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 Blackwall Rock was a reef in the River Thames near Blackwall in East London at short distance upstream from Blackwall Stairs and between the entrances of the West and East India Docks. The rock provided a useful shelter for moored vessels, but also proved a hazardous obstruction to river navigation as it was sometimes less than 3 feet (1 m) below the surface at low tide. The entrance to the West India Docks, just to the south-west of the rock, was substantially obstructed by the reef upon the docks' opening in 1802. In 1803, Robert Edington surveyed the rock estimated its dimensions as 600 by 150 feet (183 m × 46 m). An 1846 report by the Tidal Harbours Commission described it as an outcrop of plum-pudding stone. Early attempts to break the rock with explosives were largely unsuccessful. William Jessop was engaged by Trinity House to undertake the rock's removal which he did using a chisel, operated from a barge much as with pile driving. This method successfully reduced the height of the rock by 15 feet (4.6 m), after which a cylindrical coffer dam was employed to allow workers' access to remove rubble. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
James Henry Greathead (6 August 1844 - 21 October 1896) was a civil engineer known for his pioneering development of tunnelling techniques and for his work on London's underground railways. In 1869, working under Peter W. Barlow, he became engineer in charge of driving the tunnel of the Tower Subway under the River Thames using a tunnelling shield he designed based on Barlow's own slightly earlier patented design. Greathead developed and patented a number of improvements to the Barlow shield and the improved design carried their joint names. Greathead also developed the use of a segmented cast iron lining for the circular tunnel, erected in sections from which the shield was jacked forward. Greathead was then involved in the planning and construction of a number of railways in Britain and Ireland, until, in 1884, he was appointed engineer for the City and South London Railway, the world's first underground electric railway when it opened in 1890. Greathead subsequently worked on the Waterloo and City Railway, the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the early planning of the Central London Railway. (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 cause of the Moorgate tube crash in February 1975 was never satisfactorily determined? ...that Limehouse Cut which links the River Lee Navigation and Limehouse Basin in east London is the capital's oldest canal, opened in 1766? ...that the District Railway formerly ran services to Shoeburyness in Essex and Windsor in Berkshire? ... that Croydon once had a Central station in addition to East, West and South stations? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 2London 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 3Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 4Arguably 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 5The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 6Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 7Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 8Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 9London 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 10The 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 11Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 12Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 13Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 14Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 15"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 16A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 17London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 18Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 19A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 20The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 21The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 22London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 23Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 24Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 25Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 26Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 27Sailing 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 28Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 29Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 30Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 31Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 32TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 33The 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 34Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal.
Image 35Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 36Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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 39An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 40Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 41The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 42Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 43Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 44Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 45Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 46The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 4755 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 48Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 49Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.