Transport in London
London is the focal point of the road, rail and air transport in the UK. The Transportation of British capital is under the direct jurisdiction of the Mayor of London, the Lord Mayor, who delegated the operational needs of the public transport company Transport for London ( TfL). TfL shall exercise control over the majority of local public transport. These include the operation of subways, city buses, trams and light rail, but not the rail transport within Greater London and the air traffic. In addition, TfL regulated the taxi system and is responsible for the maintenance of the main roads.
- 2.1 suburban railways
- 2.2 intercity
- 2.3 International Connections
- 3.1 Main roads
- 3.2 Congestion Charge
- 3.3 Low Emission Zone - LEZ
- 3.4 buses
- 3.5 taxis
Subway, light rail and tram
London Underground
The London Underground is the oldest underground system in the world; the first line was opened on 10 January 1863. More than three million passengers each day, the Underground, giving an annual total of almost one billion. The Underground has twelve lines with a total length of 402 kilometers and 260 stations. Outside the city center, the lines run mostly on the surface, are actually only 45% of all lines underground.
North of the River Thames, the route network is much denser than in the south. This is the result of a combination of unfavorable geology, competition between railway companies in the early stages and the traditional urban structure, which has long focused on areas north of the Thames. South London is mainly developed by overground trains running railways.
In the metro network in London, there are two different systems:
- The wide gauge network ( Surface), which is the result of early railway lines, and therefore also (except for power and signaling system ) is compatible with the normal suburban railway network of the region.
- The " tube" ( CRT) called low-profile network in the city center very deep, drilled by shield tunneling tunnels, which are sometimes more than 40 meters below the surface.
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR ) is a driverless city railway, which operates in the Docklands in east London. Although not part of London Underground, but complements their route network, applies the same tariff system and has a number of interchanges. The DLR network is a total of 31 kilometers long and includes 38 stations, three of which are underground. The light rail, whose first section was commissioned in 1987, was designed and built to accelerate the regeneration of extensive port facilities that were largely abandoned since the 1960s.
Due in part to the successful urban development project Canary Wharf, the route network has been expanded several times and now consists of five sections. Join the Isle of Dogs and the Royal Docks with each other and result in the City of London to Stratford and after Lewisham. The DLR also binds to the London City Airport. Several expansions are planned or already under construction, including a river crossing to Woolwich.
Tram
On March 23, 1861, the first horse-drawn tram on the streets of London and wrong on 4 April 1901, the first electric tram. In the 1930s and 40s began, the extensive route network, which was operated by double-deck cars, switch to trolleybus operation. Due to the circumstances of the Second World War, the last trams were only in the early 1950s, now replaced by diesel buses; the last ride took place on 5 July 1952. After a break of almost 50 years, the tram was reintroduced in Greater London on 10 May 2000. The Tramlink called system connects the center of the southern city district of London Borough of Croydon with neighboring districts and with Wimbledon.
Two more tram lines were the beginning of the 21st century in planning, but had no connection to Tramlink or another. West London Tram should lead along the main High Street Uxbridge Road in the western part of the city. Cross River Tram was right through the city center lead ( Camden Town / Kings Cross - Euston - Waterloo - Elephant & Castle - Brixton / Peckham ). A realization of the tram lines was rejected in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Railway
London is the center of the British railway network. From fourteen main stations around the city center run a variety of commuter trains, intercity trains, airport tributaries and international express trains. Virtually all parts of the city that are not reached by the Underground or Docklands Light Railway, located on railway lines which lead to one of the main stations.
The London's major railway stations are Euston, St Pancras and King's Cross for destinations in the north, Moorgate, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street for destinations in the Northeast, Charing Cross, Blackfriars, Cannon Street and London Bridge for destinations in the southeast, Victoria and Waterloo for destinations in the south and south-west, as well as Paddington and Marylebone for destinations in the west and northwest.
Clapham Junction in Wandsworth district is outside of the UK, although relatively unknown, however with 2,000 train movements daily one of the busiest railway stations in Europe. The largest freight station of the city is Wembley Yard on the road to Northwest England on rugby.
