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The Tube Challenge is the accepted name for the Guinness World Record attempt to visit all of the London Underground stations in the fastest time possible, of which there are currently 270 (See List of Tube stations). Those who attempt to break the record are referred to as Tube Challengers.

Guinness lay down numerous rules and conditions under which challenges must be completed in order for an attempt to be eligible for World Record consideration. The main stipulation is that all stations must be visited by either arriving or leaving on a London Underground train, which must must stop or arrive at every tube station, in normal public service . It is not necessary to get out at each station . It is permitted instead to use another operator's train only if it runs on the same tracks as the Underground, e.g. on the Richmond branch of the District Line). Travel between stations by other means is allowed, for example between two termini, but this can only be done on foot or by using public transport.

The length of time required to visit all stations on the network is currently at around seventeen hours - only slightly shorter than the daily operating hours of the system. Completing the challenge in a single day is therefore difficult, particularly considering some stations are not open at all times of day, and some parts have an infrequent service. Depending on the route used, there can be a fine margin between successfully recording a record time or failing altogether to visit all the stations.

The current official Guinness World Record stands at 16 hours, 44 minutes and 16 seconds which was achieved by Martin Hazel, Andi James and Steve Wilson on the 14th December 2009.

The history of the challenge

The first recorded instance of a World Record being set for the completion of the challenge dates back to 13 June 1959 when R.J. Lewis and D.R. Longley attempted the challenge. Unfortunately no further information is available for this particular attempt, but it established what has since become a well-known and (particularly within circles of enthusiasts) well-respected challenge. There have subsequently been numerous recorded attempts - a few successful, most unsuccessful - and doubtless many more unrecorded attempts. The list that follows is by no means exhaustive, but merely a record of those who have made notable efforts or who have even held the record themselves.

The 1960s

The first documented record was set on 3 December 1960 by K. and J. Branch, who completed the network (of then 277 stations) in a time of 20 hours and 27 minutes. Marshall has collated details of the progress of the record in the 1960s which, alongside the historical material at www.tubechallenge.com, form the source material for the following table. Other notable attempts come from Keith Shirland who, despite not breaking the record, completed the network several times in the late 1960s to late 1970s. A common starting place at this time was Ongar. Other starting stations used included Upminster, West Kensington and Wembley Park, which involved going straight to Watford and then to Chesham afterwards.

The regulations of the time defined "Class A" attempts, which allowed only public transport to be used and were most similar to the modern rules, and "Class B" attempts, where private transport was permitted between stations. Some recorded times which appear to be "Class B", together with incomplete attempts, have been omitted from the table. The network in 1960 was considerably different from the network that exists today - for more information, see 'Network Changes' below.

1979 to 2000: The 'Bob Robinson' era

The most prolific Tube Challenger of all, Bob Robinson, made 51 attempts between 1979 and 2000, completing 46 and setting the record time on 6 occasions. He held (with Tom McLaughlin) the pre-Jubilee line extension record of 18 hours 18 minutes 9 seconds for 270 stations.

2000 - 2009 Changing of the Guard

The opening of the Jubilee Line Extension in 1999 was a significant addition to the network and may be seen as heralding the beginning of the modern era of Tube Challenging. Nonetheless, it was the doyen of the previous era - Bob Robinson - who led the team that set the first record including the Jubilee extension in March 2000.

In April 2002, Jack Welsby started at Heathrow and finished at Amersham setting a new world record of 19 hours, 18 minutes and 45 seconds. Steven Karahan in February 2004 beat the time starting at Amersham and finishing at Upminster setting a new world record of 18 hours 47 minutes and 57 seconds. His subsequent later successful attempt in April 2008 makes him the only the person to hold two solo records. The appearance of two television programmes featuring (unsuccessful) record attempts by Geoff Marshall raised the profile of Tube Challenging. In May 2004 he finally achieved the record on his seventh attempt with a time of 18 hours 35 minutes and 43 seconds.

