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.

More about transport in London


Buses	Taxis	Underground	Overground	DLR	Tramlink	National Rail	River Services	Heathrow Airport

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article
Mornington Crescent is a game featured as a round in the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. The game satirises complicated strategy games, particularly the obscure jargon involved in such games as contract bridge or chess. A game consists of each player in turn announcing a landmark, most often a tube station on the London Underground system; the winner is the first player to announce "Mornington Crescent," a station on the Northern line. The humour of the game is that though the rules are invoked and argued, they are never fully explained. The origin of the game is not clear. One account is that the game was invented to vex the series producer, who was unpopular with the panellists. Another is that it was invented at a Soho actors' club to infuriate boorish customers. In introducing the game, the chairman will generally elaborate on the obscure and unknown rules by advising the players that specific rule variations will be used for that round, such as "Trumpington's Variations," or "Tudor Court Rules". Listeners unaware of the satirical nature of the game who have asked for the rules are told that "N F Stovold’s Mornington Crescent: Rules and Origins" is out of print. (Full article...) All selected articles
Selected biography
Albert Henry Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, PC, Kt, TD (8 August 1874 – 4 November 1948) was managing director, then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board, during the London Underground's greatest period of expansion. Stanley was born in, Derbyshire, England. In 1880, his family emigrated to Detroit in the United States. In 1888, at the age of 14, Stanley left school and went to work as an office boy at the Detroit Street Railways Company. His abilities were recognised early and Stanley became General Superintendent of the company in 1894. In January 1907 he became general manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and after improving the company's fortunes, he became managing director in 1910. In 1914, he was knighted in recognition of his services to transport. After a period as President of the Board of Trade during World War I, Stanley became chairman of the UERL in 1919 and, in 1920, was made Baron Ashfield, of Southwell in the County of Nottingham. Throughout the 1920s, Stanley and Herbert Morrison worked on plans for a unified transport organisation for London. The London Passenger Transport Board was created in 1933 with Stanley as chairman, a role he performed until 1947, overseeing major expansions of London's Underground network and integration of bus, tram and trolleybus services. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that the Westway, the West Cross Route and the East Cross Route are the only parts of the GLC's 1960s plan for the London Motorway Box to be built? ...that the Greenwich foot tunnel is classed as a public highway, and is therefore kept open by law 24 hours a day? ...that the Kingsway tramway subway, the only underground tram route in the United Kingdom, operated under Kingsway from 1906 to 1952 with two underground tram stations at Holborn and Aldwych? Part of the route is still in use as the Strand Underpass. ...that their specially designed small turning circle enables London's black cabs to make 50 million U-turns per year? More Did you know...
Related portals
Transport Buses Trains London England

Selected pictures
Image 1The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station. Image 2Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames. Image 3The 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 4Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye. Image 5Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery. Image 6Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London. Image 7An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz. Image 8Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line. Image 9Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal. Image 10Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea. Image 11The 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 12Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station. Image 13Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames. Image 14Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station. Image 15Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. Image 16A Hansom cab at Somerset House. Image 17Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway. Image 18Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949. Image 19Sailing 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 20Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames. Image 21Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy. Image 22A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910. Image 23Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London. Image 24The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site. Image 25Arguably 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 26London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work. Image 27Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012. Image 28Central London Railway poster, published in 1905. Image 2955 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden. Image 30"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria. Image 31View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh. Image 32The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster. Image 33Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862. Image 34London 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 35The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line. Image 36Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge". Image 37Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks. Image 38Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea. Image 39Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow. Image 40Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston. Image 41TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport. Image 42London 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 43Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train. Image 44Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse. Image 45Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4. Image 46Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station. Image 47Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building. Image 48London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton. Image 49The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle. All Selected pictures
In the news
10 August – One person dies and two others are injured in a bus crash at Victoria bus station.[1] 20 September – Northern line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station opens.[2] 25 October – The Ultra Low Emission Zone extends to include the area of Greater London within the North and South Circular Roads.[3] 22 November – Transport for London announces a series of temporary overnight and weekend closures for repairs to the elevated section of Westway.[4] 15 January – Northern line Bank branch closes between Kennington and Moorgate for 17 weeks for construction works at Bank station.[5] Archive
Anniversaries
4 July 1829 – George Shillibeer's first London Omnibus begins operating between the Yorkshire Stingo, Paddington and the Bank of England in the City of London. 1904 – Metropolitan Railway extends from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Uxbridge. 1932 – Piccadilly line extends from Hammersmith to South Harrow. 1936 – Metropolitan line ends services between Quainton Road and Verney Junction. 1948 – A mid-air collision above Northwood between a Scandinavian Airlines passenger plane and an RAF transport plan kills 39. More for July