Portal:London transport

The London transport 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, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, 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
The Brill Tramway was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to serve his estate around Wotton House and connect to the national rail network. In 1872 it was extended to Brill and converted to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought but the line had been built for horses and trains travelled at average 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h). The line was upgraded in 1894 and rebuilt in 1910 by the Metropolitan Railway which introduced more advanced locomotives, allowing trains to run faster. The population of the area remained low, and the primary income remained goods to and from farms. Between 1899 and 1910 other lines were built in the area, providing more direct services to London and the north of England. The Brill Tramway went into financial decline. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway became part of London Transport. The Brill Tramway became part of the London Underground, despite being 40 miles (65 km) from London and not being underground. Seeing little possibility that the line could become a viable passenger route, London Transport closed the Brill Tramway in 1935. Little trace remains other than the former junction station at Quainton Road, now the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English town planner. After training as an architect, he became Professor of Civic Design at the Liverpool University School of Architecture, and later Professor of Town Planning at University College London. He was closely involved in the founding of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE). After its formation in December 1926, he served as its Honorary Secretary. He was knighted in 1945. In 1948, he became the first president of the newly formed International Union of Architects or UIA (Union Internationale des Architectes). Abercrombie is best known for the post-Second World War replanning of London and other British and international cities. He created the County of London Plan (1943) and the Greater London Plan (1944) which are commonly referred to as the Abercrombie Plan. The two plans proposed widespread reconstruction and replanning of the city and the urban areas of the surrounding counties and road and rail infrastructure including the construction of a series of concentric ring roads and underground rail loops to connect main line stations below ground to replace surface routes. (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 there has been five stations named Shepherd's Bush, three called Wood Lane and two titled White City? ...that Limehouse Cut which links the River Lee Navigation and Limehouse Basin in east London is the capital's oldest canal, opened in 1766? ...that the District Railway formerly ran services to Shoeburyness in Essex and Windsor in Berkshire? ...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...
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Selected pictures

Image 1TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 2Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 3Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 4Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 5Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 6Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 7Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 8Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 9A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 10Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 11The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 12The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 13Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 14The 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 1555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 16Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 17Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 18Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 19Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 20Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 21Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 22Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 23The 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 24Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 25Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 26London 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 27Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 28Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 29Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 30London 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 31View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 32"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 33Arguably 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 34Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 35Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 36Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 37The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 38The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 39Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 40An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 41The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 42A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 43London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 44Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 45Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 46Sailing 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 47Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 48London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 49Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.