London’s Circle Line railway, which for years has been notorious for slow running and endless service delays, will soon be history.

Transport for London have decided that from December 13 the Circle Line will no longer “go round and round” but will instead run to and from Edgware Road. While trains will complete the full circle in each direction from Edgware Road, once they reach the terminus, they will reverse and go back they way they’ve come. There will be no through running.

TfL have also added the Hammersmith & City Line to the Circle Line so that the route map for the line now looks like a tadpole.

TfL say the changes will result in a more reliable service on the original route as any disruptions won’t mean the entire Circle Line service coming to a halt.

However, one effect will be to reduce the number of trains on the Hammersmith branch which is sure to cause some annoyance, if not chaos, for people who need to travel between Hammersmith and the City.

One lesser casualty of the move will be the legendary Circle Line pub crawl in which participants had to travel to all 27 stations on the line, get off and have a drink at the nearest pub and get back on the train.

Drinkers had 12 hours to complete the challenge but I have yet to meet anyone who actually made it past the ninth or tenth stop, and who wasn’t completely trousered by then.

Now that there is no through running, the pub crawl just won’t be the same. That might not be a bad thing for the Tube – binge drinking and railways do not mix well – but it is one of those quirky things that made Britain different.