Portal:London transport

The London transport portal

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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


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Selected article
The Dollis Brook Viaduct, is a railway viaduct in Finchley, North London. It currently carries the London Underground's Northern line between Mill Hill East and Finchley Central stations and is the highest point on the London Underground above ground level, reaching nearly 60 feet (18 m) in height and comprising thirteen 32 feet (9.8 m) wide segmental arches. The viaduct takes its name from the Dollis Brook which it crosses. The viaduct was designed by Sir John Fowler and Walter Brydone, chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and was opened with the company's single track Edgware, Highgate and London Railway on 22 August 1867. In the 1920s, the London and North Eastern Railway (successor to the GNR) planned to electrify the line, but work was not carried out until the 1930s when it was done as part of the London Transport's Northern Heights plan in preparation for a transfer of the line to the Northern line. The start of the Second World War prevented the plans being completed and only the section of the line to Mill Hill East was electrified and reopened by London Transport in 1941. British Rail freight services to Edgware continued on the line until 1964 when it was closed west of Mill Hill East. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English town planner. After training as an architect, he became Professor of Civic Design at the Liverpool University School of Architecture, and later Professor of Town Planning at University College London. He was closely involved in the founding of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE). After its formation in December 1926, he served as its Honorary Secretary. He was knighted in 1945. In 1948, he became the first president of the newly formed International Union of Architects or UIA (Union Internationale des Architectes). Abercrombie is best known for the post-Second World War replanning of London and other British and international cities. He created the County of London Plan (1943) and the Greater London Plan (1944) which are commonly referred to as the Abercrombie Plan. The two plans proposed widespread reconstruction and replanning of the city and the urban areas of the surrounding counties and road and rail infrastructure including the construction of a series of concentric ring roads and underground rail loops to connect main line stations below ground to replace surface routes. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that London Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750? ...that the first version of the Underground roundel was introduced in 1908, as a solid red disk and blue bar? ...that three new Thames bridges, Chiswick, Twickenham and Hampton Court, were opened on 3 July 1933 by Edward, Prince of Wales? ...that a stuffed puffer fish, a samurai sword, human skulls, breast implants and a lawnmower are amongst items handed into TfL's lost property office during its 75-year existence? ...that the 60 m (197 ft) long escalators at Angel Underground station are the longest on the system? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1London 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 2Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 3A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 4The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 5London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 6Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 7Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 8Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 9Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 10Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 11The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 12Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 13Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 14Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 15Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 16Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 17Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 18Sailing 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 19"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 20The 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 21Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 22Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 23Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 24London 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 25Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 26An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 27Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 28Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 29Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 30The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 3155 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 32Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 33Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 34Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 35Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 36Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 37Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 38Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 39Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 40The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 41The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 42The 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 43TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 44Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 45London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 46Arguably 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 47View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 48A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 49Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.