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 Marchioness disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, and resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure steamer Marchioness sank after being hit twice by the dredger Bowbelle at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge. Marchioness had been hired for the evening for a birthday party and had about 130 people on board, four of whom were crew and bar staff. Both vessels were heading downstream, against the tide, Bowbelle travelling faster than the smaller vessel. Although the exact paths taken by the ships, and the precise series of events and their locations, are unknown, the subsequent inquiry considered it likely that Bowbelle struck Marchioness from the rear, causing the latter to turn to port, where she was hit again, then pushed along, turning over and being pushed under Bowbelle's bow. It took thirty seconds for Marchioness to sink; 24 bodies were found within the ship when it was raised. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Sir John Fowler (15 July 1817 – 20 November 1898) was a British civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. Fowler's was a long and eminent career, spanning most of the 19th century's railway expansion, and he was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments. Fowler had a busy practice, working on many railway schemes across the country. In 1853, he became chief engineer of the Metropolitan Railway in London, the world's first underground railway. Constructed in shallow "cut-and-cover" trenches beneath city streets, the line opened between Paddington and Farringdon in 1863. Fowler was also engineer for the associated District Railway and the Hammersmith and City Railway. Later in his career, he was also a consultant with his partner Benjamin Baker and with James Henry Greathead on two of London's first tube railways, the City and South London Railway and the Central London Railway. As part of his railway projects, Fowler designed numerous bridges, including the Grosvenor Bridge, the first railway bridge over the River Thames, the 13-arch Dollis Brook Viaduct for the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway and, most famously, the Forth Railway Bridge for which he was made a baronet. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that Blackfriars Underground station (opened 1870) pre-dates the main line station by sixteen years? ...that there has been five stations named Shepherd's Bush, three called Wood Lane and two titled White City? ...that the controversial demolition of the original Euston station and the destruction of the iconic Euston Arch in the early 1960s was opposed by many including John Betjeman and Nikolaus Pevsner and led to the formation of the modern conservation movement in the Britain? ...that trains on the Waterloo & City line never see the light of day? ...that the longest continuous tunnel on the London Underground is 27.8 km (17.25 miles) long, between Morden and East Finchley stations? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 2TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 3Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 4Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 5London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 6Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 7The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 8Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 9Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 10Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 11Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 12An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 13Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 14Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 1555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 16Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 17The 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 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 20Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 21Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 22Sailing 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 23Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 24Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 25Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 26Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 27A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 28View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 29A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 30Arguably 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 31Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 32Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 33Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 34London 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 35The 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 36Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 37Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 38Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 39Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 40"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 41Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 42Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 43The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 44The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 45London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 46The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 47Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 48Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 49Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.