Portal:London transport

The London transport portal

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random 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

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article
The Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) was a railway company established by an Act of Parliament in 1910 to build a railway line in Surrey (now south-west London) from Wimbledon to Sutton via Merton and Morden in the United Kingdom. The railway was promoted by local landowners hoping to increase the value of their land through its development for housing. It was initially planned that services on the railway would be operated by the London Underground's Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) by an extension of its existing service from Wimbledon. Delays in finding the funding, opposition from the two mainline companies that the line was intended to connect, and World War I, led to the start of construction work being delayed until 1927. The line was completed and opened in January 1930, although the planned extension of the MDR was not implemented and the service was provided by the Southern Railway. The opening of the line stimulated residential development as planned, but competition from the London Underground's City and South London Railway, which had its terminus at Morden, meant that the line did not achieve the hoped for passenger numbers. (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 Underground's architect Charles Holden and LPTB Managing Director Frank Pick were both sons of drapers? ...that the first version of the Underground roundel was introduced in 1908, as a solid red disk and blue bar? ...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 at 44 tons, the locomotives of the Central London Railway's first underground trains were so heavy that they shook buildings as they passed 60 feet below and were scrapped after three years? ...that London Underground stations Padddington and Paddington are about 400 m apart on foot, but over 20 kilometres apart by train? More Did you know...
Related portals
Transport Buses Trains London England

Selected pictures

Image 1The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 2Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 3An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 4Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 5Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 6Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 7The 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 8Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 9Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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 11The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 12Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 13Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 14Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 15Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 16Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 17The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 1855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 19London 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 20Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 21A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 22Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 23Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 24Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 25View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 26Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 27Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 28London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 29Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 30Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 31The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 32Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 33TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 34"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 35London 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 36London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 37Arguably 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 38Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 39Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 40Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 41A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 42Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 43Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 44Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 45Sailing 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 46The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 47Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 48Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 49Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.

All Selected pictures

Anniversaries

23 January

1909 – in what became known as the Tottenham Outrage, two armed robbers fleeing police in Tottenham attempted to escape on a tram.
1948 – A collision at London Bridge station kills three when a train overruns a signal and crashes into a train waiting at a platform.

More for January

Maps

Geographic London Underground maps

Central area	Complete network

Official maps
Tube · Night Tube · Overground · DLR · London Connections · Bus · Tramlink · Cycle hire
River · Congestion Charge Zone · Low Emission Zone · Source London

Recognised content

Articles

Featured articles (34)

Featured lists (6)

Featured topics (2)

Good articles (113)

Good topics (1)