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


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Selected article
Green Park is a London Underground station on the north side of Green Park, with entrances on both sides of Piccadilly. It is in fare zone 1 and is a busy interchange between the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, used by over 39 million passengers in 2017. The station was opened on 15 December 1906 by the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway and was originally named Dover Street. It was modernised in the 1930s when escalators replaced lifts and new entrances were provided on Piccadilly. The Victoria line platforms opened on 7 March 1969 and the Jubilee line platforms opened on 1 May 1979 with the official opening journeys by The Queen and Prince Charles starting from this station. Improvements in the 2000s made the station wheelchair accessible throughout. The original station building designed by Leslie Green has been demolished. Decorative elements around the station include tiling schemes by Hans Unger and June Fraser and stonework by John Maine. Read more... All selected articles
Selected biography
Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the form of the broad edged pen as a writing tool, a particular form of calligraphy. He was born in San José, Uruguay. Johnston started teaching at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London's Southampton Row, where he influenced the typeface designer and sculptor Eric Gill. Then he moved on to the Royal College of Art and many students were inspired by his teachings. In 1912 Johnston followed Gill to Ditchling where he died in 1944. He is most famous for designing the sans-serif Johnston typeface that was used throughout the London Underground system until it was re-designed in the 1980s, as well as the famous roundel symbol used throughout the system. He has also been credited for reviving the art of modern penmanship and lettering single-handedly through his books and teachings. Johnston also devised the simply crafted round calligraphic handwriting style, written with a broad pen, known as the foundational hand. In 1921, students of Johnston founded the Society of Scribes & Illuminators (SSI), probably the world's foremost calligraphy society. (Full article...) All Selected biographies
Did you know...
...that London Bridge was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750? ...that the cause of the Moorgate tube crash in February 1975 was never satisfactorily determined? ...that John Pierpont Morgan planned an underground railway network in London to rival that of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), but his plan was sabotaged when UERL financier Edgar Speyer bought the London United Tramways, Morgan's partner in the plan? ...that at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound? More Did you know...
Related portals
Transport Buses Trains London England

Selected pictures
Image 1The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle. Image 2Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye. Image 3Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea. Image 4Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862. Image 5An air raid shelter in a London Underground station during The Blitz. Image 6Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms. Image 7Thames Clippers service catamaran on the River Thames. Image 8London Overground Class 378 train on the East London Line in Hoxton. Image 9London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work. Image 10Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station. Image 11Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012. Image 12Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea. Image 13The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site. Image 14Tower bridge; a bascule bridge across the River Thames. Image 15A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910. Image 16Stockwell bus garage, Stockwell, a Grade II* listed building. Image 17View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh. 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 19The 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 20Sailing 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 21Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station. Image 22Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy. Image 23Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London. Image 24Eurostar Class 373 trains at St Pancras station. Image 25Camden Lock or Hampstead Road Lock in Camden Town, north London is the only twin lock on the Regents Canal. Image 26Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse. Image 27Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line. Image 28Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London. Image 29Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4. Image 30"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria. Image 31London 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 32A Hansom cab at Somerset House. Image 33London 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 34Shaftesbury Avenue from Piccadilly Circus, in the West End of London, 1949. Image 35Victoria line 2009 Stock train at Euston. Image 36The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line. Image 37Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow. Image 38Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge". Image 39Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway. Image 40Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery. Image 41Gondolas of the Emirates Air Line cable car cross the River Thames from Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Docks. Image 42The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster. Image 43The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station. Image 44Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train. Image 45Duck tour converted DUKW amphibious vehicle exiting the River Thames. Image 46TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport. Image 4755 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden. Image 48Central London Railway poster, published in 1905. Image 49Arguably 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). 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
9 May 1864 – A boiler explosion on an railway engine injures four people and damages Bishop's Road station. 1874 – Chelsea Embankment, part of Sir Joseph Bazelgette's Thames Embankment project, opens. More for May