<P> In the first half of the 19th century , London had grown greatly and the development of a commuting population arriving by train each day led to traffic congestion with carts , cabs and omnibuses filling the roads . By 1850 there were seven railway termini located around the urban centre of London and the concept of an underground railway linking the City of London with these stations was first proposed in the 1830s . Charles Pearson , Solicitor to the City of London , was a leading promoter of several schemes , and he contributed to the creation of the City Terminus Company to build such a railway from Farringdon to King 's Cross in 1852 . Although the plan was supported by the City of London , the railway companies were not interested and the company struggled to proceed . In 1854 the Metropolitan Railway ( also known as the Met ) was granted permission to build an underground line at an estimated cost of £ 1 million . With the Crimean War under way , the Met found it hard to raise the capital , and construction did not start until March 1860 . The railway was mostly built using the `` cut - and - cover '' method from Paddington to King 's Cross ; east of King 's Cross it was built by tunnelling and then followed the culverted River Fleet in an open cutting to the new meat market at Smithfield . The 3.75 - mile ( 6 km ) railway opened to the public on 10 January 1863 , using steam locomotives hauling wooden carriages . It was hailed as a success , carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day , borrowing trains from other railways to supplement the service . In the first twelve months 9.5 million passengers were carried and in the second twelve months this increased to 12 million . </P>
<P> In the first half of the 19th century , London had grown greatly and the development of a commuting population arriving by train each day led to traffic congestion with carts , cabs and omnibuses filling the roads . By 1850 there were seven railway termini located around the urban centre of London and the concept of an underground railway linking the City of London with these stations was first proposed in the 1830s . Charles Pearson , Solicitor to the City of London , was a leading promoter of several schemes , and he contributed to the creation of the City Terminus Company to build such a railway from Farringdon to King 's Cross in 1852 . Although the plan was supported by the City of London , the railway companies were not interested and the company struggled to proceed . In 1854 the Metropolitan Railway ( also known as the Met ) was granted permission to build an underground line at an estimated cost of £ 1 million . With the Crimean War under way , the Met found it hard to raise the capital , and construction did not start until March 1860 . The railway was mostly built using the `` cut - and - cover '' method from Paddington to King 's Cross ; east of King 's Cross it was built by tunnelling and then followed the culverted River Fleet in an open cutting to the new meat market at Smithfield . The 3.75 - mile ( 6 km ) railway opened to the public on 10 January 1863 , using steam locomotives hauling wooden carriages . It was hailed as a success , carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day , borrowing trains from other railways to supplement the service . In the first twelve months 9.5 million passengers were carried and in the second twelve months this increased to 12 million . </P>
when did they start building the london underground
when did they start building the london underground
March 1860
March 1860