Portal:London transport

The London transport portal

London transport

The London transport system is one of the oldest and largest public transport systems in the world. Many components of its transport system, such as the double-decker bus, the Hackney Carriage black taxi and the London Underground, are internationally recognised symbols of London.

Most transport services in London are controlled by Transport for London (TfL), an executive agency of the Greater London Authority. TfL-controlled services include the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the London Overground, Buses and Trams, most of which accept payment by the Oyster card. TfL also administers the congestion charge zone and the low emission zone.

London has a comprehensive rail network with several major railway stations linking to the rest of the country. International travel is possible from St Pancras International which connects to mainland Europe through the Eurostar service, or from one of six international airports, including Heathrow or Gatwick.

The M25 is an orbital motorway which enables vehicles to avoid travelling through central London and is one of the busiest motorways in Europe.

More about transport in London


Buses	Taxis	Underground	Overground	DLR	Tramlink	National Rail	River Services	Heathrow Airport

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Selected article
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground, coloured silver grey on the Tube map. The line opened on 1 May 1979, taking over one of the Bakerloo line's two branches to relieve congestion on their common portion. The Baker Street to Stanmore branch was joined to a new four-kilometre segment into central London, terminating at a new station at Charing Cross. The new station was created by amalgamating Strand on the Northern line and Trafalgar Square on the Bakerloo. The new line was to have been called the Fleet Line after the River Fleet, but the project was renamed for Queen Elizabeth II's 1977 Silver Jubilee and because the original plans to go east towards Fleet Street had been postponed. The eastward extension was eventually cancelled and a revised route south running south of the River Thames via Waterloo and London Bridge was planned to take the line to the London Docklands, Canary Wharf and Stratford. The Jubilee Line Extension branched from the original line south of Green Park Underground station and opened in sections during 1999. The Jubilee line platforms at Charing Cross were closed when the final section opened. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was chairman or a director of many British railways including the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He was intermittently a member of parliament, representing Hythe from 1874 to 1895. Through his leadership of the MR, SER and MS&LR, Watkin had the amibtion to construct a new mainline railway connecting the north of England, via London and Kent to the continent. Although his plans for a channel tunnel to be constructed by his Anglo-French Submarine Railway were never realised, the MS&LR constructed its London extension in the 1890s from Annesley, Nottinghamshire to the MR's station at Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire to a continental loading gauge. Reflecting its enhanced connections the MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1987. To encourage tourist day-trips on the MR, Watkin planned a pleasure grounds at Wembley Park, with a large tower, "Watkin's Tower", intended to be larger than the Eiffel Tower. The park opened in 1896, but because of cost and structural problems, the tower was never completed and was demolished after Watkin's death. The site was subsequently used for Wembley Stadium. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the Underground's architect Charles Holden and LPTB Managing Director Frank Pick were both sons of drapers? ...that Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length. ...that the longest distance between two adjacent stations on the London Underground is 6.26 km (3.89 miles), between Chalfont & Latimer and Chesham on the Metropolitan line? ...that the Kingsway tramway subway, the only underground tram route in the United Kingdom, operated under Kingsway from 1906 to 1952 with two underground tram stations at Holborn and Aldwych? Part of the route is still in use as the Strand Underpass. ...that Tramlink routes first appeared on the standard Tube map in 2016? More Did you know...
Related portals
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Selected pictures

Image 1Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 2Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 3The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 4Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 5Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 6Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 7Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 8Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 9Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 10Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 11Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 12Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 13The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 14Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 15Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 16Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 17Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 18An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 19The newly constructed junction of the Westway (A40) and the West Cross Route (A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
Image 20Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
Image 21Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 22Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
Image 23Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 24Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 25TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 26Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 27The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 28London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
Image 29London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
Image 30Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 31A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 32Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 33Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 34Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 35Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 36"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 37The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 38A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 39Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 40View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 41London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 42Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 43Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 44Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 45The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 46The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
Image 47London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 4855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 49Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.

All Selected pictures

Anniversaries

3 August

1920 – Central London Railway extends from Wood Lane to Ealing Broadway.
1926 – The first electric traffic light in Britain is installed at Piccadilly Circus. It was manually operated by a police officer.
1963 – Erection of the Umbrella road deck over Oxford Circus begins to allow the excavation for the new station concourse below the junction.

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