Portal:London transport

The London transport portal

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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 City & South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway in the world to use electric traction. Originally intended for cable-hauled trains, the collapse of the cable contractor while the railway was under construction forced a change to electric traction before the line opened – an experimental technology at the time. When opened in 1890, it served six stations and ran for a distance of 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) in a pair of tunnels between the City of London and Stockwell, passing under the River Thames. The small size of the carriages with their high-backed seating led to them being nicknamed padded cells. The railway was extended several times north and south; eventually serving 22 stations over a distance of 21.7 km (13.5 mi) from Camden Town in north London to Morden in Surrey. Although the C&SLR was well used, the company struggled financially. In 1913, the C&SLR became part of the Underground Group of railways and, in the 1920s, it underwent major reconstruction works before its merger with the Group's Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, to form what is now the Northern line. In 1933, the C&SLR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. (Full article...) All selected articles
Today's anniversary
Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet (7 September 1862 – 16 February 1932) was an American-born financier and philanthropist. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of Speyer Brothers, the British branch of his family's international finance house, and a partner in the German and American branches. He was chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL, forerunner of the London Underground) from 1906 to 1915, a period during which the company opened three underground railway lines, electrified a fourth and took over two more. Speyer was a supporter of the musical arts and a friend of several leading composers, including Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. He was chairman of the Classical Music Society for ten years, and he largely funded the Promenade Concerts between 1902 and 1914. His non-musical charitable activities included being honorary treasurer of the fund for Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition. For his philanthropy he was made a baronet in 1906 and a Privy Counsellor in 1909. After the start of the World War I, he became the subject of anti-German attacks in the Press. In 1915, Speyer offered to resign from the Privy Council and to relinquish his baronetcy, but the Prime Minister turned down the offer. He resigned as chairman of the UERL and went to the United States. In 1921, the British government investigated accusations that Speyer had traded with the enemy during the war, and had participated in other wartime conduct incompatible with his status as a British subject. Speyer denied the charges, but his naturalisation was revoked and he was struck off the list of members of the Privy Council. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that Blackfriars Underground station (opened 1870) pre-dates the main line station by sixteen years? ...that 900 London buses were commandeered for use as troop transports on the Western Front during World War I? ...that the horse-drawn freight only Surrey Iron Railway between Wandsworth and Croydon was the first railway in London when it opened in 1803? ...that their specially designed small turning circle enables London's black cabs to make 50 million U-turns per year? ... 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 1Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 2TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 3Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 4Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 5Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 6The 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 7Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 8Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 9"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 10View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 11A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 12Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 13Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 14Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 15Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 16Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 17Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 18Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 19The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 20Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 21The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 22Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 23An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 24Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 25Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 26London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 27Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 28Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 29Arguably 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 30Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 31The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 32Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 33London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 34Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 35Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 36Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 37The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 38London 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 39Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 40Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 41Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 42Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 43A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 4455 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 45The 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 46Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 47The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 48Sailing 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 49London 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.