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 Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR), also known as the Piccadilly tube, was a railway company established in 1902 that constructed a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Formed through a merger of two older companies, the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway and the Great Northern and Strand Railway, it also incorporated part of a tube route planned by the Metropolitan District Railway. The combined company was a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL). When it opened in 1906, the GNP&BR's line served 22 stations and ran for 14.17 kilometres (8.80 mi) between its western terminus at Hammersmith and its northern terminus at Finsbury Park. A short 720-metre (2,362 ft) branch connected Holborn to the Strand. Within the first year of opening it became apparent to the management and investors that the estimated passenger numbers for the GNP&BR and the other UERL lines were over-optimistic. Despite improved integration and cooperation with the other tube railways, the GNP&BR struggled financially. In 1933 it and the rest of the UERL were taken into public ownership. Today, the GNP&BR's tunnels and stations form the core central section of the London Underground's Piccadilly line. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Albert Henry Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, PC, Kt, TD (8 August 1874 – 4 November 1948) was managing director, then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board, during the London Underground's greatest period of expansion. Stanley was born in, Derbyshire, England. In 1880, his family emigrated to Detroit in the United States. In 1888, at the age of 14, Stanley left school and went to work as an office boy at the Detroit Street Railways Company. His abilities were recognised early and Stanley became General Superintendent of the company in 1894. In January 1907 he became general manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and after improving the company's fortunes, he became managing director in 1910. In 1914, he was knighted in recognition of his services to transport. After a period as President of the Board of Trade during World War I, Stanley became chairman of the UERL in 1919 and, in 1920, was made Baron Ashfield, of Southwell in the County of Nottingham. Throughout the 1920s, Stanley and Herbert Morrison worked on plans for a unified transport organisation for London. The London Passenger Transport Board was created in 1933 with Stanley as chairman, a role he performed until 1947, overseeing major expansions of London's Underground network and integration of bus, tram and trolleybus services. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that London Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic? ...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 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 John Pierpont Morgan planned an underground railway network in London to rival that of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), but his plan was sabotaged when UERL financier Edgar Speyer bought the London United Tramways, Morgan's partner in the plan? ... 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 1Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 2London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 3Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 4Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 5London 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 6Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 7View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 8The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 9A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 10Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 11Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 12Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 13The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 14Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 15Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 16Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 17Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 18The 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 19London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 20The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 21Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 22Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 23Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 24The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 2555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 26Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 27Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 28"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 29Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 30Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 31Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 32Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 33TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 34Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 35The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 36Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 37A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 38An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 39Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 40Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 41Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 42Sailing 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 43Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 44Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 45Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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 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 48London 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 49Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.