Why the London Underground is confusing

The London Underground is the oldest metro system in the world, dating back to 1863 with the opening of the Metropolitan railway. It's also one of the most iconic in design with its roundel logos (used across all TfL infrastructure) and distinct red, white, and blue trains. However, there are some aspects of the Underground that are confusing. Some are trivial, while some could be a genuine problem for tourists.

The Underground vs The Tube

Although the two terms are used interchangeably, they're actually two things. The Underground consists of 11 lines, while the Tube refers to all TfL rail services, this includes the:

Some tube maps also show National Rail services (in London, this just means any railway that isn't managed by TfL). Some of these even run underground through London (such as Thameslink and the Northern City Line).

Branches

It's not uncommon for railways to have branches. This is where the line splits (meaning if your destination is on one of the split branches, you have to make sure you're boarding the right train).

These are very common on the Underground. In fact, the only lines that don't have them are the Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Victoria, and Waterloo & City. However, it's not uncommon for the Bakerloo and Jubilee Line to not do the whole route (e.g., the northernmost Jubilee Line station is Stanmore, but sometimes trains only go as far as Willesden Green).

Elizabeth "Line"

Despite being called a line, the Elizabeth Line is not part of the Underground and there are a few things that make it different to the Underground:

During development, the Elizabeth Line was named Crossrail (which I think is a more accurate description of the line...a railway that crosses London).

Central Line

Aside from being known as the hottest line on the Underground, the Central Line starts at Epping (in Essex, not London) and terminates at either Ealing Broadway or West Ruislip...sounds fairly straightforward.

Well it is for the most part, but there's also the Hainault loop where trains terminate at Woodford rather than Epping, and this is because they skip Snaresbrook and South Woodford. Instead doing a big loop through a bunch of stations in the London Borough of Redbridge.

Circle Line

The Circle Line isn't a circle. I don't just mean the line is not a geometrically accurate circle, I mean it's not a circle in the sense of being a continuous loop (like it is with the Glasgow Subway). It used to be until the line was extended down to Hammersmith.

On a typical journey, the Circle Line stops at Paddington and Edgware Road twice (one section runs alongside the District Line while another runs along the Hammersmith & City Line). I think it would be better for TfL to describe the Circle Line as being clockwise/anticlockwise, rather than Westbound/Eastbound (as this would depend on the station you're at).

District Line

The District line starts at Upminster in the East and has three Western Termini (Ealing Broadway, Richmond, or Wimbledon), though the terminus only matters if your final destination is on one of the branches.

One aspect of the District Line that is confusing is the branch that runs from Earl's Court to Edgware Road. There's also the shuttle service to Kensington (Olympia) which is only sometimes open.

Hammersmith & City Line

This is one of the more straight forward lines, it runs between Barking and Hammersmith. However, I don't know why it only goes as far East as Barking, rather than running along the District Line all the way to Upminster.

Metropolitan Line

The Metropolitan Line is unique as it's one of the few lines to terminate in Central London. It has four different northwestern termini. Three of them are outside of London (Amersham and Chesham being in Buckinghamshire, Watford being in Hertfordshire) - only Uxbridge is in London.

Northern Line

If I had to nominate a most confusing line, it would have to be the Northern Line. First of all, despite the name, it isn't the line that goes furthest North (that honour goes to the Metropolitan Line), but it is the line that goes furthest South.

All Northern Line trains used to terminate in the South at Morden, but now there's a second Southern terminus (Battersea Power Station). Heading North, the line splits at Kennington with one section going via Charing Cross, and the other going via Bank. The branches meet up again at Euston, but then split off again at Camden Town, with a western branch terminating at Edgware, and an eastern branch terminating at either High Barnet or splitting off after Finchley Central to terminate at Mill Hill East.

There's a station between Euston and Camden Town called Mornington Crescent, but only trains on the Charing Cross Branch actually stop there. And ofc...we can't forget the Kennington loop! Although not intended for passenger use, it's possible to board a Northern Line train at Kennington and then arrive back at Kennington. I think the Northern Line should be made two separate lines tbh.

Piccadilly Line

The Piccadilly Line is fairly straight forward for the most part. It starts at Cockfosters, heading Westbound it splits at Acton Town with one branch going towards Heathrow Airport, and the other heading towards Uxbridge.

However, between South Kensington and Acton Town, the Piccadilly Line runs along the District Line, yet it only stops at a few of the stations the District Line stops at.

Waterloo & City Line

The Waterloo & City Line is the shortest line on the Underground with just two stations. Waterloo and...no, not City, but Bank.

I imagine the reason it's called the Waterloo & City line is because Bank is in an area called the "City of London". The rest of what we know as London is part of a county called Greater London, which is divided into 32 boroughs.