Portal:London transport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, 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.

Buses Taxis Underground Overground DLR Tramlink National Rail River Services Heathrow Airport
Selected article
The Tube map is the commonly-used name for the schematic diagram that represents the lines, stations, and zones of London's rapid transit rail system, the London Underground.

The first coordinated map of London's underground railway lines was produced in 1908 and highlighted the routes on a traditional map also showing other geographical features. During the 1920s attempts were made to make the map more readable by removing unnecessary information until only the River Thames remained; the maps remained geographic.

The current version is a schematic diagram and no longer represents geography but relationships. It considerably distorts the actual relative positions of stations, but accurately represents their sequential and connective relationships with each other and their placement within the zones. The basic design concepts, especially that of mapping topologically, have been widely adopted around the world for other route maps.

The original schematic map was designed in 1931 by Underground employee Harry Beck, who realised that, because the railway ran mostly underground, the physical locations of the stations were irrelevant to the travellers; only the topology of the system mattered. Beck based his diagram on a similar mapping system for underground sewage systems.


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 original carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows?
  • ...that an estimated half a million mice live on the Underground system, and can often be seen running around the tracks?

More Did you know...

Related portals
Selected pictures

All Selected pictures

In the news

Archive

Anniversaries
27 March
Maps
Geographic London Underground maps
Central area Complete network


Recognised content

Featured articles (34)

1910 London to Manchester air raceAlbert Bridge, LondonAldwych tube stationAlbert Stanley, 1st Baron AshfieldBaker Street and Waterloo RailwayBattersea BridgeBrill TramwayBrill railway stationCentral London RailwayCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead RailwayChelsea BridgeCity and South London RailwayGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton RailwayGreat Western Railway War MemorialGreen Park tube stationHerne Hill railway stationCharles HoldenLondon Necropolis CompanyLondon and North Western Railway War MemorialMarchioness disasterMetropolitan RailwayMoorgate tube crashRAF NortholtFrank PickSinking of SS Princess AliceQuainton Road railway stationRichmond Bridge, LondonUnderground Electric Railways Company of LondonVauxhall BridgeWaddesdon Road railway stationWandsworth BridgeWestcott railway stationWood Siding railway stationWotton railway station (Brill Tramway)

Featured lists (6)

List of former and unopened London Underground stationsList of London Underground stationsList of London Monopoly locationsList of works by Charles HoldenLondon station groupTimeline of the London Underground

Featured topics (2)

Brill TramwayUnderground Electric Railways Company of London

Good articles (111)

A1 in LondonM25 motorwayA215 roadActon Town tube stationAngel tube stationArnos Grove tube stationWilliam Henry BarlowBecontree tube stationBlackfriars stationBlackwall TunnelBOAC Flight 712Bond StreetBoston Manor tube stationBow Back RiversBow StreetInfrastructure of the Brill TramwayBritish AirwaysBritish Rail Class 700Broad Street railway station (England)Cannon Street stationCharing Cross railway stationChesham branchChiswick BridgeCity Thameslink railway stationCoventry Street2016 Croydon tram derailmentDartford CrossingDenmark StreetDistrict RailwayDown Street tube stationEarl's Court tube stationEast Finchley tube stationElephant & Castle tube stationEmbankment tube stationEuston RoadEuston railway stationEuston tube stationFenchurch Street railway stationFinchley Central tube stationFleet StreetSir John Fowler, 1st BaronetGants Hill tube stationGloucester Road tube stationGreat Marlborough StreetHammersmith & City lineHammerton's FerryHigh Speed 1Highgate tube stationHistory of British AirwaysHolborn Viaduct railway stationHolborn tube stationHounslow West tube stationKennington tube stationKensington (Olympia) stationKilburn tube stationKing's Cross Thameslink railway stationKing's Cross St Pancras tube stationLeicester SquareMurder of Deborah LinsleyLiverpool Street stationLondon Bridge stationLondon Country North EastLondon King's Cross railway stationLondon Necropolis RailwayLondon Necropolis railway stationLondon Paddington stationLondon RingwaysLondon Underground departmental stockLondon Victoria stationLondon Waterloo stationM11 link road protestMarylebone stationMoorgate stationMorden tube stationNewbury Park tube stationNorth Circular RoadNorthern line extension to BatterseaNorthumberland AvenueOld Kent RoadOld Street stationOxford CircusOxford Circus tube stationOxford StreetPaddington tube station (Bakerloo, Circle and District lines)Paddington tube station (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)Pall Mall, LondonPark LaneCharles PearsonPentonville RoadPiccadillyPiccadilly linePimlico tube stationRegent StreetSt Pancras railway stationSouth Circular Road, LondonSouth Kensington tube stationStrand, LondonTillingbourne Bus CompanyTrafalgar SquareUpminster Bridge tube stationVauxhall stationVictoria lineVine Street, LondonWarren Street tube stationWaterloo East railway stationWestminster tube stationWestway (London)Whitechapel RoadWhitehallWimbledon and Sutton RailwayWoolwich Ferry

Good topics (1)

List of London Monopoly locations


Articles
Categories
Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
Wikiproject
This Portal is maintained by WikiProject London Transport.

Things you can do:

Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals