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 1910 London to Manchester air race took place between two aviators, each of whom attempted to win a heavier-than-air powered flight challenge between London and Manchester first proposed by the Daily Mail newspaper in 1906. The £10,000 prize was won in April 1910 by Frenchman Louis Paulhan. The first to make the attempt was Claude Grahame-White, an Englishman from Hampshire. He took off from London on 23 April 1910, and made his first planned stop at Rugby. His biplane subsequently suffered engine problems, forcing him to land again, near Lichfield. High winds made it impossible for Grahame-White to continue his journey, and his aeroplane suffered further damage on the ground when it was blown over. While Grahame-White's aeroplane was being repaired in London, late on 27 April Paulhan took off, heading for Lichfield. A few hours later Grahame-White was made aware of Paulhan's departure, and immediately set off in pursuit. The next morning, after an unprecedented night-time take-off, he almost caught up with Paulhan, but his aeroplane was overweight and he was forced to concede defeat. Paulhan reached Manchester early on 28 April, winning the challenge. Both aviators celebrated his victory at a special luncheon held at the Savoy Hotel in London. The event marked the first long-distance aeroplane race in England, the first take-off of a heavier-than-air machine at night, and the first powered flight into Manchester from outside the city. Paulhan repeated the journey in April 1950, the fortieth anniversary of the original flight, this time as a passenger aboard a British jet fighter. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Leslie Green (6 January 1875—31 August 1908) was an English architect known for his design of iconic stations constructed on the London Underground railway system in central London during the first decade of the 20th century. In 1903 he was appointed as Architect for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) to design stations for three underground railway lines then under construction — the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, the Baker Street and Waterloo Railway and the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway, which, respectively, became parts of the present day Piccadilly line, Bakerloo line and Northern line. The station buildings were designed to a uniform Arts and Crafts style which was adapted to suit the individual station location and were clad in non-loadbearing ox-blood red glazed terracotta blocks, with the ground floor divided into wide bays by columns and featured large semi-circular windows at first floor level and a heavy dentilated cornice above. The railways were to open in 1906 and 1907 and the pressure of producing designs and supervising the works to so many stations in such a short period of time, placed a strain on Green's health. He was elected a Fellow of the RIBA in 1907. but died in 1908 at the age of 33. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the "Mind the gap" announcement is played when trains stop at stations with curved platforms to warn passengers of gaps between the platform edge and the doors? ...that the cause of the Moorgate tube crash in February 1975 was never satisfactorily determined? ...that an estimated half a million mice live on the Underground system, and can often be seen running around the tracks? ...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...
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Selected pictures

Image 1Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 2Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 3London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 4Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 6Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 7Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 8Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 9Arguably 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 10The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 11Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 12Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 13Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 14Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 15The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 16Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 17London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 18Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 19View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 20Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 21A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 22Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 23A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 24An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 25Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 26London 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 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 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 29Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 30Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 31Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 32TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 33The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 34"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 35Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 36Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 37Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 38Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 39Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 40London 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 41The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 42Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 43Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 44Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 45Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 46Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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 48The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 49Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.