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
Stanley Heaps was an English architect responsible for the design of a number of stations on the London Underground system as well as the design of train depots and bus and trolleybus garages for London Transport. In 1903 Heaps became assistant to Leslie Green the architect for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and aided him in the design of the station buildings for the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway, the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR) and the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway; all distinctive with their striking red glazed terra cotta façades and semi-circular windows at first floor. Following the early death of Green in 1908, Heaps became the UERL's architect. His first independent station designs were for the four new stations on the Bakerloo line extension from Edgware Road Underground station opened in 1913 and 1915; the first stations on the system designed specifically to use escalators rather than lifts. After World War I, Heaps designed the stations for the 1923-4 extension of the CCE&HR from Golders Green to Edgware, giving them a suburban style in keeping with the new housing developments that were expected to grow around them. After the Edgware extension stations, Heaps concentrated on the design depot buildings, although he designed new stations at Osterley, Boston Manor and St. John's Wood. (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 the Greenwich foot tunnel is classed as a public highway, and is therefore kept open by law 24 hours a day? ...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 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 London Underground stations Paddington and Paddington are about 400 m apart on foot, but over 20 kilometres apart by train? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1London 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 2Sailing 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 3Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 4Arguably 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 5An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 6Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 7Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 8"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 9London 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 10Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 11Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 12Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 13Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 14The 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 15Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 16The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 17Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 18Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 19TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 20Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 2155 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 22Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 23Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 24Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 25A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 26Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 27Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 28Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 29The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 30Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 31Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 32Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 33Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 34Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 35The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 36Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 37Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 38The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 39Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 40The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 41London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 42Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 43A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 44Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 45London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 46Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 47View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 48The 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 49Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.