Rapid transit in the United Kingdom consists of four systems in three cities: the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

and

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

in London,

Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...

in Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Glasgow Subway. The term also includes commuter rail systems with aspects of rapid transit such as the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

and

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...

in London, and

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line (Merseyrail ...

in the

Liverpool City Region The Liverpool City Region is a combined authority region of England, centred on Liverpool, incorporating the local authority district boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral. The region is in the historic counties of ...

. Rapid transit has also been proposed in other UK cities including

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

History

File:Baker Street Station (8731586805).jpg,

trains at Baker Street station marking 150 years since the foundation of the Metropolitan Railway, the world's oldest underground metro system File:508141-LiverpoolCent-01.jpg, A

train at

Liverpool Central Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline ...

. The service is a descendant of the

Mersey Railway The Mersey Railway was the first part of the passenger railway connecting the communities of Liverpool, Birkenhead, and now the rest of the Wirral Peninsula in England, which lie on opposite banks of the River Mersey, via the Mersey Railway Tun ...

, which was opened in 1886. File:Seaforth_Sands_railway_station_1.jpg, The

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool which operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number ...

, which operated from 1893-1956 File:17-11-15-Glasgow-Subway RR70180.jpg, A train at

Kinning Park Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formerly a separate police burgh between 1871 and 1905 before being absorbed by the city. In 1897, it had a population of 14,326.Govan Parish School Board, ''The Members' Year Book ...

on the Glasgow Subway, the world's third-oldest underground metro system File:Monumenttrainunloading.jpg, The

was opened between 1980 and 1984, using converted former railway lines, linked with new tunnel infrastructure. File:Unit_90_at_Woolwich_Arsenal_DLR.JPG, The

(DLR) was opened in 1987 is currently the UK's only automated metro system The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is the birthplace of

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

, with

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

hosting the world's first and second

urban rail transit Urban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

the fourth. From 1893 to 1956 the

was the only elevated rapid transit in the country, however fell into disuse being demolished in 1957. In the 20th and 21st century the United Kingdom has chosen to not prioritise investment in rapid transit schemes; instead cities like

, and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

have opted for trams.

List of systems

The following are usually referred to as commuter rail systems, but possess aspects of rapid transit:

Defunct systems

Cancelled systems

Picc-Vic tunnel Picc-Vic was a proposed, and later cancelled, underground railway designed in the early 1970s with the purpose of connecting two major mainline railway termini in Manchester city centre, England. The name Picc-Vic was a contraction of the two sta ...

Proposed systems

* Bristol Underground * Cambridge Metro *

Crossrail 2 Crossrail 2 is a proposed hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the ...

* Glasgow Metro (light rail) * North and West London Light Railway * South Hampshire Rapid Transit * Taunton metro rail *

West London Orbital The West London Orbital is a proposed extension to the London Overground railway system in London, UK. The extension would make use of a combination of existing freight and passenger lines including the Dudding Hill Line, North London Line and ...

* HERT (Hertfordshire and Essex Rapid Transit)

Notes

References

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