A crowd of several thousand have greeted the arrival of the first Circle line train at Hammersmith, just 3 years after it departed Edgware Road. The excitement was at fever pitch as the train pulled in, and driver Harry Mulch waved at crowds, screaming “we’ve done it, we’ve done it”, with tears in his eyes.

“It was raw emotion,” said one reveler, who had come to welcome the first Circle line train ever to arrive at Hammersmith. “My Dad was among those who saw the train off three years ago, and he never thought it would actually make it all the way round. I just wish he could have been here to see it roll in at 0.5 miles per hour, he’d have been so proud.”

The train left Edgware Road in March 2007 to great fanfare, before stopping in the tunnel for eight months due to “signalling problems”. However, it proceeded soon after and arrived at Gloucester Road early in 2008. Having reached Baker Street by September last year, few had any hope of seeing the Circle Line train this year. However, due to the bravery of the driver and his passengers, the train actually arrived 3 months ahead of the time predicted by Transport for London.

Commuter Alan Callcentre-Smith said that he was one of the lucky few able to elbow his way on at Gloucester Road, and he stayed on board all the way round to Hammersmith: “I thought I was lucky – and after a few days, I realised that I was part of something really special. Yes, supplies were low, and nobody had washed for nearly a year, but morale was actually quite high. It was like the Blitz spirit, I suppose. Yes, there were fights here and there, but there are some great stories to be told!”

Within the train, factions had grown, and a “tube leader” had been elected on a platform of “fair seat sharing for all”. Originally Head of the Circle Line Democrat Party, Nicolas Twatterson promised all Circle Line tube passengers “at least some food before 2009″, and “Liverpool Street before Christmas”, and told reporters yesterday at Hammersmith:

“This is our day. This is the day of the People of the Circle Line. Yes, we are reunited with our wives, our children, our families, and although not all of us have made it, we – we the brave, brave commuters – we’re home.”

Twatterson then realised that he had to go back to White City, as that is where he actually lived, but said that he was more than happy to lead the next generation of Circle Liners.

By mid-2009, a breakaway group who wished to join the District Line rose up, and even started using their own language. They ran into conflict with another group known as the Central Liners, who spoke of a “promised land” at Bank, and worshipped “the God of Holborn”.

“They were an odd bunch,” mused Circle Liner Theresa Ankergren. “And God knows where they found those white robes from. They’d go up and down the carriages during that awful September near Farringdon, handing out these leaflets that said ‘the God of Holborn will redeem us all’. Well, he didn’t, did he? They must feel pretty stupid now.”

Transport for London laid on a huge celebration for the arrival of the Circle Line train, with a fanfare, cheerleaders and 1980s popstar Lamaal. Crowd enforcement officers held revelers back. TFL CEO Piers Everbrown told the Daily Shame:

“You know, these things don’t happen every day. In fact, the arrival of a Circle Line train at its terminus is really a once in a lifetime experience – like a total eclipse of the Sun, really. So when it does come, you grasp it with both hands. Frankly, I don’t see another one coming during my lifetime.”