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 Central line is a line of the London Underground, coloured red on the tube map. It is the second busiest line on the Underground after the Northern line with 183,512,000 passengers per annum. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west through central London with its termini in the north-west and north-east of the capital at West Ruislip and Epping. The line has the greatest length of track on the Underground, but is not the longest continuous line. The line traces its origins to the Central London Railway (CLR) incorporated in 1891 for a route between Shepherd's Bush and Bank. The railway opened to passengers on 30 July 1900 with trains initially hauled by electric locomotives, although complaints about the vibrations caused by the engines led to electric multiple unit operation being introduced within a few years. The distinctive station buildings, few of which survive, were designed by the architect Harry Bell Measures. The CLR was extended to Liverpool Street in 1912 and Ealing Broadway in 1920. The current name came into use in 1937 and the line was extended east and west from the central area taking over passenger services on former London & North Eastern Railway and Great Western Railway routes in the late 1940s. (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 original carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows? ...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 at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound? 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 2An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 3Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 4Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 5Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 6Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 7Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 8London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 9Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
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 11View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 12Arguably 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 13Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 14A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 15"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 16Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 17Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 18The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 19Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 20A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 21Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 22Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 23Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 24The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 25Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 26Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 27The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 28Sailing 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 29Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 3055 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 31Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 32Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 33Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 34Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 35Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 36London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 37TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 38Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 39Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 40The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 41Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 42Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 43Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 44London 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 45Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 46Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 47The 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 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 49Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.