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, London Overground, the Elizabeth line, 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


Underground	National Rail	Overground	Elizabeth line	DLR	Trams	Buses	River Services	Air

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Selected article
The Ruislip Lido Railway is a 12-inch (305-mm) gauge miniature railway, running around the popular tourist attraction of 'Ruislip Lido' in Ruislip. The railway runs along a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) track around the lake and through the Ruislip woods. It started operation around 1945, with short trains being hauled by "Prince Edward" an Atlantic type steam locomotive over a line about a third of its current length. The railway was built by the Grand Union Canal Company as part of the leisure facilities at the Ruislip Lido which is a reservoir for the canal. When the Grand Union was nationalised in 1948 to be part of the British Transport Commission, control of the Lido and its railway passed into the hands of Ruislip-Northwood Urban District Council which, in 1965, became part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Under local authority control the railway was neglected and, following an accident in 1978, it was closed. In 1980, the volunteer run Ruislip Lido Railway Society Limited reopened the railway using a petrol powered engine and gradually expanded the route around the Lido and added additional rolling stock. With Pinewood Studios nearby, the Lido has been used as a filming location for scenes in a number of films including The Young Ones starring Cliff Richard. (Full article...) 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 "Mind the gap" announcement is played when trains stop at stations with curved platforms to warn passengers of gaps between the platform edge and the doors? ...that 900 London buses were commandeered for use as troop transports on the Western Front during World War I? ...that an estimated half a million mice live on the Underground system, and can often be seen running around the tracks? ...that Underground Electric Railways Company of London chairman Sir Edgar Speyer was accused of being a German spy during World War I? ...that the 60 m (197 ft) long escalators at Angel Underground station are the longest on the system? More Did you know...
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Selected pictures

Image 1Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 2Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
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 4Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 5Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 6The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 7"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
Image 8Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 9Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 10Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 11London 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 12Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 13Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 14View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 15Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 16London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 17A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 18The 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 19Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 20Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 21Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 22Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 2355 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 24Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 25Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 26TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 27Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 28Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 29The 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 30The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 31London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 32Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 33Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 34Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 35A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 36The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 37Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 38London 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 39Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
Image 40Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 41The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 42The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 43Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 44Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 45Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 46An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 47Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 48Arguably 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 49Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.