The oldest London Underground trains still in service with Transport for London date back to 1972, but the fate of retired carriages varies widely. While many are scrapped, others are repurposed for dining, creative workspaces, or even continue operating on rail lines far from the capital.
From Tube carriage to dining experience
One notable example is the Supper Club Tube at the Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum. Led by chef Bea Carreño, this transformed 1967 Victoria line carriage offers guests a six-course Latin American-influenced meal. The refurbished carriage seats up to 35 people for dinner three nights a week, and retains its original seat fabric and period signage, with the addition of dining tables.
The carriage has also appeared in films and television programmes, including the series Fleabag.
Creative hubs and festival stages
Former Jubilee line carriages sit atop Village Underground in Shoreditch, where all four have been repurposed as a creative hub for music producers, photographers, playwrights, and filmmakers. During the past two summers, the music venue transported one carriage to Glastonbury Festival, where festival-goers danced inside while DJs performed.
However, Village Underground recently changed ownership, leaving the future of these graffiti-covered tube trains uncertain. Several retired carriages have also been relocated to museums, including the London Transport Museum and its depot in Acton.
Isle of Wight and Channel Islands operations
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect is the number of London Underground trains operating on the Isle of Wight. The Island Line has used decommissioned Tube trains since 1988, as conventional trains cannot pass through the route's Ryde Tunnel. In April 2021, five London Tube trains manufactured in the 1980s were transported to the island to replace the existing fleet, retaining little of the original shell but equipped with modern features like USB charging and wi-fi.
Additionally, several Northern line trains now transport residents and visitors around Alderney in the Channel Islands, where only 2000 inhabitants live, meaning the carriages are never as crowded as they were on the Morden-Edgware route.
Retirement in the scrapyard
Regrettably, most retired trains end up in a 'graveyard' three hours beyond the capital. A TikTok clip shows rows of carriages covered in graffiti and vegetation in fields at Long Marston, Stratford-upon-Avon. The coloured poles inside the carriages are the only clue to which line they once served, and they now stand corroding, a far cry from their bustling history on the world's oldest Underground network.
