Following the withdrawal of the 1938 Stock-based British Rail Class 483 EMUs from the Isle of Wight in 2021, the 1972 Stock are now the oldest trains in regular passenger service in the United Kingdom.

A total of 441 cars were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath, in two batches: the 1972 Mark I Stock comprised 90 driving motors (DM), 90 trailers (T) and 30 uncoupling non-driving motors (UNDM), to form 30 seven-car trains; the 1972 Mark II Stock was 33 seven-car trains (99 DM, 99 T and 33 UNDM).

Although almost identical looking, the 1972 trains were conventionally operated with a guard and door controls in the rear car, and were not compatible with 1967 Tube stock.

In later years some surplus 1972 Mark 1 cars were adapted to run with the 1967 trains on the Victoria line, being coupled in the middle due to the lack of ATO equipment.

The 1972 Mark 2 stock had slightly different interiors with a dark blue seating moquette, unlike the red and grey on the earlier 1967 and 1972 cars.

The biggest external difference was that the doors were painted red, with a London Transport roundel on the side of the carriages, rather than the Johnston lettering.

[1] From 2016 to 2018, the fleet was again refurbished at Acton Works to enable the trains to remain in service until their forecast replacement date of 2035.

[4] In the late 1990s, the Labour government initiated a public–private partnership (PPP) to reverse years of underinvestment in London Underground.

[8] In the mid 2010s, TfL began a process of ordering new rolling stock to replace trains on the Piccadilly, Central, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines.

[10] These trains will have an open-gangway design, wider doorways, air conditioning and the ability to run automatically with a new signalling system.

[11] Based on a November 2021 paper, due to a lack of funding, this might not happen until the late 2030s or early 2040s, when the trains would be 60 to 70 years old — probably double their design life.