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Victoria
Colour on map	Light Blue
Year opened	1968
Line type	Deep Tube
Rolling stock	1967 Tube Stock
Stations served	16
Length (km)	21
Length (miles)	13.25
Depots	Northumberland Park
Journeys made	161,319,000 (per annum)
Rail lines of Transport for London
London Underground lines   Bakerloo   Central   Circle   District   East London   Hammersmith & City   Jubilee   Metropolitan   Northern   Piccadilly   Victoria   Waterloo & City Other lines   Docklands Light Railway   Tramlink   Overground (starts November 2007)
London Transport Portal

The Victoria Line is a line of the London Underground, coloured light blue on the Tube map. It is a deep-level line running from the south-west to the north-east of London. Construction began in 1962 and continued until 1970. A test tunnel from Tottenham to Manor House under Seven Sisters Road had been constructed from 1959 onwards and this was later integrated into the running tunnels.

The Victoria Line was designed to relieve congestion on other lines, in particular the Piccadilly Line, as well as to maximise possible interchanges, yet keep sufficient distance between stations for trains to build up speed. It had been intended to build the line past Walthamstow Central to Wood Street (Walthamstow), where it would surface to terminate next to the British Railways station. However, a last minute decision in 1961, shortly before construction work began, saw the line cut back to Walthamstow (Hoe Street) station which was re-named Walthamstow Central in 1968.

Every Victoria Line station, except Pimlico was built as an interchange station and many existing stations were rearranged to allow for cross-platform interchange with it. In some cases this was achieved by placing the Victoria Line platforms on either side of the existing station, while in others the Victoria Line uses one of the older platforms and the existing line was diverted into a new platform.

At Euston, northbound Victoria and Northern Line (Bank branch) trains run along adjacent platforms, although they are in fact, travelling in opposite directions. "Same-direction" cross-platform interchanges are available at Stockwell (with the Northern Line), Oxford Circus (with the Bakerloo Line), Highbury & Islington (with First Capital Connect, originally the Northern City Line) and at Finsbury Park (with the Piccadilly Line).

The name dates back to 1955, when they were deciding on which name to call it. Suggestions were the Walvic line (Walthamstow - Victoria) and the Viking Line (Victoria - King's Cross). One person said that the Victoria Line souded 'just right'.

All Victoria Line stations were originally tiled in a non-descript cool blue/grey colour fashionable at the time. Each station was decorated with tiled motifs on seating recesses to distinguish them from each other. During the construction of the Jubilee Line in the late 1970's, the original motifs on Green Park station were replaced by motifs matching the new design for the Jubilee Line platforms.

A tunnelled connection from Seven Sisters enables trains to reach the line's depot at Northumberland Park.

Trains run every 2-2.5mins during the peak periods. In normal service, all trains run from Brixton to Seven Sisters, with approximately 2 out of 3 trains running to Walthamstow Central.

A ticket used on the first train on the Victoria Line, which ran from Walthamstow Central to Highbury & Islington on September 1, 1968

The first section to be opened was between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington stations. There was no initial opening ceremony, instead the normal timetable started on Sunday September 1, 1968. The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at about 6.30am.

The official opening ceremony took place at Victoria station on 7 March 1969, The Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse. After a short ceremony, she purchased a 5d (five old pence) ticket and travelled to Green Park. Princess Alexandra opened the Brixton extension on 23 July 1971, also making a journey from Brixton to Vauxhall.

The Victoria Line is served by a fleet of 43 1967 Tube Stock trains. Each train is made up of two four-car units. The line is equipped with an automatic train operation system (ATO); the train operator (driver) closes the train doors and presses a pair of "start" buttons, and if the way ahead is clear, the ATO will drive the train at a safe speed to the next station and stop there. This system has been in place since the line opened in 1968. The Victoria Line was the world's first automatic railway.

The 1967 stock is due for replacement over the next decade as part of Transport for London's 5-year £10 billion redevelopment project. The replacement for the line's 1967 Tube Stock will be the 2009 Tube Stock built by Bombardier Transportation. The first prototypes were built in 2006 and be tested in service from 2008, with the main fleet entering service between 2009 and 2012. The signalling will also be replaced with a more modern ATO system from Westinghouse Rail Systems during the Victoria Line upgrade.

Inside a Victoria Line carriage

With list of Motifs on platforms

• Walthamstow Central, opened September 1, 1968. Motif: William Morris pattern by Julia Black.
• Blackhorse Road, opened September 1, 1968. Motif: A Black Horse.
• Tottenham Hale opened September 1, 1968. Motif: Ferry across the River Lea.
• Seven Sisters, opened September 1, 1968. Motif: Seven Trees on green background by Hans Unger.
• Finsbury Park, opened September 1, 1968. Motif: Duelling in Finsbury Park by Tom Eckersley.
• Highbury & Islington, opened September 1, 1968. Motif: Manor House on Highbury Hill by Edward Bawden.
• King's Cross St. Pancras, opened December 1, 1968. Motif: Five crowns in a cross on a blue background by Tom Eckersley.
• Euston, opened December 1, 1968. Motif: Doric Arch at Euston station by Tom Eckersley.
• Warren Street, opened December 1, 1968. Motif: A maze by Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes.
• Oxford Circus, opened March 7, 1969. Motif: Abstract pattern in a circle with Line colours of Bakerloo, Central and Victoria Lines.
• Green Park, opened March 7, 1969. Motif: Leaves.
• Victoria, opened March 7, 1969 Motif: Blue cameo of Queen Victoria on pink background by Edward Bawden.
• Pimlico, opened September 14, 1972. Motif: Tate Gallery.
• Vauxhall, opened July 23, 1971. Motif: Old Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens by Design Research Unit.
• Stockwell, opened July 23, 1971. Motif: The Swan by Abram Games.
• Brixton opened July 23, 1971. Motif: A ton of Bricks.

• Northumberland Park Depot

• Victoria Line - London Underground website
• Victoria Line at Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides
• Tube Prune description of the Victoria Line ATO system
• BCV (Bakerloo, Central & Victoria) Upgrade at alwaystouchout.com