Riding the giant worm in London

 “The distance from the surface of Earth to the center is 3,959 miles, which isn’t so very far. It has been calculated that if you sunk a well to the center and dropped a brick into it, it would take only forty-five minutes for it to hit the bottom (although at that point it would be weightless since all the Earth’s gravity would be above and around it rather than beneath it). Our own attempts to penetrate toward the middle have been modest indeed. One or two South African gold mines reach to a depth of two miles, but most mines on Earth go no more than about a quarter of a mile beneath the surface. If the planet were an apple, we wouldn’t yet have broken through the skin, indeed, we haven’t even come close.” Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

I was running through man-made underground tunnels for a fair chunk of yesterday. Literally running like an energetic ant, bumping other tunnel travellers out of the way, apologising to every second one. I of course, on my busy day of business meetings, was utilizing one of the best underground rail systems in the world, the London Underground. Commonly known as ‘the tube’, the London Underground is a generally well-organised people moving system, which sees trains rapidly soaring over 249 miles of track. At some points, the tunnels are as deep as (approximately) 60m and if you use your imagination whilst riding, you can pretend you are inside a giant worm.

It’s cozy and warm inside the trains too, much like I imagine it to be inside a giant worm. The people tend to be quiet because there is no phone reception underground and if you fall asleep on your short trip, it’s almost like you have been teleported when you arrive at your destination. You literally walk deep down into the earth in one part of London, wake up and walk out into a completely different part of the city. Like magic!

An average of 2.7 million tube journeys are made per day and I’m guessing that involves an average of 1.2 million humorous situations. From a stranger losing balance and tumbling into an unfriendly looking other stranger to elegant corporate women losing all credibility when they inelegantly squeeze onto the train and get their hair stuck in the closing doors. There are drunken chatterboxes who ride the tube, and adorably innocent children asking consistently stupid questions. I’ve watched a pair start an awkward-for-everybody-but-them conversation and exchange numbers and a man attack another man for being verbally abusive to a mutual stranger. And I have only lived here a month.

I also recently learnt that the tube is a trouble spot for suicide. With it being so notorious that there was even a film, Three and Out, made, and severely criticised. The Brits seem to be a little bit desensitized to it all though, with underground management and train drivers making common announcements such as “person under a train” or “person on track” to explain the inconvenient train delay. It seems to be much more of a bother to late passengers than a shock and grief effect.

“The database shows that 18,677 accidents occurred across the Tube between January 2006 and March 2011, with 835 serious accidents and 188 fatalities.” http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/09/12/jubilee-line-had-most-safety-incidents-since-2006-london-underground-data-reveals/

Of course those 188 fatalities couldn't have all been from suicide, I know for a fact (read on a banner) that someone died from people pushing and shoving on the escalators last year.