Traffic in London
London is the hub of road, rail and air transport in the United Kingdom . Transport in the British capital is the direct responsibility of the Mayor of London , who delegates operational issues to Transport for London (TfL). TfL controls most of the local public transport . This includes the operation of underground trains , city buses, light rail vehicles , trams and S-Bahn trains ( London Overground ), but not rail traffic within Greater London or air traffic. In addition, TfL regulates the taxi business and is responsible for the maintenance of the most important main roads.
Subway, light rail and tram
London Underground
The London Underground is the oldest underground system in the world; the first line was opened on January 10, 1863. Up to four million passengers use the Underground every day, which results in an annual sum of over 1.3 billion. The Underground comprises eleven lines with a total length of 402 kilometers and 270 stations. Outside the city center, the lines mostly run on the surface; in fact, only 45% of all routes run in tunnels.
North of the Thames , the subway network is significantly denser than in the south. This is the result of a combination of unfavorable geology , competition from the railway companies in the initial phase and the historically evolved urban structure, which for a long time concentrated on areas north of the Thames. South London is mainly served by overhead railways.
There are two different systems on the London underground network:
- The large-profile network (surface), which arose from early railway lines and is therefore also compatible (apart from the power system and signaling technology) with the normal suburban railway network in the region.
- The "tube" ( tubes ) said small profile system with very deep in the center, by shield tunneling drilled tunnels partially be more than 40 meters below the surface.
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a driverless light rail system that runs to the Docklands in east London. It is not part of London Underground, but complements their route network, uses the same tariff system and has a number of transfer options. The DLR network is 31 kilometers long and comprises 38 stations, three of which are in the tunnel. The light rail, the first section of which went into operation in 1987, was planned and built to accelerate the regeneration of the extensive old port facilities, which had largely been abandoned since the 1960s.
Thanks in part to the successful Canary Wharf urban development project , the route network has been expanded several times and now consists of five sections. They connect the Isle of Dogs and the Royal Docks and lead to the City of London , Stratford and Lewisham . The DLR also connects to London City Airport . Several extensions are planned or already under construction, including a river crossing to Woolwich .
tram
On March 23, 1861, the first horse-drawn tram ran on the streets of London and on April 4, 1901, the first electric tram . In the 1930s and 1940s, work began on converting the extensive route network, which was served by double-decker cars, to trolleybus operation. Due to the circumstances of the Second World War , the last trams were not replaced by bus routes until the early 1950s, now with diesel buses; the last trip took place on July 5, 1952.
After an interruption of almost 50 years, trams were reintroduced in Greater London on May 10, 2000 . The system called Tramlink connects the center of the London Borough of Croydon in the south with neighboring districts and with Wimbledon .
Two more tram routes were planned in the early 2000s, but had no connection to Tramlink or each other. West London Tram was supposed to run along the main main street Uxbridge Road in the western part of the city. Cross River Tram should run right through the city center (Camden Town / King's Cross - Euston - Waterloo - Elephant & Castle - Brixton / Peckham). Realization of the tram routes was rejected in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
railroad
London is the center of the UK rail network. A large number of suburban trains, intercity trains, airport feeders and international express trains run from fourteen main train stations around the city center. Virtually all parts of the city that are not served by the Underground or Docklands Light Railway are on railway lines that lead to one of the main train stations.
London's main train 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 south east, Victoria and Waterloo for destinations in the south and Southwest and Paddington and Marylebone for destinations to the West and Northwest.
The station Clapham Junction in the district of Wandsworth is relatively unknown outside Britain, but with 2,000 train movements each day one of the busiest train stations in Europe. The city's largest freight yard is Wembley Yard on the route to north-west England via rugby .
Suburban railways
The radially radiating railway network opens up the city itself and the surrounding metropolitan region . From each terminus , suburban trains run to a specific segment of this area. Although the major stations are the terminus of a large majority of these trains, there are a few important exceptions. The major central station London Bridge is partly a through station , so that numerous trains can run to the more centrally located but smaller terminal stations of Cannon Street and Charing Cross . The through tracks of London Bridge are also used by the Thameslink trains, which cross the city center in the Snow Hill Tunnel . They connect the south and north of the city as well as the more distant cities of Brighton and Bedford .
In addition to the radial lines, there are a number of orbital lines that connect individual sectors of the city. The West London Line connects West London with the southern districts, Gatwick Airport and Brighton. The North London Line circumnavigates the entire northern city center. In the early 2010s, the East London Line was expanded into an orbital line in the east of the city; The long-term goal is to create a ring line in the inner suburbs. In November 2007, Transport for London took over these orbital lines and brought them together under the name London Overground .
The constantly increasing number of commuters on the suburban lines and in the underground led to the planning of Crossrail , which is said to be similar to the RER in Paris . A 16 km long inner city tunnel is planned from Paddington via Liverpool Street to Docklands , which will connect several suburban routes from the west and the east.
