Originally published on March 7, 2014
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London 'Mail Rail,' a relic of life in early 20th century England, is scheduled to be re-invented as a tourist ride by 2020.
The underground rail line came into existence in the early decades of the 20th century, a time when London's streets had become excessively crowded with both horse-drawn and 'horseless' carriages. The bustling streets began slowing the delivery of mail.
The British Parliament's solution was to pass an act in 1913 ordering the construction of a dedicated underground rail line that connected major postal hubs.
The construction of the tunnels was put on hold during WWI, and artworks were stored in still-under-construction system during the war to protect them from bombings carried out by German Zeppelin airships.
Construction on the line restarted in 1924, and the train, dubbed the "Mail Rail," was completed in time for the 1927 Christmas holiday season and carried as many as 12 million of letters and parcels below the city streets each day for decades.
The train ran at speeds of up to 60 kph along over 30 kilometers of tracks. Feeder buses ferried mail to and from the mail rail stations, each of which had a system of conveyor belts and lifts to get the mail up and down from the train line.
As London joined the world in entering the digital age, postal volumes decreased and the system was mothballed in 2003.
In early 2014 the BBC reported that the 'mail rail' is scheduled to be turned into a tourist ride by 2020, during which visitors can learn more about 400 years of UK postal history and the unique 'mail rail' line
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