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


Underground	National Rail	Overground	Elizabeth line	DLR	Trams	Buses	River Services	Air

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Selected article
Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London when the scheme was launched in July 2010. The scheme was first proposed by previous mayor Ken Livingstone in 2008. The operation of the scheme is contracted by Transport for London to Serco Group and was sponsored by Barclays Bank from its introduction until March 2015. It is currently sponsored by Santander. The scheme began with 5,000 bicycles and 315 docking stations distributed across the City of London and parts of eight London boroughs with the area covered expanding and the number of bicycles increasing in the following years. Bicycles are available to hire from docking stations located around the city with the first 30 minutes of use free of charge. The bicycles are manufactured by Cycles Devinci in Canada and are designed to be robust and vandal resistant with puncture resistant tyres, chain guards and LED lighting and cabling built into the frames. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Charles Pearson (4 October 1793 – 14 September 1862) was a solicitor to the City of London, a reforming campaigner and briefly a Member of Parliament for Lambeth constituency. He was involved in many campaigns and reformations including overturning the ban on Jews from being stockbrokers. He also fully supported universal suffrage and electoral reform to balance the sizes of parliamentary constituencies. Recognising the growth in the outer suburbs of London and inner city congestion, he proposed the construction of an underground railway through the Fleet valley to Farringdon. His first proposal was that of an atmospheric railway, which was ridiculed, but he continued to campaign throughout the 1840s and 1850s. Various other schemes included a rejected plan for a central railway station to be shared by multiple railway companies. In 1854, a private bill for the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon received assent. Although not a director or shareholder, Pearson's publishing of a pamphlet and continued support eventually convinced the City of London to support for the project. Pearson died of dropsy on 14 September 1862 at his home at West Hill, Wandsworth, and so was not alive to see the opening of the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863. Pearson had refused the offer of a reward from the railway company, but, shortly after the railway's opening, his widow was granted an annuity of £250 per year. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the Westway, the West Cross Route and the East Cross Route are the only parts of the GLC's 1960s plan for the London Motorway Box to be built? ...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 shortest distance between two stations on the London Underground is 250 metres (0.16 miles), between Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line? ...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 Tramlink routes first appeared on the standard Tube map in 2016? More Did you know...
Related portals
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Selected pictures

Image 1Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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 4Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 5Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 6Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 7A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 8The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 9Sailing 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 10Arguably 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 11Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 12Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 13Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 14Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 15A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 16The 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 17Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 18Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 19Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 20Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 21The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 22Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 23The 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 24View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 25"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 26London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 27The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 28Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 29Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 30Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 31Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 32Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 33An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 34London 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 3555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 36Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 37Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 38Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 39London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 40Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 41Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 42Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 43Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 44The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 45Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 46London 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 47The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 48Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 49Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.