To mark the Central line’s 125th anniversary this month, Transport for London (TfL) is holding an anniversary treasure hunt on Saturday 20 September as part of London’s Open House Festival 2025 and encouraging customers to look out for the varied architectural details at many of the line’s historical stations.
The treasure hunt event, which starts at Shepherd’s Bush station and will run between from 10:30 and 15:30, is free and open for all to attend on a drop-in basis. The Central line opened in 1900 as a cross-London route from Shepherd’s Bush to Bank and this event is an opportunity to discover more about its history and heritage as well as design and hidden stories past and present. Participants will pick up a clue pack at Shepherd’s Bush station, then follow it through several stations before finishing at Bank. At each station, they will be faced with several questions, the answers to which can be found by carefully observing the station and paying close attention to posters, plaques and artwork.
Other stations on newer parts of the Central line also reflect the evolution of architecture and customers are encouraged to look out for the varied styles of the buildings. These include Gants Hill, designed by Charles Holden and inspired by Moscow’s subway system, the modernist White City, designed by London Transport architects A.D. McGill and Kenneth Seymour and which won a Festival of Britain design award, and Grade II listed Perivale station, designed by Brian Lewis, Chief Architect of Great Western Railway (GWR) and marked by a large curved concave window set inside a red brick structure.
TfL is continuing to invest in and improve the London Underground with initiatives including the Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP), which is seeing an investment of £500m to overhaul trains on the line. Customers are already starting to benefit from safer, more reliable and accessible trains that feature more reliable motors, wheelchair bays, improved customer information, a new moquette and CCTV cameras.
Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “This is a really special milestone, and I would encourage Londoners and visitors to join TfL’s Treasure Hunt and experience for themselves the Central line’s rich history and heritage. Ever since it opened as ‘the Twopenny Tube’ in 1900, the Central line has played an important role in connecting key landmarks right in the heart of our city and I’m proud that, through the Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP), we’re investing more than £500 million to improve infrastructure and accessibility on the line as we build a better, fairer and safer London for all.”
