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
SS Princess Alice, formerly PS Bute, was a passenger paddle steamer that sank on 3 September 1878 after a collision with the collier Bywell Castle on the River Thames. Between 600 and 700 people died, all from Princess Alice, the greatest loss of life of any British inland waterway shipping accident. No passenger list or headcount was made, so the exact figure of those who died has never been known. Built in Greenock, Scotland, in 1865, Princess Alice was employed for two years in Scotland before being purchased by the Waterman's Steam Packet Co to carry passengers on the Thames. By 1878 she was owned by the London Steamboat Co and was captained by William R. H. Grinstead; the ship carried passengers on a stopping service from Swan Pier, near London Bridge, downstream to Sheerness, Kent, and back. On her homeward journey, at an hour after sunset on 3 September 1878, she passed Tripcock Point and entered Gallions Reach, she took the wrong sailing line and was hit by Bywell Castle; the point of the collision was the area of the Thames where 75 million imperial gallons (340,000 m³) of London's raw sewage had just been released. Princess Alice broke into three parts and sank quickly; her passengers drowned in the heavily polluted waters. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Frank Pick (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was managing director of the Underground Group (UERL) from 1928 to 1933 and was chief executive officer and vice-chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board from its creation in 1933 until 1940. Pick began his career with the UERL in 1906 as assistant to the managing director Sir George Gibb, by 1908 he had become publicity officer and became commercial manager in 1912. Pick steered the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning eye-catching commercial art, graphic design and modern architecture, establishing a highly recognisable brand. Elements of the brand commissioned by Pick included the Underground roundel, the Johnston typeface and Charles Holden's iconic stations of the 1920s and 1930s. Pick was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has so far produced in England, and indeed the ideal patron of our age." Pick's interest in design extended beyond his own organisation and he was a founding member and later served as President of the Design and Industries Association. He was also the first chairman of the Council for Art and Industry. He is commemorated with a memorial at Piccadilly Circus station, a blue plaque at his home in Highgate and with Frank Pick House, a London Underground engineering facility near Acton Town station. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that Acton is the only place in London to have stations named after all four of the cardinal points, north, south, east, and west? ...that the first railway terminus in London was Spa Road station in Bermondsey, opened by the London and Greenwich Railway on 8 February 1836? ...that three new Thames bridges, Chiswick, Twickenham and Hampton Court, were opened on 3 July 1933 by Edward, Prince of Wales? ...that Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney proposed the construction of an underground monorail line from Cricklewood to The Oval? ... that the Royal Commission on London Traffic proposed constructing 9 miles (14 km) of avenues with railways underneath at the cost of £30 million in 1905? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 2The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 3Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 4Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 5Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 6Sailing 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 7Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 8London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 9Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 10The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 11Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 12The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 13Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 14TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 15Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 16London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 17The 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 18Arguably 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 19Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 20Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 21Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 22A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 23Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 24Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 25A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 26Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 27The 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 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 29Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 30Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 31Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 32Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 33View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 34London 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 3555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 36Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 37Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 38Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 39"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 40Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 41Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 42The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 43Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 44The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 45Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 46Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 47Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 48Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 49Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.