Håkan Wolgé and Lars Anderson from Sweden used computer algorithms to calculate a route which helped them set the last 275 station time in September 2006 with 18 hours 25 minutes and 3 seconds. The Brown family of Anthony, Kevin, Phillip and Jamie along with John Stark further raised the media visibility of the challenge with their charity attempts for Children in Need and Comic Relief between 2006 and 2009.

The closure of East London Line in December 2007 was a significant reduction to the network and explains the faster times being set today. It led to challengers not having to start on the first train of the day (typically around 05.30am in the Amersham/Chesham corner) but about an hour later instead. This in turn meant shorter waits and better connection times and less time wasted at the first few connections early on in the day, as trains are more frequent an hour after the start of service.

Since May 2006, three ladies have claimed the record (the last female holder had been in 1979). Rachel Brabbins (a reporter for BBC Three Counties), Sara Wearn and Sam Cawley have all held the record, the latter being the only female solo World record holder in the history of the challenge.

Since November 2007 Andi James has made twenty-eight attempts completing the network fifteen times and achieved a new record on three of those occasions. James, along with Bob Robinson, Tomothy Clark and Peter Robinson, are the only people to break their own record times.

During 2009, major works started across the whole of network led to a more reliable network, which has contributed to faster times being possible. Continued improvement works in the run-up to the Olympic Games in London in 2012 are expected to lead to yet more improved journey times. Also, challengers increasingly now run between the on-foot connections (rather than wait for buses), which has led to faster times being achieved.

'

Time in bold represents current official Guinness World Record.
* The number of stations visited is uncertain

Route planning

Mathematically, the Tube Challenge is closely analogous to the Travelling Salesman Problem. The successful route of former world record holder Håkan Wolgé was designed by computer, using a genetic algorithm. It is necessary to account not just for the distances or times between stations, but also for the timetable - especially when planning routes over the less frequently served parts of the network. Comparison of recent routes with earlier ones suggests that the dramatic improvement in the record time between 2000-2008 may largely be due to the use of increasingly better routes.

There are a number of commonly used bus, tram, rail or pedestrian connections between termini or near-termini of lines, such as: Wimbledon - Morden (or South Wimbledon); Cockfosters - High Barnet; Edgware - Stanmore (or Canons Park); West Ruislip - Ickenham; and Richmond - Hatton Cross. These may be traversed in either direction, depending on the specifics of the route.

Some connections are often made on foot between geographically proximal points on different lines, or different branches of the same line, such as North Ealing - West Acton (0.36 miles / 0.59 km); Northwick Park - Kenton (0.32 miles / 0.52 km); North Harrow - West Harrow (0.65 miles / 1.05 km); Knightsbridge - Sloane Square (0.68 miles / 1.10 km) and Chiswick Park - Gunnersbury (0.46 miles / 0.76 km).

Network changes

The London Underground network of today is considerably changed from that Lewis & Longley traversed in 1959. The most significant changes were the openings of the Victoria Line (1968–1972) and the Jubilee Line Extension (1999), together with the loss of the East London Line from the network in 2007.

Charity Attempts

It is quite common for an attempt to be linked to a charity, raising money on a per-station completed basis, or a set amount for getting round the whole system. An attempt was made by some challengers in aid of Comic Relief on the very first Red Nose Day in 1988. More recently, another Comic Relief attempt was made in March 2009, when a group of challengers dressed up as Superheroes for a day and chased a 'convict' around the system whilst filming the event for a DVD, with the proceeds going to the charity. Towards the end of 2010 there will be an attempt at The Tube Challenge linked to the charity Crisis.

In 2006 the first annual charity attempt was made in aid of BBC Children in Need. Challengers taking part featured on BBC Three Counties Radio and BBC London 94.9 during the challenge.

In the wake of the attack on the London Underground on 7 July 2005, a special charity event "Tube Relief" was organised, to encourage people to ride the tube all day and attempt to visit all the stations. The spirit of the event was not to try and break the record time, but to merely show that the "We're not afraid" tag line in use at the time was very much true. On 25 August 2005, sixty-seven people participated - most of them travelling the majority of the network - starting at Amersham and finishing at Upminster. Over £10,000 was raised in total for the official relief fund.