Suburban railways
The radially emanating rail network opens up the city itself and the surrounding metropolitan area. From each terminal station run suburban trains in a particular segment of that area. Although the major railway stations are the terminus of a large majority of these trains, there are some important exceptions. The significant main train station London Bridge is partly a through station, so many trains can run to more central, but smaller head stations, Cannon Street and Charing Cross. The through tracks of London Bridge are also used by the Thameslink trains that pass through the city center at the Snow Hill tunnel. They combine both the southern and northern parts of the city as well as the more distant cities Bedford and Brighton.
In addition to the radial lines, there are a number of orbital lines connecting the individual sectors of the city together. The West London Line connects the west of London with the southern districts, Gatwick Airport and Brighton. The North London Line travels around the entire northern downtown. Currently, the East London Line will be expanded into an orbital line to the east of the city; The ultimate goal is the realization of a ring line in the inner suburbs. In November 2007, Transport for London took over the orbital lines and summarized them under the name of London Overground.
The constantly increasing number of commuters on the suburban lines and in the Underground led to the definition of Crossrail, is to have the resemblance to the RER in Paris. The plan is a 16 km long tunnel from downtown Paddington via Liverpool Street in the Docklands, which is to connect several suburban lines from the West and the East together.
Intercity connections
Long -distance intercity trains not from all main train stations, but as with the suburban trains are available from each of these stations compounds in a certain part of the country. The main inter-city terminal stations are Paddington ( in the west of England, and Wales), Euston ( in the West Midlands, North West England and the West of Scotland ), St Pancras ( in the East Midlands), King's Cross station ( to northeast England and in the East of Scotland ) and Liverpool Street ( to East Anglia).
International connections
International train are by the company Euro Star Group Ltd.. offered. Their first trains ran from Waterloo International Station by the Euro Tunnel to Paris and Brussels. They drove it on the same tracks as suburban trains, until they reached the Channel Tunnel Rail Link outside London. This high-speed line has been extended and now leads into a tunnel to the St Pancras railway station, with an intermediate stop at Stratford International Station. After the opening of this last section, the journey time between London and Paris reduced by 20 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes. Some high-speed commuter trains to Kent also use this route.
Road
The most important trunk roads and motorways meet in London to each other ( see also road system in the UK). In the city center, most of the roads were built before the invention of the automobile and are therefore relatively narrow, which leads to frequent traffic jams. The first attempts to remedy this situation, go back to the 1740s, when the New Road through the fields north of the City of London led and today forms part of the inner ring road. In the 19th and 20th centuries more thoroughfares including Victoria Embankment, Shaftesbury Avenue and Kingsway emerged. In the 1920s and 1930s was followed by several radial roads such as Western Avenue, and Eastern Avenue. In the second half of the 20th century, the city authorities planned a total of four ring roads, of which only the outermost, which was Motorway M25 realized.
Main transport routes
Due to the opposition, which grew the highway plans, there are few main roads separately for each direction, the advance to the city center. In the West, these are the A4 and the A40, to the east, the A12 and the A13. In the outer regions of Greater London start following motorways: M1 North, M11 to the north- east, M2 and M20 to south-east, M23 to the south, southwest M3, M4 and M40 motorways to the west northwest.
There are three ring roads connecting all the radial roads together. Around the immediate city center leads the Inner Ring. The direction separate A406 ( North Circular Road) to the north and the non-directional separate A205 ( South Circular Road) in the south form the second ring road in a radius of about 10 kilometers. The M25 is a ring motorway which runs along the outer edge of the urban area.
Congestion Charge
In February 2003, Transport for London, the London congestion charge introduced a congestion charge. Driving on the toll zone in the city center by car and truck costs eight pounds per day (until July 2005, five pounds). Excluded are buses, taxis, fire, police, ambulances, bicycles, motorcycles and operated with alternative energy vehicles. Since the introduction of the motorized traffic has reduced by about a third.
Low Emission Zone - LEZ
Since February 4, 2008, moreover, almost the entire area of Greater London a Low Emission Zone (Low Emission Zone - LEZ ) was established. It is according to the supervisory authority Transport for London, the largest environmental zone in the world. From 4 February 2008 to January 2012, the emission limit values were gradually increased. For more information of the exact boundaries can be found on the website.
Buses
City buses tap into all parts of the city with a dense route network. There are more than 6,800 courses to more than 700 lines. On weekdays around 6 million passengers are carried, about twice as many as on the London Underground. In contrast to the subway, the buses run on many lines around the clock, the night bus network covers more than 100 lines.
