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, 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 A1 in London is an A road in North London. It runs from the London Wall to Bignall's Corner, where it crosses the M25 motorway and becomes the A1(M) motorway, continuing to Edinburgh. The London section passes through four London boroughs: the City of London, Islington, Haringey and Barnet. Whilst the route of the A1 outside London closely follows the historic route of the Great North Road, the London section for the most part does not. The current route of the London section of the A1 road was mainly designated as such in 1927. It comprises a number of historic streets in central London and the former suburbs of Islington, Holloway and Highgate and long stretches of purpose-built new roads in the outer London borough of London Borough of Barnet, built to divert traffic away from the congested suburbs of Finchley and High Barnet. The London section of the A1 is one of London's most important roads. It links North London to the M1 motorway and the A1(M) motorway, and consequently serves as Central London's primary road transport artery to the Midlands, Northern England and Scotland. It also connects a number of major areas within London, and sections of it serve as the High Street for many of the now-joined villages that make up north London. (Full article...) All selected articles
Today's anniversary
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 Sir Jacob Epstein's statute Day on the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway caused controversy when it was unveiled due to the length of the penis on one of the figures? Epstein later reduced the length. ...that an estimated half a million mice live on the Underground system, and can often be seen running around the tracks? ...that the Jubilee line was originally to be called the Fleet line because it was originally to run under Fleet Street? ...that at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1Arguably 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 2An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 3Sailing 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 4Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 5Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 6Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 7Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 8Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 9Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 10The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 11Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 12Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 13Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 14Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 15The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 16Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 17Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 18The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 19Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 20London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 21Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 22Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 23Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 24The 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 2555 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 26Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 27TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 28Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 29The 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 30Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 31Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 32London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 33Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 34Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 35Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 36Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 37View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 38Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 39Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 40Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 41The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 42Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 43"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 44A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 45Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 46A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 47The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 48London 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 49London 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.