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


Buses	Taxis	Underground	Overground	DLR	Tramlink	National Rail	River Services	Heathrow Airport

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Selected article
BOAC Flight 712 (callsign Speedbird 712) for Monday 8 April 1968 was a British Overseas Airways Corporation service operated by a Boeing 707-465 from London Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Zürich Kloten and Singapore. The flight suffered an engine failure at take off that quickly led to a fire in flight before the engine fell from the aircraft. After a flight of 3 minutes and 32 seconds, the flight 712 made a safe emergency landing back at Heathrow. Once on the ground, confusion over check lists led to an explosion in the port wing whilst the crew were evacuating passengers followed by a major fire which killed five of the 127 on board. The actions taken by those involved in the accident resulted in the award of a George Cross, a British Empire Medal and an MBE. As a direct result of the accident, BOAC changed the check lists for engine severe failures and engine fires, combining them both into one check list. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was chairman or a director of many British railways including the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He was intermittently a member of parliament, representing Hythe from 1874 to 1895. Through his leadership of the MR, SER and MS&LR, Watkin had the amibtion to construct a new mainline railway connecting the north of England, via London and Kent to the continent. Although his plans for a channel tunnel to be constructed by his Anglo-French Submarine Railway were never realised, the MS&LR constructed its London extension in the 1890s from Annesley, Nottinghamshire to the MR's station at Quainton Road in Buckinghamshire to a continental loading gauge. Reflecting its enhanced connections the MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway in 1987. To encourage tourist day-trips on the MR, Watkin planned a pleasure grounds at Wembley Park, with a large tower, "Watkin's Tower", intended to be larger than the Eiffel Tower. The park opened in 1896, but because of cost and structural problems, the tower was never completed and was demolished after Watkin's death. The site was subsequently used for Wembley Stadium. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that Arsenal is the only Underground station to be named after a London football club (it was previously known as Gillespie Road)? Watford and West Ham are both named after the areas they serve. ...that sculptor Henry Moore's first public commission in 1928-29 was a relief sculpture West Wind for the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway? ...that an estimated half a million mice live on the Underground system, and can often be seen running around the tracks? ...that Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney proposed the construction of an underground monorail line from Cricklewood to The Oval? ... that an atmospheric railway once ran between Forest Hill and West Croydon? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 2An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 3Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 4Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 5"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 6A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 7Sailing 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 8Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 9Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 10Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 11Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 12TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 13View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 14A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 15Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 16The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 17Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 18The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 19London 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 20Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 21Arguably 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 22Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 23London 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 24The 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 25Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 26Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 27Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 28Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 29Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 30The 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 31London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 32Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 33The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 34Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 35Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 36Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 37Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 3855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 39Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 40Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 41Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 42Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 43The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 44Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 45Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 46Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 47The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 48Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 49London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.