Portal:london Transport

The London transport portal

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random 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


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

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article
The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a 117-mile (188 km) motorway that encircles almost all of Greater London, England (with the exception of North Ockendon), in the United Kingdom. An ambitious concept to build four concentric ring roads around London was first mooted in the 1960s. A few sections of the outer two rings were constructed in the early 1970s, but the plan was abandoned and the sections were later integrated to form a single ring which became the M25, completed in 1986. It is one of the busiest of the British motorway network: 196,000 vehicles were recorded on a busy day near Heathrow Airport in 2003 and the western half experienced an average daily flow of 147,000 vehicles in 2007. To alleviate congestion, sections of the motorway have been widened from the original three-lane carriageways to four-, five- or six-lane carriageways. Other sections use Smart motorway operation with hard shoulders replaced with standard lanes. The M25, plus the short non-motorway A282 which joins the two ends of the M25 across the River Thames using the Dartford Crossing, is Europe's second longest orbital road after the Berliner Ring, which is 122 miles (196 km). Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Henry Charles Beck (4 June 1902 – 18 September 1974), known as Harry Beck, was an English technical draughtsman best known for creating the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew up the diagram in his spare time while working as an engineering draftsman at the London Underground Signals Office. London Underground was initially sceptical of Beck's radical proposal, an uncommissioned spare-time project, but tentatively introduced it to the public in a small pamphlet in 1933. Beck's approach to the map was to remove all geographical content except the River Thames so that the focus could be on the arrangement of lines and stations and to enable the central area to be expanded map. Beck first submitted his idea to Frank Pick in 1931 but it was considered too radical because it didn't show relative distances between stations. After a successful trial of 500 copies in 1932, distributed via a select few stations, the map was given its first full publication in 1933 (700,000 copies). It was immediately popular, and the Underground has used topological maps to illustrate the network ever since. Beck's contribution to the visual style of London Underground is recognised with a plaque at what was his local Underground station, Finchley Central; with a blue plaque at his birth place in Leyton and the Beck Gallery at the London Transport Museum. ( 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 construction of North End station between Hampstead and Golders Green on the Northern line was abandoned before the station was finished when it was decided it would not have enough passengers? ...that three new Thames bridges, Chiswick, Twickenham and Hampton Court, were opened on 3 July 1933 by Edward, Prince of Wales? ... that the Queen and Prince Charles each travelled on London Underground trains from Green Park tube station when they carried out the official openings of the Victoria and Jubilee lines? More Did you know...
Related portals
Transport Buses Trains London England

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 2View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh. Image 3Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea. Image 4The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle. Image 5The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station. Image 6A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910. Image 7 London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton. Image 8 Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train. Image 9 Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge". Image 10 55 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden. Image 11The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster. Image 12 Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames. Image 13 Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949. Image 14 Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks. Image 15London 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 16Sailing 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 17 Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames. Image 18Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station. Image 19 Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line. Image 20Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye. Image 21The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line. Image 22 Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea. Image 23 Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012. Image 24Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse. Image 25 Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building. Image 26 Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy. Image 27Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery. Image 28 Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston. Image 29Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway. Image 30 Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow. Image 31Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862. Image 32 Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station. Image 33 Central London Railway poster, published in 1905. Image 34London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work. Image 35An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz. Image 36A Hansom cab at Somerset House. Image 37Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4. Image 38 Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal. Image 39Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station. Image 40 Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London. Image 41The 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 42Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. Image 43Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London. Image 44 Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames. Image 45The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site. Image 46 London 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 47 TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport. Image 48The 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 49"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria. 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
30 March 1936 – Metropolitan line extends from Whitechapel to East Ham. 2008 – A crash of a light aircraft into a house shortly after take-off from Biggin Hill Airport kills 5. More for March