Can you identify a London Underground line just by listening?

The quiz

A new ear-training gimmick — tubesoundquiz.com — asks a deceptively simple question: can you tell a Tube line just from the sound of the train? Click play. A few seconds of rumble, squeal or clack. Pick a line. Repeat. It's addictive in the way small internet quizzes are. Name That Tune, but for commuters.

Why it works

Different rolling stock, tunnel profiles, track curvature and even maintenance regimes give each line a slightly different acoustic fingerprint. Some have a low, hollow rumble; others sound brighter and clattery. It has been reported that long-time commuters can identify their home line with uncanny accuracy, and the quiz taps into that tiny, proud bit of local expertise — the commuter’s equivalent of a hometown chant.

More than a party trick

This is more than a novelty. The quiz highlights the ways infrastructure carries identity; sound is a surprisingly potent marker of place. It also slots neatly into two internet trends: bite-sized challenges and an appreciation for sonic detail (hello, ASMR friends). Try it yourself: you might find you’re better at listening than you thought.

Sources: tubesoundquiz.com, Hacker News