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.

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Selected article
The Chesham branch is a short single-track branch line in Buckinghamshire, England. Although no part of it is within London and it runs entirely above ground, it is owned and operated by the London Underground. It runs from a junction at Chalfont & Latimer with the Metropolitan line and the Chiltern Railways route to Aylesbury, and runs for 3.89 miles (6.26 km) northwest to its only other station at Chesham. The line was built as part of Edward Watkin's scheme to turn his Metropolitan Railway (MR) into a direct rail route between London and Manchester, and it was envisaged that a station outside Chesham would be an intermediate stop on a through route running north to connect with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Although the relationship with the LNWR soured, it was decided to build the route as far as Chesham anyway. The line opened in 1889 and Chesham became the terminus of the MR. In 1892 the MR opened an extension to Aylesbury and on to Verney Junction and the Chesham line became a branch line. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway became part of the London Underground. For most of its time as a branch the service operated as a shuttle, but, since the introduction of new rolling stock in 2010 the branch operates a through service to and from London. (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 Underground's architect Charles Holden and LPTB Managing Director Frank Pick were both sons of drapers? ...that the first version of the Underground roundel was introduced in 1908, as a solid red disk and blue bar? ...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 a stuffed puffer fish, a samurai sword, human skulls, breast implants and a lawnmower are amongst items handed into TfL's lost property office during its 75-year existence? ... that an atmospheric railway once ran between Forest Hill and West Croydon? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1London 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 2Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 3Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 4Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 5Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 6London 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 7Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 855 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 9A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 10Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 11Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 12London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 13Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 14Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 15Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 16"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 17Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 18Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 19Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 20View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 21Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 22Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 23Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 24Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 25An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 26The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 27Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 28Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 29The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 30A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 31Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 32London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 33Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 34Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 35Sailing 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 36Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 37The 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 38Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 39Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 40Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 41The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 42Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 43The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 44Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 45Arguably 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 46The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 47Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
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 49TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.