Intercity connections
Long-haul intercity trains do not run from all major stations, but like suburban trains, each of these stations has connections to a specific part of the country. The main InterCity terminus stations are Paddington (to West England and Wales), Euston (to the West Midlands, North West England and West Scotland), St Pancras (to the East Midlands), King's Cross Station (to North East England and the East Scotland) and Liverpool Street (to East Anglia).
International connections
International train connections are offered by Eurostar International . Their trains initially ran from Waterloo International station through the Eurotunnel to Paris and Brussels . They drove it on the same tracks as suburban trains until they are outside London's high-speed line High Speed One reached. This has been extended and now runs in a tunnel via Stratford International station to St Pancras station . After the opening of this last section, the travel time between London and Paris was reduced by 20 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes. Some high-speed commuter trains to Kent also use this route.
Road traffic
The main trunk roads and motorways meet in London (see also road system in Great Britain ). Most of the streets in the city center 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 problem date back to the 1740s, when the New Road ran through the fields north of the City of London and now forms part of the inner ring road. In the 19th and 20th centuries, other thoroughfares such as Victoria Embankment , Shaftesbury Avenue and Kingsway were built . Several radial streets such as Western Avenue and Eastern Avenue followed in the 1920s and 1930s . In the second half of the 20th century, the city authorities planned a total of four ring motorways, of which only the outermost, the M25 motorway , was realized.
Main traffic axes
Due to the opposition that arose from the motorway plans, there are only a few separate main roads that reach into the city center. In the west these are the A4 and A40 , in the east the A12 and A13 . The following motorways begin on the outskirts of Greater London : M1 to the north, M11 to the northeast, M2 and M20 to the southeast, M23 to the south, M3 to the southwest, M4 to the west and M40 to the northwest.
There are three ring roads that connect all of the radial roads. The Inner Ring leads around the immediate city center . The directionally separated A406 (North Circular Road) in the north and the non-directionally separated A205 (South Circular Road) in the south form the second ring road within a radius of around 10 kilometers. The M25 is a ring road that runs along the outer edge of the metropolitan area.
Congestion Charge
In February 2003, Transport for London (TfL) introduced the London Congestion Charge , an inner city toll . Driving into the downtown toll zone by car and truck costs £ 11.50 per day. Excluded are buses, taxis, fire brigades, police, ambulances, bicycles, motorcycles and vehicles powered by alternative energies. Since its inception, motorized traffic has been reduced by around a third.
Low Emission Zone - LEZ
Since 4 February 2008, moreover, almost the entire area of Greater London a Low Emission Zone (Low Emission Zone - LEZ) was established. According to the supervisory authority Transport for London, it is the largest environmental zone in the world. From February 4, 2008 to January 2012, the emission ceilings were gradually increased. Further information with the exact area boundaries can be found on the website.
buses
See also: List of bus routes in London
City buses open up all parts of the city with a dense network of routes. There are more than 6800 courses on over 700 lines. Around 6 million passengers are carried on working days, about twice as many as the London Underground . In contrast to the underground, buses run around the clock on many lines; the night bus network comprises over 100 lines.
The bus routes are operated by different transport companies (in 2006 a total of 23), but the definition of the routes, the cycle times, the tariffs and also the vehicle equipment is the responsibility of Transport for London (TfL) as London Buses . In tenders, the companies apply for a multi-year concession to operate the lines. Financial incentives and fines are intended to promote good performance according to predetermined criteria.
The red double-decker buses typical of London run on many lines , although today practically all of them are built using low-floor technology . The buses equipped with hybrid drives are subsidized, so that the number of these "green buses" increases sharply. Since December 2005, the traditional Routemaster buses have only operated as a tourist attraction on route 15; the historical journeys are designated as 15H to distinguish them from the "normal", further journeys with low-floor buses .
From May 16, 1931 to May 8, 1962, numerous double-decker trolleybuses operated in London . They were supposed to replace the tram at the time, but were in turn replaced by diesel buses from the 1950s.
The Victoria Coach Station just southwest of Victoria Station is the end point of many intercity and long-distance bus , both in the surrounding area of London (z. B. 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 - previously all black - taxis called the "Hackney Carriage" or "Black Cab". In order to receive the coveted taxi licenses for the city center, future drivers have to pass a demanding test. To get an “All London” license, they have to know all of the 25,000 or so streets within a six-mile radius around Charing Cross by heart. The taxis in the outskirts are less regulated. The cabs are used an average of 300,000 trips per day. In addition to the official Black Cabs, there are now a number of other taxi providers who offer a modern fleet of vehicles, but usually charge a much higher fare for transportation.
Bike rental
The public bike rental system Santander Cycles has existed since July 2010 (Barclays Cycle Hire until March 2015), operated by Transport for London and sponsored by Bank Santander UK from April 2015 , previously by Barclays Bank , with over 10,000 bikes at 700 stations (stand February 2015), which makes it easy to borrow and return bicycles for short distances.
