Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
March 7, 1969 The Victoria line of the London Underground, the wide-ranging rapid transit system of England’s capital city and the metropolitan area surrounding it, was officially opened. The Victoria line was the first entirely new line of the London Underground to be built in a half-century. The first portion of the Victoria line to... Continue Reading →
September 2, 2014 A station serving the Orange Line of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s subway system was opened in Somerville, a city located directly northwest of Boston. This above-ground station was built to provide access to Somerville’s Assembly Square neighborhood, an area that includes a super-regional shopping center known as the Assembly Square Marketplace.... Continue Reading →
August 2, 1870 The world’s first underground tube subway opened in London, England. The Tower Subway was created to provide railway service beneath the Thames River. The leading engineers involved in the design and construction of this pioneering subway were Peter W. Barlow (1809-1885) and his assistant John Henry Greathead (1844-1896). As the key part... Continue Reading →
June 9, 1853 A railway station in the city of Aalst in northwestern Belgium was opened. This facility was built as one of the stations for the Belgian State Railways, which had been established in 1834 as the country’s first state-owned railway system. Aalst railway station was designed by architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaar (1811-1880). He also... Continue Reading →
November 3, 1986 In the Canadian province of Quebec, Côte-Vertu station in Montreal’s borough of Saint-Laurent first went into service as part of the underground rapid transit system known as the Montreal Metro. At the time of its opening, this station replaced Du Collège station as the western terminus for the Montreal Metro’s Orange Line.... Continue Reading →
December 1, 1913 The Buenos Aires Underground mass transit network, which serves the metropolitan region of Argentina’s capital city, was officially dedicated. With the inauguration of this network, Buenos Aires became only the 13th city in the world to have an underground subway system. In addition, the Buenos Aires Underground was the first public transportation service... Continue Reading →
September 14, 1974 Brazil’s first underground rapid transit system made its public debut when regular service began on a 4.3-mile (6.9-kilometer)-long section of the São Paulo Metrô between the Jabaquara and Vila Mariana stations on the North-South Line (the present-day Blue Line). Those taking part in the formal inauguration of this system included Miguel Colasuonno, who... Continue Reading →
June 15, 1953 The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) came into existence at 12:01 a.m. This entity remains the largest and busiest transit system in North America. NYCTA, which operates under the governing body of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority MTA), is responsible for rapid transit and bus lines throughout New York City. Until 1956,... Continue Reading →
October 17, 1943 Chicago’s first rapid transit subway route began regular operations for passenger service just after midnight. This occurred the day after Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago officially opened that new 4.9-mile (7.9-kilometer) subterranean transportation system in a ribbon-cutting ceremony beneath the intersection of State and Madison Streets, an above-ground location described by... Continue Reading →
October 1, 1979 Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) made its debut with the opening of the first five miles (8.1 kilometers) of the Kwun Tong Line. “As champagne corks popped and a Chinese dragon danced for luck,” reported the Associated Press later that week, “Hong Kong christened its new subway system on Sunday and sent... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 