A GCSE student with a passion for public transport has gone viral by hiking London’s Tube lines and has his sights set on the capital’s bus routes next.
Jai, 16, who did not wish to share his surname, first trotted his way around the entirety of the Victoria line – from Walthamstow Central to Brixton – in August 2024.
He has since covered the Bakerloo line, from Elephant & Castle to Harrow & Wealdstone, the Hammersmith & City line from Barking to Hammersmith, and the Waterloo & City line from Waterloo to Bank.
Jai has already walked several Tube lines (Jai/TikTok/PA)
It was his completion of the Bakerloo line in December which was the main thrust behind his goal to “walk the whole of London” after a post about it to TikTok under the handle @jai_jai1908 was seen by over 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 lives in central London, told the PA news agency.
“After that, I thought: ‘Why don’t I just walk the whole of London?’
Jai walked the Bakerloo line in December 2024 (Jai/TikTok/PA)
“I really like walking and it is a hobby and I’ve got messages from people asking if they can join me.”
He said his parents think the project is “really cool” and added if anyone questions if he is too young to take on the challenge, he would say: “I think age should not be an issue here as at 16, many people are considered young adults and start experiencing more independence.”
His shortest journey so far has been the Waterloo & City line, which he completed in 31 minutes, while the longest – the Hammersmith & City line – took seven hours and 43 minutes.
A view captured by Jai as he walked the Hammersmith & City line (Jai/TikTok/PA)
He said planning the transport-centred project, alongside his studies, has been fairly straightforward, adding: “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 has been documenting his Tube walks on his TikTok (Jai/TikTok/PA)
He said his favourite route so far has been the Hammersmith & City line as he enjoyed exploring areas including Shepherd’s Bush at night, with the Waterloo & City line receiving the lowest ranking as it was “too short”.
He said the most important tip he would give to others who hope to replicate his endeavour 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.
Jai found the time to take a photo when walking the Hammersmith & City line (Jai/TikTok/PA)
“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.”
Something of a transport enthusiast, Jai still has a way to go on his quest to conquer all of the capital’s railways but hopes to walk all the London bus routes in 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.