Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 18, 2013

The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR) was a railway company that constructed the deep-level underground railway that is now the core central section of London's Piccadilly line. The GNP&BR, formed in 1902 through a merger of two older companies, was a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL). A number of different routes were planned, but most were rejected by Parliament. When it opened in 1906, the GNP&BR's line served 22 stations (Russell Square pictured) and ran for 14.17 km between its western terminus at Hammersmith and its northern terminus at Finsbury Park. A short branch connected Holborn to the Strand. Most of the route was in a pair of tunnels, with 1.1 km at the western end above ground. Within a year of opening it became apparent to the management and investors that the estimated passenger numbers for the GNP&BR and the other UERL lines were over-optimistic. Despite improved integration and cooperation with the other tube railways, the GNP&BR struggled financially, and in 1933 it and the rest of the UERL were taken into public ownership.

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