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

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article
The Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR), also known as the Hampstead tube, was a deep-level underground "tube" railway constructed in London by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL). The company was established in 1891 but construction was much delayed while funds were found and many variations of its route were proposed before work began. Work only started after the company was taken over by American financier Charles Yerkes who raised the money needed, mainly from international investors. When opened in 1907, the line served 16 stations and ran for a distance of 12.34 kilometres (7.67 mi) in a pair of tunnels between its southern terminus at Charing Cross and its two northern termini at Archway and Golders Green. Later extensions took the railway to Edgware and under the River Thames to Kennington, serving a total distance of 22.84 kilometres (14.19 mi) and 23 stations. In the 1920s, connections were made to another of London's deep-level tube railways and services on the two lines were merged to become what was later named the Northern line. In 1933, the CCE&HR and the rest of the Underground Group was taken into public ownership. Today, the CCE&HR's tunnels and stations form the Charing Cross and Edgware branches and part of the High Barnet branch of the London Underground's Northern line. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875–1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for his designs of some of the 1920s and 1930s stations on the London Underground, but who was already a distinguished architect before then, notably for his Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries in Belgium and northern France. Among his early architectural works at the beginning of the 20th century were Bristol Central Library and British Medical Association building in Strand. From the 1920s to the 1940s Holden was architect for numerous projects for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later London Transport. The earliest of Holden's commissions included stations on the southward extension of the Northern line to Morden in 1925-6 and a new company headquarters in 1927-9. The 1930-3 Piccadilly line extensions gave Holden the chance to develop a new type of station. Aiming for a striking and inviting modern appearance, he produced a set of designs based on simple, geometric forms built of brick and concrete. A number of these stations are listed buildings. Many of Holden's later designs for Underground stations went unrealised or were scaled back because of World War II with only East Finchley representative of a series of stations planned for the cancelled extension of the Northern line to Bushey Heath and with stations on the Central line's extension into east London being scaled back by post-war austerity. Modestly believing that architecture was a joint effort, Holden twice declined the offer of a Knighthood. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that six tube stations are named after pubs: Angel, Elephant & Castle, Manor House, Maida Vale , Royal Oak and Swiss Cottage? ...that the first version of the Underground roundel was introduced in 1908, as a solid red disk and blue bar? ...that the shortest distance between two stations on the London Underground is 250 metres (0.16 miles), between Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line? ...that Elfric Wells Chalmers Kearney proposed the construction of an underground monorail line from Cricklewood to The Oval? ...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 155 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
Image 2Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
Image 3The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
Image 4Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station.
Image 5Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
Image 6Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
Image 7Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
Image 8View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
Image 9A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
Image 10Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
Image 11TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
Image 12London 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 13Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
Image 14Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
Image 15The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
Image 16Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
Image 17Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames.
Image 18Tower Bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames.
Image 19Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
Image 20London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
Image 21Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
Image 22The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
Image 23Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
Image 24Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
Image 25Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston.
Image 26Arguably 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 27Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949.
Image 28Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
Image 29Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
Image 30Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames.
Image 31Sailing 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 32Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks.
Image 33London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton.
Image 34Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
Image 35The 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 36Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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 38Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
Image 39Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
Image 40An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz.
Image 41The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
Image 42Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
Image 43Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
Image 44The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
Image 45A Hansom cab at Somerset House.
Image 46Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regent's Canal.
Image 47Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building.
Image 48London 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 49"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.