Tube Challenge in the media

Former Guinness World Record holder Geoff Marshall was featured in an episode of the ITV documentary series (later sold to Sky Travel amongst others) "The Tube", as he and friend Dave Brooks attempted (unsuccessfully) to break the record.

A few months later, as part of the 'Metroland' series of programmes on ITV, Geoff appeared again: this time with two friends, Chris Vinall and Peter Martell, as they made another (unsuccessful) attempt. This programme was called 'Race Around The Underground' and also featured previous world record holders Jack Welsby and Bob Robinson.

The 'Tube Relief' charity attempt attracted attention from BBC News and Virgin Radio, as well as several channels in New Orleans, Louisiana, from where one participant had travelled to take part, only to return home in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

In April 2008, BBC Three Counties Radio featured the Tube Challenge for a week on the Lorna Milton show, culminating in the coverage of a record attempt by station reporter Rachel Brabbins, who along with Ryan Brown joined current holders Antony, Jamie, Kevin and Phillip Brown and John Stark for the day. The teams progress was followed by the station throughout the day, and they finished in a new record time of 17 hours, 56 minutes and 28 seconds.

On 17 November 2008, a team of Tube Challengers appeared on the BBC2 quiz show Eggheads.

Tube Challenge documentaries online

On 10 February 2009, a team of Southampton students filmed an online documentary with record holder Andi James.

On 14 September 2009 Paul Berry along with Simon Hollett, Hassan Chagani, Chris Marshall and Andi James also filmed an online documentary simply called "Tube Challenge".

Tube Challenge in literature

The 2001 novel Tunnel Vision (ISBN 0-09-941668-9) by author Keith Lowe follows a fictional man who on the eve of his wedding, in a fit of last-minute nerves, makes a drunken bet about completing a Tube Challenge and thus putting his wedding at risk. Ian Marchant's 2003 autobiography Parallel Lines (ISBN 0-7475-6584-8) includes a description of a solo attempt at the Challenge.

Other Challenges

Though corresponding full system tours have been recorded for numerous cities, including Paris, Berlin and Moscow, Guinness World Records only acknowledge attempts for London and New York. The latter is known as the Subway Challenge and takes longer than London to complete as there are substantially more stations on the New York subway.

There are also Alternative Tube Challenges, shorter than the full network, on the London Underground.

References

1. "The Rules of The Challenge". Tubeforum.co.uk. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
2. "Tube Challenge History". Geoff Marshall. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
3. "World Record Times". Retrieved 21 November 2007.
4. "London Underground trip 1970". Retrieved 10 September 2010.
5. ":: news.bbc.co..uk :: tube record beaten :: new world record". BBC News. Retrieved 29 September 2004.
6. "BBC News, Tube World Record Broken". BBC News. 29 September 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
7. ":: scriv.me.uk :: blog :: I've Only Gone And Done It!". Matthew Scrivin. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
8. "Tube 24 3rd World Record". Andi James. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
9. "Travelling the London Underground in the shortest time". Retrieved 12 April 2010.
10. "Tube Challenge History". Geoff Marshall. Retrieved 13 January 2007.
11. "Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides - East London Line". Retrieved 22 March 2008.
12. New Wood Lane Underground station opens - Transport for London
13. "Red Nose Day Tube Challenging". James Tong. Retrieved 2010-07--3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
14. The preparations for the world record attempt are detailed at http://www.thetubechallenge.com/
15. “”. "Audio of Children In Need Tube Challenge 2006". Youtube.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
16. "Tube Relief". Tube Relief. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
17. "Tube 3 (the one in "24 hours")". geofftech.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
18. ^ "Media/TV appearances". geofftech.co.uk. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
19. "BBC News, Tube Challenge for Bomb Charity". BBC News. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
20. "Going Underground - Tami in the news and on TV". London-underground.blogspot.com. 31 August 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
21. Jem, William. "Mind the Gap London 2009". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
22. Beans, Pouring. "Tube Challenge 14/09/09". Vimeo.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.

External links

• tubeforum.co.uk: Rules of the Tube Challenge

• Use dmy dates from September 2010
• London Underground
• World records