In England the MRT system is known as ‘The Underground’ for obvious reasons.

Intitially all stations were underground because the first stations were all located in the centre of London. As stations away from the center of London were added, it was no longer necessary to build stations (and the railway) under the ground. However, the stations are still referred to as 'underground stations'.

The English Underground is the oldest in the world, and its first section opened in 1863. It is also the least comfortable, but this is in large part due to the fact that it is the oldest. The stations are small and cramped, as are the majority of the platforms. In fact, some platforms are no more than two metres wide!

London’s MRT system is far bigger than that of Taipei. Taipei’s system has around 82 stations, whereas London has about 270. Also, the longest underground line in London is over 70 kilometers, but in the Taipei system it is currently about 30 kilometers

Taipei’s system has 4 lines, whereas London’s has 14.

The cost of travelling by the London Underground and the Taipei MRT system varies widely, too.

The cheapest ticket on the London Underground costs 1.80 (90 NT) and although this is what it costs to travel just one station/stop, like the Taipei system, you can usually travel 5 or 6 stations/stops for the same price. The next expensive tickets costs 2.30, which is about 120 NT. This will usually get you another 4 or 5 stations. For larger distances, the price does not increase much, but only provided that you don't travel during rush hour. Otherwise you will have to pay as much as 300 NT for the longest journey

An all day ticket for the entire network, costs 800 NT or 450 NT, depending upon whether you want to use your ticket during rush hour or not. This is a very large price, but remember that the London Underground is enormous. Most people, electing for the all day ticket don't wish to travel to the very outer zones, in which case they would pay no more than 500 NT (or 320 NT if they don't use the ticket during rush hour).

Throughout the world, the temperature below the ground (provided it is fairly well insulated from the air above ground) remains the same all year long. As a result, in during the cold winter of London, the temperature in the underground is pleasantly warm. In addition, if the trains are crowded with people who, due to the cold weather, have walked quickly to the underground stations, the trains can actually feel unpleasantly hot, due to the heat that the people are producing as a result of their quick walk to the stations.

Later, when you exit the very warm underground and return to the freezing outside air of winter, your body has a nasty shock. In Taipei, in summer, the MRT is kept at an unnecessary cold temperature, and when you exit an MRT station into the high temperature of July or August, you experience the opposite of what people in London do during winter.