Report Research

Theme : Transportation System in London

Teacher : Cornescu Iraida

Realized by : Trifan Diana
 London's transport forms the hub of the road, rail and air networks in the United Kingdom. It has its
own dense and extensive internal private and public transport networks, as well as providing a focal
point for the national road and railway networks. London also has a number of international airports
including one of the world's busiest, Heathrow and a seaport.

London's internal transport system is one of the Mayor of London's four policy areas, administered by
its executive agency Transport for London (TfL). TfL controls the majority of public transport in the
area, including the Underground, London Buses, Tramlink, the Docklands Light Railway, and London
Overground rail services within Greater London; other rail services are franchised to train operating
companies by the national Department for Transport (DfT). TfL also controls most major roads in the
area, but not minor roads (see below).

In May 2010, the Mayor issued his transport strategy,[1] which he described it as being "a key part of a
strategic policy framework to support and shape London's social and economic development". That
framework also includes the London Plan, the Mayor's spatial planning strategy.

Metro and light rail and trains

London Underground lines cross the city and stretch out into the suburbs

Transport for London (TfL), the publicly owned transport corporation for the London region, operates
three different railway systems across London. The largest is the London Underground, operating on
sub-surface line and in deep-level "tube" lines. TfL also operate the automated Docklands Light
Railway, an automated light rail system in the east of the city, and the Tramlink system in south
London, centred on Croydon. In addition to these systems, TfL also run London Overground, a
suburban rail network (see Heavy Rail below).

As with the road and mainline rail networks in London, the Underground lines radiate out to the
suburbs from the centre. While this is useful for transporting a huge volume of commuters between the
city centre and the suburbs, it means that travelling across London suburbs can be slow, using bus
services.The newer light rail developments and the introduction of London Overground's orbital rail
route have gone some way to alleviating this problem.

London Underground

London Underground's Jubilee Line at Green Park station.

Colloquially known as the Tube, London Underground is the first metro system in the world, having
begun operations in 1863. More than 3 million passengers travel on the Underground every day,
amounting to over 1 billion passenger journeys per year for the first time in 2006.The Underground
has 11 lines, most of which connect the suburbs to Central London and provide a distribution role
around the city centre, particularly from major railway terminals.

The Underground serves North London much more extensively than South London. This is the result
of a combination of unfavourable geology, historical competition from surface railways and the
historical geography of London which was focused to the north of the Thames. South London is served
primarily by surface railways (although it should be noted that the majority of London Underground's
route length is actually on the surface rather than in tunnel.).

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light rail system serving the Docklands area of
east London. It complements the Underground, largely sharing its fares system and having a number of
interchanges with it. It is focused on the Canary Wharf business district, although this was not its
initial objective upon its opening in 1987.

Partly thanks to the success of Canary Wharf, the system has expanded several times and now has five
main branches connecting the Isle of Dogs and Royal Docks to each other and to the City of London,
Stratford, Woolwich and Lewisham south of the river. It also serves London City Airport and Stratford
International. A further extension to Dagenham Dock is being proposed.

Tramways

The former tram system in London was the oldest in the world dating back to early Victorian time and
still remains the largest tram network at its peak[citation needed]. The extensive tram lines disappeared
from the streets of London by the mid-20th century, but a new tram system was opened in 2000 to
serve the large employment centre of Croydon on the southern edge of London. Named Tramlink, it
connects Croydon and its surface railway stations to surrounding suburbs and to the town centre of
Wimbledon to the north-west. An extension to Crystal Palace is being planned. Two other tram
schemes in London were proposed: the West London Tram along the busy Uxbridge Road bus corridor
in west London (postponed indefinitely on 2 August 2007), and the Cross River Tram through central
London between Camden in the north and Brixton and Peckham in the south (cancelled in November
2008 due to funding problems).

The Kingsway tramway subway, an underground route along Kingsway, is the only remaining
evidence of the old tram system. The London Passenger Transport Board was formed in 1933, taking
over the London County Council trams. It was decided soon after to replace all trams in London by
"more modern vehicles." The abandonment programme began in 1935 with trams in South-West,
West, North-West, North and East London mostly being replaced by trolleybuses. The replacement
programme proceeded swiftly until 1940 when the last pre-war conversion occurred, leaving only the
"South London" trams and the "Kingsway Routes" 31, 33 and 35, the only tram routes left operating
into North London to survive the war. Prototype "Kingsway Trolleybus" no. 1379, with exits on both
sides of the vehicle, was constructed for feasibility tests through the Subway, but these were
unsuccessful as trolleybuses would have had to run on battery power through the subway, headroom
restrictions making it impossible to use overhead current collection. In 1946 it was decided to replace
all London's remaining trams "as soon as possible", this time by diesel buses. The first Kingsway
subway route to be withdrawn was Route 31 on 1 October 1950 with the remaining two routes, 33 and
35, being withdrawn after service on Saturday 5 April 1952, the last public services being 'specials'
shortly after midnight on the Sunday. During the early hours of the next morning the remaining
vehicles still north of the subway were run through to the depots south of the Thames.

