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
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
George Shillibeer (11 August 1797–21 August 1866) was an English coachbuilder and operator of the first omnibus service in London from 1829. Shillibeer was born in St Marylebone, London, the son of Abraham and Elizabeth Shillibeer. Christened in St Marys Church, St Marylebone on 22 October 1797, Shillibeer worked for the coach company Hatchetts in Long Acre, the coach-building district of the capital. In the 1820s he was offered work in Paris, France where he was commissioned to build some unusually large horse-drawn coaches of "novel design". The aim was to design a coach capable of transporting a whole group of people, perhaps two dozen, at a time. Shillibeer's design worked, and was very stable. It was introduced into the streets of Paris in 1827 and Shillibeer concluded that operating similar vehicles in London, but for the fare-paying public with multiple stops, would be a paying enterprise, so he returned to his native city. His first London "Omnibus" began service on 4 July 1829 on a route between Paddington (The Yorkshire Stingo) and "Bank" (Bank of England) via the "New Road" (now Marylebone Rd), Somers Town and City Rd. Four services were provided in each direction daily. (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 the cause of the Moorgate tube crash in February 1975 was never satisfactorily determined? ...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 Underground Electric Railways Company of London chairman Sir Edgar Speyer was accused of being a German spy during World War I? ...that London Underground stations Padddington and Paddington are about 400 m apart on foot, but over 20 kilometres apart by train? More Did you know...
Related portals
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Selected pictures

Image 1Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 2London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 3The 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 4Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 5Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 6Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 7Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 8Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 9Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 10The 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 11Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 12Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 13Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 14The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 15London 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 16The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 17Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 18Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 19Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 20The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 21An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 22Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 23Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 24A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 25Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 2655 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 27Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 28Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 29The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 30TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 31A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 32"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 33London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 34Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 35View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 36Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 37Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 38Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 39Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 40Arguably 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 41Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 42Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 43London 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 44Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 45Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 46Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 47Sailing 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 48The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 49Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.