London Underground Limited was established as a separate company in 1985.
The company was created under London Regional Transport, which had been formed by the Transport Act 1969. Before that reorganisation, London’s Underground services had been managed through earlier public transport bodies, including London Transport. Establishing London Underground Limited gave the Underground a distinct corporate structure while it remained publicly owned.
The company later became part of Transport for London when the Greater London Authority and its transport organisation were created in 2000. In 2003, responsibility for the Underground transferred to Transport for London, although London Underground Limited continued as the operating company. This history can cause confusion because the Underground has had several ownership and management arrangements without changing the basic identity of the Tube network. The separate company should also not be confused with the later private infrastructure arrangements associated with the failed Tube Lines public-private partnership.