A boy studying his GCSEs who loves the London Underground map is taking on the challenge of walking the length of every single Tube line and when he finishes this quest he’s got his eyes on London bus routes. Jai, 16, began his unique journey by walking the entire Victoria line, from Walthamstow Central to Brixton, in August 2024.
Since then, he’s covered the Bakerloo line, from Elephant and Castle to Harrow and Wealdstone, the Hammersmith and City line from Barking to Hammersmith, and the Waterloo and City line from Waterloo to Bank. His completion of the Bakerloo line in December sparked his ambition to “walk the whole of London”, especially after a TikTok post about it under the handle @jai_jai1908 was viewed by more than 400,000 people.
“The first line I did was the Victoria line last summer and it got 200 views at the time when I posted about it on TikTok, but then when I posted about the Bakerloo line one, it blew up,” Jai, who resides in central London, shared with the PA news agency. “After that, I thought: ‘Why don’t I just walk the whole of London? ’ I really enjoy walking and it’s a hobby and I’ve received messages from people asking if they can join me.”
Jai started walking Tube lines in 2024
(Image: Jai/TikTok/PA)
He mentioned that his parents think his project is “really cool” and if anyone questions his age, he would respond: “I think age should not be an issue here as at 16, many people are considered young adults and start experiencing more independence.”
His quickest journey so far has been the Waterloo and City line, which he managed to complete in 31 minutes, while his longest trek – the Hammersmith and City line – took a whopping seven hours and 43 minutes. He shared that planning this transport-themed project alongside his studies has been relatively simple, stating: “My geography of London is impeccable.
“I know the stations by heart, I just seem to know where everything is in London. I’ll just look on a map and see what is doable within a day by guessing how long it will take for me to walk.”
Jai enjoyed the views at night while walking the Hammersmith & City line
(Image: Jai/TikTok/PA)
His favourite route so far has been the Hammersmith and City line as he enjoyed exploring areas like Shepherd’s Bush at night, with the Waterloo and City line receiving the lowest ranking as it was “too short”. The most crucial advice he would give to others who hope to follow in his footsteps is to be resilient. “The thing that’s helping me is because I have good consistency, I don’t get tired easily and I barely take any breaks,” he said.
“When I walked the whole of the Bakerloo line, the only things that were hurting were my hips and my left shoulder and then I recovered within an hour. I barely take any breaks and when I do take one it is for two minutes to go to Tesco and get Bourbons (biscuits) or something like that.”
As a transport enthusiast, Jai still has a long way to go on his mission to conquer all of the capital’s railways but hopes to walk all the London bus routes in the future. “This is just the start – I know a lot about trains but I am obsessed with buses so would love to cover the bus routes,” he added.
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