograph.org.uk - 641821.jpg
| image_width    = 250
| image_alt      = A grey, red and blue A Stock Stock East London Line train waiting to depart New Cross Station for Whitechapel.
| caption        = A [[London Underground A60 Stock]] train at [[New Cross station]] in 2007
| type           = Sub-surface
| system         = [[London Underground]]
| mapcolour      = Dark orange
| mapcolourlink  = Tube map
| owner          = [[Transport for London]]
| stations       = 8 (9 until 2006)
| ridership2     = 10,702,000<ref name="linefacts"/> passenger journeys
| open           = 1869
| close          = 2007
| depot          = New Cross<br />Neasden
| stock          = [[London Underground A62 Stock|A Stock]]
| linelength_mi  = 4.6
| tracklength_mi = 
| map_name       = [[Transport for London]] rail&nbsp;lines
| map            = {{London rail lines}}
| map_state      = collapsed
}}
{{East London Line original RDT}}
[[File:Wapping tube station 1.jpg|thumb|[[Wapping railway station|Wapping station]] on the East London line, built into the original northern entrance shaft of the Thames Tunnel. The station was rebuilt in the early 1980s.]]
[[File:Shoreditch to Liverpool St.jpg|thumb|The link to Liverpool Street, 1991]]
[[File:Shoreditch stn closed.JPG|thumb|A dilapidated and [[graffiti]]ed [[Shoreditch tube station|Shoreditch Underground station]] in December 2007. It closed on 9 June 2006, after 93 years of Underground service.]]
[[File:LondonUnderground-AStock.jpg|thumb|A train of A stock stands at Surrey Quays]]

In 1933, the East London Railway came under the control of the [[London Passenger Transport Board]]. Although the infrastructure was still privately owned, passenger services were operated as the "East London Branch" of the [[Metropolitan line]]. The railways were nationalised in 1948, and became part of the [[British Transport Commission]] along with the Underground. Goods services continued to use the line until 1962, with occasional passenger trains from Liverpool Street until 1966. The short length of track connecting Shoreditch to Liverpool St was removed in 1966. The service to Shoreditch was reduced, with {{stl|London Underground|Whitechapel}} becoming the northern terminus for much of the time; by the time {{stl|London Underground|Shoreditch}} station closed in 2006, it was only open at peak times on weekdays and most of Sundays (for [[Brick Lane Market]]).

Services to and from stations further west were curtailed during the early part of the Underground era. The service to Hammersmith was reduced to peak hours only in 1936 and withdrawn in 1939,<ref name=Rose/><ref name=CULG/><ref name="LURS"/> leaving the East London branch as an isolated line. Until 1999, its only passenger interchange to the rest of the Underground was at Whitechapel, with interchanges to [[British Rail|main line]] trains at the two New Cross stations. In the 1980s and 1990s, the line gained two important new connections: {{Stnlnk|Shadwell}} became an interchange with the [[Docklands Light Railway]] in 1987, and a station was added at {{stl|London Underground|Canada Water}} in 1999 for interchange with the [[Jubilee line]]. The line was closed entirely between March 1995 and March 1998 for major maintenance and refurbishment works,<ref>[http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/shoreditch_el/ "Station Name: Shoreditch (East London Line)"]. disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2023.</ref> during which time a rail-replacement bus service operated.

The identity of the East London line changed considerably during the London Underground era. On Tube maps between 1933 and 1968 it was depicted in the same colour as the Metropolitan line.<ref name="beck map">[http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/maps/exhibitionimages/Beck2.JPG] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302142356/http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/maps/exhibitionimages/Beck2.JPG|date=2 March 2014}}, 1933 Beck map.</ref> In 1970, it was renamed the "Metropolitan line&nbsp;— East London Section", in Metropolitan line purple with a white stripe down the middle. In the 1980s it became a line in its own right (though it was still grouped operationally with the Metropolitan line) and from 1990 its colour on the map changed to orange.<ref name="ltm-1990">{{cite web |title=Poster: We've turned the East London line orange to aid you |url=https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/posters/item/1990-76 |website=London Transport Museum |publisher=Transport for London |access-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831182447/https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/posters/item/1990-76 |archive-date=31 August 2022 |location=London |date=1990}}</ref> In 1995, London Underground threatened to close the line if it did not receive [[listed building]] consent from the [[London Docklands Development Corporation]] for the [[shotcreting]] of four arches of [[Thames Tunnel]].<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-first=James|editor-last=Abbott|title=East London Line threatened with closure|magazine=[[Modern Railways]]|date=November 1995|volume=52|number=566|page=663}}</ref> Maintenance passed to the [[Metronet (British infrastructure company)|Metronet]] consortium in 2003 under a [[public-private partnership]], although the operation of trains continued to be the responsibility of [[Transport for London|Transport for London (TfL)]]. According to TfL, the line carried 10.7&nbsp;million passengers per year before its temporary closure in 2007.<ref name="linefacts">[http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/linefacts/?line=eastlondon East London line facts], Transport for London. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930190020/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/linefacts/?line=eastlondon |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>

