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
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
John Rennie (the Elder) (7 June 1761 – 4 October 1821) was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, and docks. Rennie, a farmer's younger son, was born at Phantassie, near East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. He showed a taste for mechanics at a very early age. After studying at the University of Edinburgh he worked briefly for James Watt in Staffordshire before moving to London in 1784. In London, he worked first as a mechanical engineer before setting up his own business in 1791 at Holland Street, Blackfriars and expanding into the designing of civil engineering projects. Rennie designed many canals, bridges and docks around the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as harbours and lighthouses. Amongst the projects designed by Rennie in London were previous versions of Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Southwark Bridge and London Bridge and the London, East India and West India Docks. After his death, Rennie's sons George and John founded the engineering company J. and G. Rennie. (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 Greenwich foot tunnel is classed as a public highway, and is therefore kept open by law 24 hours a day? ...that Verney Junction, the Metropolitan Railway's former northern terminus in Buckinghamshire, is closer to Coventry than it is to central London? ...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 Tramlink routes first appeared on the standard Tube map in 2016? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 2London 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 3The 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 4Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 5Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 6Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 7Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 9London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 10The 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 11Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 12An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 13Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 14Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 15"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 16Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 17The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 18TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 19London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 20The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 21London 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 22Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 23Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 24Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 25The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 26Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 27Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 28Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 29Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 30Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 31Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 32The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 33Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 34Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 35Arguably 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 36A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 37Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 38Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 39Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 40Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 41The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 42View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 43Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 44Sailing 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 45Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 46Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 47Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 48Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 49Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.