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, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, 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
Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, close to the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey. The station is located beneath Portcullis House at the corner of Bridge Street and Victoria Embankment. The station was opened as Westminster Bridge in 1868 by the District Railway when the company opened the first section of its line from South Kensington. As part of the Jubilee Line Extension the station was completely reconstructed to designs by Michael Hopkins & Partners. During the reconstruction, a 39 metres (128 ft) deep void was excavated underneath the old station to house the escalators, lifts and stairs to the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. This made it the deepest ever excavation in central London. One of the most difficult problems the engineers faced was to construct the station around the Circle and District line tracks, which continued in service throughout the construction. The tracks had to be lowered by 300 millimetres (0.98 ft), an operation achieved a few millimetres at a time during the few hours each night that the system was closed. Nothing of the old station remains. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir Joseph William Bazalgette, CB (28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was an English civil engineer. As chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works his major achievement was the creation (in response to the Great Stink of 1858) of a sewer network for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city from cholera epidemics, while beginning the cleansing of the River Thames. Bazelgette was also responsible for the design of the Albert, Victoria and Chelsea Embankments along the north and south sides of the River Thames and bridges over the Thames at Putney, Hammersmith and Battersea. He also prepared early proposals for Blackwall Tunnel and Tower Bridge. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the ticket hall at Bank station is partly built in the crypt of Nicholas Hawksmoor's church, St Mary Woolnoth? ...that construction of North End station between Hampstead and Golders Green on the Northern line was abandoned before the station was finished when it was decided it would not have enough passengers? ...that the longest distance between two adjacent stations on the London Underground is 6.26 km (3.89 miles), between Chalfont & Latimer and Chesham on the Metropolitan line? ...that the Jubilee line was originally to be called the Fleet line because it was originally to run under Fleet Street? ...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 1Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 2The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 3London 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 4Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 5An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 6Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 7London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 8The 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 9View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 10Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 11London 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 12Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 13Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 14Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 15Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 16The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 17London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 18Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 19Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 20Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 21TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 22Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 23Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 24Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 25The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 26Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 27Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 28Sailing 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 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 30Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 31The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 32"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 33Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 34Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 35A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 36Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 37Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 38Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 3955 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 40Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 41A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 42Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 43Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 44The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 45Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 46Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 47Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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 49Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.