Woman breaks record by spending two days visiting every London Underground station

‘It’s a nice way to spend a weekend,’ says record-breaker

Helen Coffey
Monday 21 November 2022 12:39 GMT
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Ali White spent 48 hours on the Tube network
Ali White spent 48 hours on the Tube network (Ali White / SWNS)

A woman has broken the world record for the longest ever journey on the London Underground.

Ali White spent two days on the Tube, calling in at every single one of the 272 stations on the network.

Kicking off on Friday 19 November and finishing up just after 11am on Sunday, Ms White was given a special Transport For London (TFL) pass to ensure she wouldn’t receive a penalty fare for not tapping out after 48 hours.

A policy advisor from Shepherd’s Bush, she also volunteers with the British Transport Police in her spare time.

Friends joined Ms White for parts of the journey on Saturday and Sunday to give her an energy boost when she was flagging.

Friends came out to support Ali on her journey (Ali White / SWNS)

She told SWNS of the experience: “It’s been OK, it’s a nice way to spend a weekend.

“Exploring bits of London I have never been to before.”

Ms White followed a set of stringent rules: she couldn’t tap out or hang around on a platform and let trains go past.

“I could only stop to swap trains, go to the loo or have some food,” she said. “I was also taking part in mini-challenges, little bits on the Tube, little quirks.

“For example, the deepest tube station is Hampstead, it is 15 stories deep and my mini challenge was to climb those steps.”

Tufnell Park was Ali’s favourite stop (Ali White / SWNS)

Ms White performed the impressive feat to raise money for charity. Since her dad’s sudden death in 2016 from a pulmonary embolism, she has taken on a variety of sponsored challenges, including the Oxford Half Marathon and a 100-mile cycle through the Yorkshire countryside, in aid of Mind, Centrepoint and the NSPCC.

“I feel absolutely overwhelmed by the support from people on Twitter and social media,” Ms White said of her latest accomplishment.

“We’ve ended up raising over three times what I originally aimed for, which is just absolutely incredible.

“Absolutely wonderful experience, but never, ever again.”

Her favourite stop after visiting all 272? “Tufnell Park, it’s a quiet, cute station out on the Northern line.”

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