Other systems

Gatwick Airport inter-terminal transit

Three of London's airports provide varieties of automated people mover along guided tracks to shuttle
passengers between terminals. These small-scale transport systems operate independently of London's
main transportation network.

The Gatwick Airport inter-terminal transit, originally built in 1983 and refurbished in 2010, was the
first airport driverless train system outside the USA;[8][9] a similar system, the Stansted Airport
Transit System, was opened in 1991 at Stansted Airport to provide airside terminal transfers.[10] At
Heathrow Airport, a personal rapid transit system called ULTra has been in operation since 2011.[11]

Heavy rail

London is the focal point of the British railway network, with 18 stations providing a combination of
commuter, intercity, airport and international services; 14 of these stations are termini and 4 are
through stations. Most areas of the city not served by the Underground or DLR are served by
commuter heavy rail services into one of these stations. These suburban rail services are not part of
Transport for London (apart from London Overground) but are owned and operated by a number of
private rail firms.

The terminal stations are Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Euston, Fenchurch Street, King's
Cross, Liverpool Street, London Bridge, Marylebone, Moorgate, Paddington, St. Pancras, Victoria and
Waterloo. The through stations are City Thameslink, Old Street, Vauxhall, and Waterloo East

London is also linked to Paris and Brussels in mainland Europe by High Speed 1 via the Channel
Tunnel. High-speed Eurostar trains connect the UK's high speed network to Europe's. The Eurostar's
London terminus is at St. Pancras International after previously residing at Waterloo International.
Along the way, it will serve Stratford International (also in London) and two stations in the
neighbouring county of Kent, Ashford International (which it currently serves already) and Ebbsfleet
International.

Local and Regional

London is the centre of an extensive radial commuter railway network which, along with Paris, is the
busiest and largest in Europe, serving the surrounding metropolitan area. Each terminus is associated
with commuter services from a particular segment of this area. The majority of commuters to central
London (about 80% of 1.1 million) arrive by either the Underground (400,000 daily) or by surface
railway into these termini (860,000 daily).

For historical reasons, London's commuter rail network is arranged in a radial form, and as a result the
majority of services entering London terminate at one of the terminal stations around the edge of the
city centre. In contrast to the more developed regional RER network in Paris, only two long-distance
National Rail lines currently go across London: the Thameslink route runs between the more distant
towns of Bedford in the north and Brighton on the south coast, passing through the City of London,
Gatwick Airport and London suburbs; and in west London, the West London Line passes through
Shepherd's Bush, with cross-London services operated by Southern running between Milton Keynes in
the north and East Croydon in the south.A major expansion of the Thameslink route is planned 2013-
18, in which a number of existing regional rail services will be redirected via the cross-London
Thameslink corridor

Constantly increasing pressure on the commuter rail systems and on the Underground to disperse
passengers from the busy terminals has led to the multi-billion pound Crossrail scheme. When
completed, Crossrail will add a further cross-London line by linking services into Paddington in the
west with Docklands and services out of Liverpool Street in the east, and to the suburbs beyond.
Construction work is currently underway, and twin 16-km tunnels are being bored underneath the city
centre. New stations will be provided at key city centre locations, linking to the Underground.
While most stations in central London are termini, there are a few notable exceptions. London Bridge
has several through lines to the more central termini at Cannon Street and Charing Cross, and trains to
the latter also call at Waterloo East, linked to Waterloo by a footbridge. London Bridge's through
platforms are also used by the Thameslink services of First Capital Connect, which cross the city
centre, calling at Blackfriars (another terminus with through platforms), City Thameslink, Farringdon
and St Pancras (via dedicated subterranean platforms, replacing King's Cross Thameslink).

London Overground

The London Overground network has mainly orbital lines around London (network as of December
2012)

In addition to London's radial lines and cross-London routes, there are also several orbital National
Rail lines connecting peripheral inner-London suburbs. These lines have been under the management
of TfL since November 2007 and are operated by private contract under the London Overground
brand. This commuter transport is operated as a metro system with high-frequency services around a
circular route with radial branch lines and is designed to reduce stress from the inner-city Tube
network by allowing commuters to travel across London without going through the central Zone 1.