====Physical characteristics====
The line was the only Underground line not to penetrate [[Travelcard Zone 1]] and (apart from the [[Northern City Line|Moorgate to Finsbury Park]] service, transferred to [[British Rail]] in 1976) the only line designed and constructed for mainline trains.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Bextor |first=Robin |year=2013 |title=Little Book of the London Underground |location=Woking |publisher=Demand Media Limited |isbn=9781909217379 }}</ref> At {{convert|5.6|mi|km}} in length it was the second-shortest line (after the [[Waterloo & City line]]), with nine stations and an end-to-end journey time of 14 minutes. It ran in tunnel from Whitechapel to Surrey Quays, with the remainder on the surface or in cutting. Whilst much of the line was built as [[cut-and-cover]], it also contained overground and tube construction features.<ref name=":0" /> The deepest point is at Wapping station, constructed in the Thames Tunnel's original entrance shaft {{convert|60|ft|m}} below the surface.<ref name="linefacts" />

It connected with [[South Eastern Main Line]] services at New Cross and [[Brighton Main Line]] services at New Cross Gate. Underground connections were at Canada Water ([[Jubilee line]]) and Whitechapel ([[District line|District]] and [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]] Lines). A non-contiguous connection with the [[Docklands Light Railway]] was at {{Stnlnk|Shadwell}}, with the DLR station some {{convert|160|ft|m}} away on a viaduct. Although the interchange was via the street, through ticketing was permitted.

A link with the Metropolitan and District lines was made just south of Whitechapel via [[St Mary's Curve]]. This has been out of passenger use since 1939<ref name=Rose/><ref name=CULG/><ref name="LURS"/> but was still used to transfer rolling stock to and from the Metropolitan line's main depot at [[Neasden tube station|Neasden]]. The curve can easily be seen on the northbound and eastbound approaches to Whitechapel station, although a temporary wall was built across the line in January 2008, close to the junction with the District line.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}.

Most of the line was double track, with Shoreditch station and the final sections into the southern termini single track, the latter because of lack of space. This required trains to alternate between the two southern termini.

====Rolling stock====
The line used [[Metropolitan line]] [[London Underground A60 Stock|A60 and A62 sub-surface rolling stock]] built by Cravens of Sheffield in two batches between 1960 and 1962. It was upgraded between 1995 and 1998 with improved suspension, lighting, heating and ventilation. The rolling stock was regularly interchanged with that used on the main Metropolitan line and usually carried both East London and Metropolitan line maps, but ELL trains were four-car units with a driving cab at each end, unlike Metropolitan line trains, which, aside from the [[Chesham shuttle]], ran as eight-car trains. Metropolitan line trains were mostly two single-ended units coupled together with fully operational driving cabs at each end: the Met could use any ELL trains, but the ELL could use only double-ended units.

Seven four-car trains operated the line (six off-peak, seven during peak hours when Shoreditch was open). Off peak, train seven became the spare. The line operated some of the shortest trains on the network, necessitated by short platforms. The small number of trains made the line particularly sensitive to disruption caused by vandalism, train faults or staff shortages. Sometimes in the early 2000s only two trains were running. Trains were operated by just a driver: the decision to withdraw the guards prompted an unsuccessful strike by the [[National Union of Railwaymen]] in May 1985.<ref>{{cite news |title=Illegal subway strike called off in London |newspaper=Globe & Mail |date=21 May 1985 |location=Toronto}}</ref>

Light maintenance and stabling took place at a small depot near New Cross, with heavier work at the main Metropolitan line depot at Neasden. Between 1985 and 1987, D78 stock operated the line before being replaced by A60 and A62 stock.  During the 1970s the line was operated by [[1938 tube stock|1938 Tube stock]].

====Stations====
The stations in operation during most of the London Underground era, in order from north to south, were as follows:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Station !! Opened !! First Underground service !! Notes
|-
|-
| [[Shoreditch tube station|Shoreditch]] (replaced by {{Stnlink|Shoreditch High Street}}) || 10 April 1876 || 31 March 1913 || Closed on 9 June 2006, prior to whole line's temporary closure for conversion to Overground.
|-
| [[Whitechapel station|Whitechapel]] || 10 April 1876 || 31 March 1913 || Interchange with [[District line|District]] and [[Hammersmith & City line|Hammersmith & City]] Lines.
|-
| {{Stnlnk|Shadwell}} || 10 April 1876 || 1 October 1884 || Interchange with [[Docklands Light Railway]].
|-
| {{Stnlnk|Wapping}} || 7 December 1869 || 1 October 1884 || Thames Tunnel link to Rotherhithe
|-
| {{Stnlnk|Rotherhithe}} || 7 December 1869 || 1 October 1884 || Thames Tunnel link to Wapping
|-
|nowrap| {{stl|London Underground|Canada Water}} {{Access icon}} ||nowrap| 19 August 1999 ||nowrap| 19 August 1999 || Interchange with [[Jubilee line]] opened 17 September 1999.
|-
| {{Stnlnk|Surrey Quays}} || 7 December 1869|| 1 October 1884 || Station was opened as Deptford Road, renamed Surrey Docks in 1911, and again renamed in 1989.
|-align=center
|colspan=4| ''line splits''
|-
| {{Stnlnk|New Cross Gate}} || 7 December 1869 || 1 October 1884 || Interchange with [[Southern (train operating company)|Southern]] mainline services. Mainline station was opened as New Cross in 1839, and renamed in 1923.
|-
| {{Stnlnk|New Cross}} {{Access icon}} || 1 April 1880 || 1 October 1884 || Interchange with [[Southeastern (train operating company)|Southeastern]] mainline services. Mainline station was opened in 1850.
|}
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 ''Note: Were both stations called New Cross on 1 October 1884?'' Yes they were. New Cross Gate was renamed in 1923 after "Grouping".
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