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
Stratford station is a railway station in the London Borough of Newham, East London served by National Rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway lines. It is in Travelcard Zone 3. Stratford station was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). London Underground Central line services started on 4 December 1946. Services were extended to Leyton on 5 May 1947 and then on to the former London and North Eastern Railway branch lines to Epping, Ongar and Hainault progressively until 1949. The Docklands Light Railway opened on 31 August 1987 reusing redundant rail routes through the Bow and Poplar areas to reach the new Docklands developments on the Isle of Dogs. The Low Level station (served by the North London line) underwent a major rebuilding programme in the late 1990s as part of the Jubilee Line Extension works. This saw the construction of a large steel and glass building designed by Wilkinson Eyre and a new replacement booking hall. The Jubilee line opened to passengers on 14 May 1999, with services initially running only as far as Canning Town station. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
George Shillibeer (11 August 1797–21 August 1866) was an English coachbuilder and operator of the first omnibus service in London from 1829. Shillibeer was born in St Marylebone, London, the son of Abraham and Elizabeth Shillibeer. Christened in St Marys Church, St Marylebone on 22 October 1797, Shillibeer worked for the coach company Hatchetts in Long Acre, the coach-building district of the capital. In the 1820s he was offered work in Paris, France where he was commissioned to build some unusually large horse-drawn coaches of "novel design". The aim was to design a coach capable of transporting a whole group of people, perhaps two dozen, at a time. Shillibeer's design worked, and was very stable. It was introduced into the streets of Paris in 1827 and Shillibeer concluded that operating similar vehicles in London, but for the fare-paying public with multiple stops, would be a paying enterprise, so he returned to his native city. His first London "Omnibus" began service on 4 July 1829 on a route between Paddington (The Yorkshire Stingo) and "Bank" (Bank of England) via the "New Road" (now Marylebone Rd), Somers Town and City Rd. Four services were provided in each direction daily. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that London Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750? ...that Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length. ...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 Jubilee line was originally to be called the Fleet line because it was originally to run under Fleet Street? ... that the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Railway Termini of 1846 was responsible for central London being mostly free of mainline railways and led, indirectly, to the creation of the London 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 2An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 3Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 4Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 5Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 6Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 7Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 8The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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 10Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 11View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 12Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 13Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 14London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 15Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 16A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 17Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 18The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 19Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 20Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 21Sailing 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 22London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 23The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 24Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 25Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 26Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 27Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 28TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 29Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 30Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 3155 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 32Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 33The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 34"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 35Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 36Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 37The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 38Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 39A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 40Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 41Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 42London 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 43The 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 44Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 45The 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 46Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 47Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 48Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 49Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.