The bus routes are operated by private transport companies ( in 2006 a total of 23 ), but the determination of routes, cycle times, tariffs and even the vehicle equipment is the responsibility of Transport for London. The companies compete for a multi-year concession for the operation of the lines. Financial incentives and penalties to encourage the provision of a good performance according to predefined criteria.
On many lines leaving the typical London red double-decker buses, today virtually all are built in the low-floor technology. The equipped with a hybrid drive buses are promoted so that the number of these " green buses " increases considerably. The traditional Routemaster type buses have been running since December 2005 only as a tourist attraction on two line segments in the city center.
From 16 May 1931 to May 8, 1962 in London frequented numerous double-decker trolleybuses. You should then replace the trams were replaced in the 1950s in turn by diesel buses.
The Victoria Coach Station directly to the southwest of Victoria railway station is the terminus of many intercity and long-distance bus, both in the immediate vicinity of London (eg two lines to Oxford in 10 -minute intervals ) as well as to cities throughout the British Isles and Europe.
Taxis
London is known for the large - formerly all-black - taxis, the " Hackney Carriage " or "Black Cab" are mentioned. To get the coveted taxi licenses for the downtown, the future drivers must pass a demanding test. They need for an "All London " license all of the approximately 25,000 streets within a radius of six miles around Charing Cross know by heart. The taxis in the suburbs are less heavily regulated. The Cabs are used per day on average to 300,000 trips. Apart from the official Black Cabs, there are now a number of other taxi providers who do offer a modern fleet of vehicles, but usually require a much higher fare for transport.
Traffic
London is a major center of international air transport. The city is of six airports opened: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, City Airport and Biggin Hill.
Heathrow has 70 million passengers, the largest passenger traffic in Europe, behind the Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Beijing Capital International Airport is the third largest in the world and also the world's largest volume of international passengers of all airports. The airport is located on the western outskirts in the London Borough of Hillingdon district, has two take-off and landing runways and five terminals. Accessible he is on the Heathrow Express, the Piccadilly Line of the subway and on the M4 and M25 motorways.
Gatwick is located approximately 40 km south of the city center in the county of Surrey, halfway to Brighton. Across Europe, it has the sixth largest passenger traffic of 30 million passengers. Charter airlines can not fly from Heathrow and therefore have their base in Gatwick. The airport has one runway and two terminals. Accessible he is with the trains from Gatwick Express and Southern as well as the M23 motorway.
Farthest away from London Stansted is located, about 55 km north-east in the county of Essex. With a start and runway it can handle a passenger volume of 20 million annually. It is mainly served by low cost airlines, along with numerous freight companies here their base. The airport is accessible via the Stansted Express and the M11 motorway.
Luton is located 45 km north- west of London in Bedfordshire. It has one terminal and a relatively short take-off and landing strip. How Stansted Luton is also served mainly short-haul low cost, it will be used by around 8 million passengers annually. Accessible is the airport via the M1 motorway and with features of the company First Capital Connect.
Closest to the city center is the London City Airport, some 10 km east of the City of London in the Docklands. It has an airstrip and is used primarily for business travel ( approximately 3 million passengers per year ). Accessible he is from the city center in under 25 minutes with the Docklands Light Railway.
Biggin Hill in the south London Borough of Bromley is exclusively served by private aircraft. There also exist in and around London several airfields for private and commercial air traffic. These are Northolt Aerodrome, Manston Airport, London Southend Airport and Farnborough Airport.
Shipping
For sea -going vessels, the River Thames is navigable up to the London Bridge, far greater for riverboats about Greater London beyond. In earlier centuries the Thames was by far the most important trade. Today some regular ferries, ships of the line and a variety of tour boats on the river in use. In addition, at some barges with bulk trade; their share is to be increased.
Several ducts pass through London, including the Regent's Canal, which connects the River Thames with the Grand Union Canal and thus the entire English canal system. These channels are no longer used for transportation of goods, but for recreational boaters on their narrowboats and excursion boats.
The Port of London in the Docklands in the East End was once the largest and busiest in the country. But he could not handle container ships, was abandoned and fell into ruin. Instead created a new port at Tilbury in Essex. The Port of Tilbury is the third largest in the UK and is operated by the Port of London Authority.