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


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

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Selected article
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL) was established in 1902 as the holding company for the three deep-level "tube" underground railway lines opened in London during 1906 and 1907 and the District Railway. The UERL is the main precursor of today's London Underground; its lines form the central sections of today's Bakerloo, District, Piccadilly and Northern lines. The UERL struggled financially in its first years and narrowly avoided bankruptcy in 1908. A policy of expansion by acquisition was followed before World War I, so that the company came to operate the majority of the underground railway lines in and around London. It also controlled large bus and tram fleets, the profits from which subsidised the financially weaker railways. After the war, railway extensions took the UERL's services out into suburban areas to stimulate additional passenger numbers, so that, by the early 1930s, the company's lines stretched beyond the County of London encouraging the rapid expansion of the city. In the 1920s, competition from unregulated bus operators reduced the profitability of the road transport operations, leading the UERL's directors to seek government regulation. This led to the establishment of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933, which absorbed the UERL and all of the independent and municipally operated railway, bus and tram services in the London area. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 - 21 October 1896) was a civil engineer known for his pioneering development of tunnelling techniques and for his work on London's underground railways. In 1869, working under Peter W. Barlow, he became engineer in charge of driving the tunnel of the Tower Subway under the River Thames using a tunnelling shield he designed based on Barlow's own slightly earlier patented design. Greathead developed and patented a number of improvements to the Barlow shield and the improved design carried their joint names. Greathead also developed the use of a segmented cast iron lining for the circular tunnel, erected in sections from which the shield was jacked forward. Greathead was then involved in the planning and construction of a number of railways in Britain and Ireland, until, in 1884, he was appointed engineer for the City and South London Railway, the world's first underground electric railway when it opened in 1890. Greathead subsequently worked on the Waterloo and City Railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the early planning of the Central London Railway. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the Westway, the West Cross Route and the East Cross Route are the only parts of the GLC's 1960s plan for the London Motorway Box to be built? ...that the Greenwich foot tunnel is classed as a public highway, and is therefore kept open by law 24 hours a day? ...that the shortest distance between two stations on the London Underground is 250 metres (0.16 miles), between Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line? ...that the Jubilee line was originally to be called the Fleet line because it was originally to run under Fleet Street? ... 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...
Related portals
Transport Buses Trains London England

Selected pictures

Image 1Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 2Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 3TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 4Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 5London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 6Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 7Sailing 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 8Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 9Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 10Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 11Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 12A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 13Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 14Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 15Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 16The 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 1755 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 18Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 19Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 20Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 21"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 22Arguably 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 23Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 24Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 25The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 26The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 27Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 28Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 29Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 30Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 31The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 32London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 33The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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 35A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 36Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 37Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 38Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 39An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 40London 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 41The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 42Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 43View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 44Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 45Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 46Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 47The 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 48Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 49Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.