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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Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article
The Dollis Brook Viaduct, is a railway viaduct in Finchley, North London. It currently carries the London Underground's Northern line between Mill Hill East and Finchley Central stations and is the highest point on the London Underground above ground level, reaching nearly 60 feet (18 m) in height and comprising thirteen 32 feet (9.8 m) wide segmental arches. The viaduct takes its name from the Dollis Brook which it crosses. The viaduct was designed by Sir John Fowler and Walter Brydone, chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and was opened with the company's single track Edgware, Highgate and London Railway on 22 August 1867. In the 1920s, the London and North Eastern Railway (successor to the GNR) planned to electrify the line, but work was not carried out until the 1930s when it was done as part of the London Transport's Northern Heights plan in preparation for a transfer of the line to the Northern line. The start of the Second World War prevented the plans being completed and only the section of the line to Mill Hill East was electrified and reopened by London Transport in 1941. British Rail freight services to Edgware continued on the line until 1964 when it was closed west of Mill Hill East. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Frank Pick (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was managing director of the Underground Group (UERL) from 1928 to 1933 and was chief executive officer and vice-chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board from its creation in 1933 until 1940. Pick began his career with the UERL in 1906 as assistant to the managing director Sir George Gibb, by 1908 he had become publicity officer and became commercial manager in 1912. Pick steered the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning eye-catching commercial art, graphic design and modern architecture, establishing a highly recognisable brand. Elements of the brand commissioned by Pick included the Underground roundel, the Johnston typeface and Charles Holden's iconic stations of the 1920s and 1930s. Pick was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has so far produced in England, and indeed the ideal patron of our age." Pick's interest in design extended beyond his own organisation and he was a founding member and later served as President of the Design and Industries Association. He was also the first chairman of the Council for Art and Industry. He is commemorated with a memorial at Piccadilly Circus station, a blue plaque at his home in Highgate and with Frank Pick House, a London Underground engineering facility near Acton Town station. (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 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 three new Thames bridges, Chiswick, Twickenham and Hampton Court, were opened on 3 July 1933 by Edward, Prince of Wales? ...that John Pierpont Morgan planned an underground railway network in London to rival that of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), but his plan was sabotaged when UERL financier Edgar Speyer bought the London United Tramways, Morgan's partner in the plan? ...that the 60 m (197 ft) long escalators at Angel Underground station are the longest on the system? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 2The 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 3Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 4Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 5The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 6London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 7The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 8The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 9Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 10Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 11Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 12Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 13Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 14Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 15Sailing 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 16Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 17Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 1855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 19Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 20Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 21Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 22The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 23Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 24Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 25Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 26Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 27Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 28London 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 29Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 30Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 31"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 32Arguably 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 33Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 34A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 35Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 36London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 37The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 38View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 39Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 40A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 41Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 42Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 43Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 44Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 45TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 46Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 47Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 48London 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 49The 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.