The Tube sign and map have become globally-recognised symbols of London to match black taxis, red buses and the Houses of Parliament clock tower.
The Tube has had to adapt to the rhythm of London life and live through some of the British capital’s defining moments.
During the Blitz – the World War II Nazi bombardment of London and other cities – tens of thousands of Londoners slept in Tube stations to shelter from the air raids. Some 177,500 people were recorded on September 27, 1940.
Hospitals were installed inside and, to avoid chaos for commuters, white lines were painted on the platforms to mark out the dividing line between passengers and sleeping families.
Six decades later on July 7, 2005, the Tube itself was attacked, when four suicide bombers blew themselves up on three Underground trains and a bus, killing 52 innocent victims.
Throughout its history, the Tube has been cherished and derided – a tourist may have a very different view from a commuter who has just spent half an hour sweating in a crammed carriage held up by signal failures.
“There is a love-hate relationship between Londoners and the Underground,” Green told AFP.
“They all complain about it” due to its breakdowns, endless upgrade works and costly fares – £116.80 ($187.60, 143.40 euros) a month to cover only the most central zone – “but they have to use it”.
Due to chronic underinvestment over several decades, the Underground has become a “monster, sclerotic and tangle-limbed”, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, struggling to respond to the ever-increasing growth in passenger numbers.
The 1987 fire at King’s Cross station, which killed 31 people, served as a “wake-up call”, said Green.
The government began to reinvest in the Tube in the 1990s and a big modernisation programme got under way in 2003. Due to take until 2020, it is costing £1.4 billion pounds per year.
The other side of the coin is that lines are often partially closed at weekends as work is carried out, and getting around becomes a test of endurance.
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