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, 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
The Royal Commission on London Traffic was a royal commission established in 1903 with a remit to review and report on how transport systems should be developed for London and the surrounding area. It published its report in 1905 with recommendations on the character, administration and routing of traffic in London. The report identified that road traffic was constrained by the narrowness of many of London's roads which reflected the historic development of the city and recommended that a comprehensive plan should be developed to improve road provision and routing to be carried out over the long term and that new roads should be constructed to standard widths depending on their importance and that existing main routes should be widened when possible. The report recommended construction of two "Main Avenues" - one from Whitechapel to Bayswater Road and one from Holloway to Elephant & Castle. These would be 140 feet (43 m) wide between buildings with four tram lines on the road and four railway lines in a sub-surface tunnel immediately beneath. Two of the tram lines and two of the railway lines would be for express services and service tunnels would be provided for utilities beneath the 23-foot (7.0 m) wide pavements. The Main Avenues would connect areas on the outskirts of the main urban area and tramways and railway lines would be connected to these at both ends. A further 19 schemes for new or reconstructed roads and junctions were recommended as were radial routes out of the central area and a "circular road about 75 miles in length at a radius of 12 miles from St Paul's". The report recommended 23 new tramway routes in central and north London to connect together the various separate tramway systems and provide extensions to unserved areas. The integration of the tramway systems was improved. Few of the proposed new roads were constructed directly as planned and many were not implemented until decades later. (Full article...) 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 the ticket hall at Bank station is partly built in the crypt of Nicholas Hawksmoor's church, St Mary Woolnoth? ...that 900 London buses were commandeered for use as troop transports on the Western Front during World War I? ...that the controversial demolition of the original Euston station and the destruction of the iconic Euston Arch in the early 1960s was opposed by many including John Betjeman and Nikolaus Pevsner and led to the formation of the modern conservation movement in the Britain? ...that the District Railway formerly ran services to Shoeburyness in Essex and Windsor in Berkshire? ...that only 45 per cent of the London Underground is actually underground? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1London 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 2Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 3Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 4View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 5Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 6Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 7The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 8A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 9Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 10Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 11Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 12Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 13An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 14TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 15Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 16Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 17London 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 18Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 19Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 20Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 21Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 22Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 23The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 24A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 25London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 26Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 27The 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 28Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 29London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 30Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 31Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 32The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 33Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 34Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 35"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 36Arguably 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 3755 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 38Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 39Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 40The 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 41Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 42Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 43Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
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 45Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 46Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 47The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 48The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 49Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.