Explain the social changes in London which led to the need for the Underground railway. Why was the development of the Underground criticised?
The development of suburbs as a part of the drive to decongest London led to the extension of the city beyond the range where people could walk to work. Though these suburbs had been built, the people could not be persuaded to leave the city and stay far away from their places of work in the absence of some form of public transport. The Underground railway was constructed to solve this housing problem. It was criticized intially because:
→ A newspaper reported the danger to health and asphyxiation (lack of air) and heat.
→ It was referred to as iron monsters, which added to the mess of the city. Charles Dickens in ‘Dombey and Son’ described its destructive process in construction.
→ About 900 houses were destroyed to make two miles of railways.
