Resignalling to end Tube steam

Steam trains will operate for the last time through central London’s Underground as part of plans to mark the 150th anniversary of the District Line.

The second oldest line on the Underground system (opened in 1868) also has the most stations (60).

The route is being resignalled as part of the Four Lines Modernisation project, which will allow 32 trains per hour to run, rather than the current 28tph.

The project is due for completion in 2023, after which steam-hauled trains will no longer be able to run through the central section of the Underground.

London Transport Museum is trying to raise the £200,000 needed to make the last three surviving 1930s Q-Stock vehicles operational.

They ran from 1938 until the late 1960s, and were used on the District Line.