Although it is a new system, London Overground has been formed by joining a series of existing
railway lines to form a circular route around the city and incorporates the oldest part of the
Underground's history, the Thames Tunnel under the River Thames, which was completed in 1843.
The routes comprise the North London Line, which arcs across North London from Richmond in the
west to Stratford in the east; the Gospel Oak to Barking Line which links inner North London to the
northeastern suburbs; the inner-suburban Watford DC Line from Euston to Watford Junction; the
suburban metro services on the West London Line as far as Clapham Junction; the East London Line, a
former London Underground line which was converted to heavy rail operation in 2010; part of the
Outer South London Line as far as Crystal Palace; and the Inner South London Line which was added
to the London Overground network in December 2012, completing the circuit across South London
suburbs to Clapham Junction.

Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports are served by dedicated train services, and are also served by
standard commuter services. The Heathrow Express service from Paddington is provided by the airport
operator, BAA plc, whilst the Gatwick Express from Victoria and Stansted Express from Liverpool
Street aCycling

Cycling in London has enjoyed a renaissance, particularly since the turn of the millennium. Cyclists
find that they enjoy a much cheaper, and often quicker, way around town than those travelling by
public transport or car.

Over one million Londoners own bicycles but as of 2008 only around 2 per cent of all journeys in
London are made by bike: this compares poorly to other major European cities such as Berlin (5 per
cent), Munich (12 per cent), and Amsterdam (55 per cent)[28] and Copenhagen (36 per cent).[29]
Nevertheless this is an 83 per cent increase compared to that in 2000.[30] There are currently an
estimated 480,000 cycle journeys each day in the capital.

The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, launched 30 July 2010, aims to provide 6,000 bicycles for rental.
Bikes are available at a number of docking stations in central London.

Buses
London's bus network is extensive, with over 6,800 scheduled services every weekday carrying about
six million passengers on over 700 different routes making it one of the most extensive bus systems in
the world and by far the largest in Europe.Catering mainly for local journeys, it carries more
passengers than the Underground. In addition to this extensive daytime system, a 100-route night bus
service is also operated, providing a 24-hour service.

TfL manages the bus system by tendering out routes to private companies. This means that TfL set the
routes, frequencies, fares and even the type of vehicle used, and companies bid to run these services
for a fixed price for several years, with incentives and penalties in place to encourage good
performance against certain criteria.

Many services are operated with the iconic red double-decker buses, virtually all using modern low-
floor accessible vehicles rather than the traditional open-platform Routemasters, now limited to two
city centre "heritage routes" after a phase out in 2006.

The bus system has been the subject of much investment since TfL's inception in 2000, with
consequent improvements in the number of routes (particularly night services), their frequency,
reliability and the standard of the vehicles used

Black cabs and hire cars

The iconic black cab remains a common sight. They are driven by the only taxicab drivers in the world
who have spent at least three years learning the city inside out to gain 'The Knowledge'. All London
taxicabs are licensed by TfL's Public Carriage Office (PCO), who also set taxicab fares along with
strict maximum vehicle emission standards. Black cabs can be hailed on the street or hired from a
taxicab rank (by all the mainline railway stations and around the major business, shopping and tourist
centres). Taxicab fares are set by TfL and are calculated using a Taximeter in the vehicle (hence the
name 'Taxicab') and are calculated using a combination of distance travelled and time.

Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs or minicabs) are cars which are not licensed to pick people up on the
street. They must always be booked in advance by phone or at the operators offices. Anyone asking
you if you want a 'Taxi' who is stood next to a normal looking car is a tout who is not insured or
licensed to carry passengers.

Horse drawn vehicles

More than 70 years after horse drawn carriages were restricted from the West End, Westminster City
Council has announced that it will consider supporting applications to reintroduce them for sightseeing
tours across the city. The first horse-drawn vehicles in London were licenced in 1662, as Hackney
carriages.

Bicycle taxis and pedicabs

Pedicabs are a fairly recent addition, being mostly used by tourists and operating in the central areas.
Unlike the black cab, no test of knowledge is required to operate a pedicab or bicycle rickshaw. These
pedicabs are not regulated or licensed, and charge whatever they like, many of them are uninsured, be
sure to ask if they carry insurance that indemnifies their passengers, if not buyer beware.

Cambridge Trishaws Ltd moved from Cambridge to London in 1998 as the first such company to work
within the city. There are now 510 such companies providing competing services. The Licensed Taxi
Drivers Association (LTDA) went to the High Court to try to force them to become licensed, but lost
their case in 2004.This led to the PCO overseeing nearly all, but not all, cabs in London.

There has been a move, led by Chris Smallwood, chairman of the London Pedicab Operators
Association) to bring in more relevant legislation. Smallwood helped to draft an amendment to a bill to
be put before the House of Lords that would introduce these 'lighter' pedicab regulations. This was
followed in 2005 by Transport Committee scrutiny to determine the future of the then nascent industry.
This led in turn, to a 2006 TfL consultation "for the introduction of a licensing regime that is
appropriate for pedicabs and their riders".