Number of accident victims
The following table lists the number of accident victims on the streets of Greater London in recent years, grouped according to the degree of injury. Due to the introduction of an online reporting system for accident victims, the data from and including 2017 are only partially comparable with the previous years.
| Degree of accident | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | 204 | 184 | 126 | 159 | 134 | 132 | 127 | 136 | 116 | 131 | 112 |
| Heavy | 3,322 | 3,043 | 2,760 | 2,646 | 2,884 | 2,192 | 2,040 | 1.956 | 2,385 | 3,750 | 3,953 |
| Subtotal | 3,526 | 3,227 | 2,886 | 2,805 | 3,018 | 2,324 | 2.167 | 2,092 | 2,501 | 3,881 | 4,065 |
| Light | 24,627 | 24,752 | 26.003 | 26,452 | 25,762 | 24,875 | 28,618 | 28,090 | 27,769 | 28,686 | 26,526 |
| Total | 28,361 | 27,979 | 28,889 | 29,257 | 28,780 | 27.199 | 30,785 | 30,182 | 30,270 | 32,567 | 30,591 |
air traffic
London is an important center for international air traffic. The city is served by six airports: Heathrow , Gatwick , Luton , Stansted , City Airport and Biggin Hill .
With around 78 million passengers, Heathrow Airport has the largest number of passengers in Europe and the sixth largest in the world. The airport is located on the western outskirts of the city in the London Borough of Hillingdon , has two runways and five terminals. It can be reached with the Heathrow Express , the Piccadilly Line of the underground and the M4 and M25 motorways .
Gatwick Airport is approximately 40 km south of the city center in Surrey , halfway to Brighton . With 30 million passengers, it has the sixth largest passenger volume in Europe. Charter airlines are not allowed to fly from Heathrow and are therefore based in Gatwick. The airport has a runway and two terminals. It can be reached by Gatwick Express and Southern trains and via the M23 motorway .
The furthest from London is Stansted Airport , about 55 km northeast in the county of Essex . With one runway, it handles an annual passenger volume of 20 million. It is mainly served by low-cost airlines, but numerous freight companies are also based here. The airport can be reached by the Stansted Express and via the M11 motorway .
Luton Airport is 45 km northwest of London in Bedfordshire . It has a terminal and a relatively short runway. Like Stansted, Luton is mainly served by short-haul low-cost airlines, with around 8 million passengers annually. The airport can be reached via the M1 motorway and Thameslink trains.
The closest to the city center is London City Airport , around 10 km east of the City of London in Docklands . It has a runway and is mainly used for business travel (approx. 3 million passengers annually). It can be reached from the eastern city center in just under 25 minutes with the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).
Biggin Hill in the south-east London Borough of Bromley is only served by private planes. There are also several airports for private and commercial air traffic in and around London . These are Northolt Aerodrome , Manston Airport , London Southend Airport and Farnborough Airfield .
Shipping
The Thames is navigable as far as London Bridge for seagoing ships, and far beyond Greater London for larger river boats . In earlier centuries the Thames was by far the most important traffic route. Today there are some regular ferries , liners and a variety of excursion boats in service on the river. In addition, some barges operate with bulk goods; their share is to be increased.
Several canals run through London, including Regent's Canal , which connects the Thames with the Grand Union Canal and thus the entire English canal system. These canals are no longer used for goods transport, but by recreational skippers on their narrowboats and excursion boats.
The Port of London in 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 apart. Instead originated at Tilbury in the county of Essex , a new harbor. The Port of Tilbury is operated by the Port of London Authority .
literature
- Heinrich Beta : London on Wheels - Pictures from London's traffic life No. 4 . In: The Gazebo . Issue 7, 1866, pp. 108–111 ( full text [ Wikisource ]).
- Johann Heinrich Bettziech: The Unterrocks-Gäßchen - Pictures from London's traffic life No. 5 . In: The Gazebo . Volume 42, 1867, pp. 661–664 ( full text [ Wikisource ]).
Web links
- Transport for London (English)
- Department for Transport (English)
- Transport projects in London (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Transport - facts and figures. tfl.gov.uk
- ↑ Press release, May 18, 2006. ( Memento of December 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Eurostar
- ↑ Low emission zone website . Transport for London. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
- ↑ Transport for London - About London Buses ( Memento from September 25, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Björn Finke: New Taxis in London It's not very British, is it? In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , January 8, 2014
- ^ Transport for London (2009). Casualties in Greater London during 2008 .
- ^ Transport for London (2011). Casualties in Greater London during 2009 and 2010 .
- ^ Transport for London (June 2012). Casualties in Greater London during 2011 .
- ^ Transport for London (June 2013). Casualties in Greater London during 2012 .
- ^ Transport for London (June 2014). Casualties in Greater London during 2013 .
- ^ Transport for London (June 2015). Casualties in Greater London during 2014 .
- ^ Transport for London (June 2016). Casualties in Greater London during 2015 .
- ^ Transport for London (September 2017). Casualties in Greater London during 2016 .
- ^ Transport for London (September 2018). Casualties in Greater London during 2017 .
- ↑ a b Transport for London (July 2019). Casualties in Greater London during 2018 .
- ↑ Airport Traffic Report 2017. (PDF) Retrieved on July 26, 2018 (English).