London Underground:150 and still going strong... well almost

Isn’t it funny, that something we moan about on an almost daily basis can suddenly become a cause for celebration?

This week the London underground turned 150, and in an instant we forget all those mornings crammed under a stranger’s armpit, all those evenings squished against wet umbrellas and late nights inhaling someone else’s McDonlad’s. This week, it seems that even us Londoners have ditched our usual cynicism (and reliable topic of morning conversation), to join in nostalgic affection for this British institution.

And why not? After all, since its opening, the London Underground has played a part, not only in our day-to-day lives, but in historic events that have rocked the capital to its core. This week the underground is cause for celebration, but in the past it has provided shelter, spawned love affairs and been the target of one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in recent history.

PR for the London Underground can’t be the easiest of jobs. Maintaining the reputation of a service subject to the whims of out-dated engineering, the British weather and its own temperamental workforce must feel like a thankless task at times. Nevertheless, the British and wider public’s celebration of the London Underground this week, stands as a testament to the success of a relentlessly creative campaign.  

Initiatives such as ‘Art on the Underground’, which continues to involve numerous revered contemporary artists in creating temporary and permanent installations on the network, brightens an otherwise dreary commute. Similarly, the TFL supported ‘Poetry on the Underground’ programme, which displays poems in 3,000 advertising spaces across the underground, provides a welcome break from adverts for match.com and conference call services.

Schemes such as these have elevated the London Underground in the public eye, from a sterile transport system to a symbol of the city’s art and culture. Out of the ten images chosen by The Royal Mail for its commemorative stamps, the majority are reproductions of the posters and artworks that have graced the walls of the network. Now as a PR I may be biased. But if it’s these images (rather than a sweaty armpit or rain outside Walthamstow) that represent our enduring impression of the London Underground, it has to be handed to TFL PR- they’ve done a good job.

By Polly Robinson