Airports

London is the best served city by airports in the world with almost 150 million passengers using its six
airports in 2005. In order of size, these airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City;
and London Southend Airport.

Heathrow and Gatwick serve long-haul, European and domestic flights; Stansted, Luton and Southend
cater primarily for low-cost European and domestic services, whilst London City caters for business
passengers to short-haul and domestic destinations.

The closest airport to the city centre is London City, approximately 10 km east of the City of London
financial district in the Docklands area. A branch of the Docklands Light Railway links the airport to
the City in under 25 minutes.

Two other airports are at the edge of the city but within the Greater London boundary: Biggin Hill,
around 23 km southeast of the centre, and London's principal airport, Heathrow, 2025 km from
central London.

Heathrow handles nearly 70 million passengers per annum, making it Europe's busiest airport. On the
western edge of the city in the London Borough of Hillingdon, it has two runways and five passenger
terminals, with the 4bn fifth terminal opening in 2008. It is connected to central London by the
dedicated Heathrow Express rail service, the Heathrow Connect local rail service and London
Underground's Piccadilly line, and is connected to the M4 and M25 motorways.

Gatwick is just under 40 km south of central London in Sussex, some distance outside London's
boundary. With a single runway and two terminals, it handles approximately 32 million passengers per
year from domestic, short-haul and long-haul flights, and is linked to London by the Gatwick Express,
Thameslink and Southern rail services, and by the M23. It is the busiest single runway airport in the
world.

Southend is to the east of London, and has undergone rapid development to be usable by short-haul
passenger flights in time for the 2012 Olympics. It is connected to London via the A127 road, an on
airport station with services through Stratford to London Liverpool Street. Passenger numbers have
risen significantly from April 2012 when low-cost flights commenced to 13 European destinations.

Stansted is London's most distant airport, approximately 50 km north of the centre, in Essex. With a
single runway and terminal, it handles approximately 20 million passengers annually, mostly from
low-cost short-haul and domestic leisure flights. It is connected to London by the Stansted Express rail
service and the M11 motorway.
Luton Airport is about 45 km northwest of London, connected to it by the M1 and First Capital
Connect trains from nearby Luton Airport Parkway station. It has a single terminal and a runway
considerably shorter than the other London airports, and like Stansted it caters mainly for low-cost
short-haul leisure flights.

RAF Northolt in west London is used by private jets, and London Heliport in Battersea is used by
private helicopters. There are is also Biggin Hill and Farnborough Airfield. Croydon Airport was
originally London's main airport, but was replaced by Heathrow, and closed in 1959.

An airfield at Lydd has been rebranded London Ashford, but currently have little traffic. In August
2009, Oxford Airport, some 95 km from London's City Centre, re-branded itself London Oxford
Airport in a controversial move, while Kent International was briefly called London Manston; it is 120
km from London.

In addition, RAF Brize Norton with direct flights to the Falkland Islands is less than two hours away
by car.

Water transport

The River Thames is navigable to ocean-going vessels as far as London Bridge, and to substantial craft
well upstream of Greater London. Historically, the river was one of London's main transport arteries.
Although this is no longer the case, passenger services have seen something of a revival since the
creation in 1999 of London River Services, an arm of Transport for London. LRS now regulates and
promotes a small-scale network of river bus commuter services and a large number of leisure cruises
operating on the river. Boats are owned and operated by a number of private companies, and LRS
manages five of central London's 22 piers.[38]

Canals

London also has several canals, including the Regent's Canal, which links the Thames to the Grand
Union Canal and thus to the waterway network across much of England. These canals were originally
built in the Industrial Revolution for the transport of coal, raw materials and foods. Although they now
carry few goods, they are popular with private narrowboat users and leisure cruisers, and a regular
"water bus" service operates along the Regent's Canal during the summer months.

Cargo

Some bulk cargoes are carried on the Thames, and the Mayor of London wishes to increase this use.
London's port used to be the country's busiest when it was located in Central London and east
London's Docklands. Since the 1960s, containerisation has led to almost all of the port's activities
moving further downstream and the ceasing of port-related activity at the extensive network of docks
(which were built in the 19th and early 20th centuries). A purpose-built container port at Tilbury in
Essex,around ten kilometres outside the Greater London boundary, is today the busiest part of the port,
though activity remains along stretches of the Thames, mainly downstream of the Thames Barrier.
Fifty riverside wharfs have been safeguarded from development in Greater London. Today the port is
the UK's second largest by cargo handled (53 million tonnes in 2008)re provided by train operating
companies.