London, it was once remarked by W. M. Thackeray, of “Vanity Fair” fame, was a most delightful spot in which to live if only for the pleasure to be derived from getting out of the city. Since Thackeray's day the lure of London Town has proved an irresistible bait for millions of folk drawn from all corners of the globe. To-day the enormous daily movement of passengers between city and suburbs gives evidence alike of the lure of the great modern Babylon, and the contrasting appeal of the surrounding countryside.

Recent official statistics show that since the war the volume of passenger traffic handled by the railways, omnibuses and electric tramways in the area known as “Greater London” has increased by sixty-three per cent. By the railways there were carried in 1913 some 725 million passengers, while last year the corresponding figure was 1,049 millions, an increase of forty-five per cent. To deal with this enormous business, there are upwards of 600 passenger stations, of which about 140 are underground depots. In Greater London the length of passenger lines is 700 miles, or a little more than the distance from London to Land's End, in Cornwall, and back again.

At London's main line termini special preparations are proceeding to meet the season's passenger rush. Most of the city stations of the trunk lines are situated in a ring some distance out of the city proper. To the north lie the King's Cross and Marylebone depots of the London and North Eastern Company, with the London, Midland and Scottish Company's St. Pancras and Euston stations sandwiched in between. It is to and from these points that the through trains connecting London with the north are operated, and competition between the various routes is especially keen.

The Paddington station of the Great Western line is situated in the heart of the aristocratic West End; while at the extreme opposite end of the city is the Liverpool Street terminal of the London and North Eastern, handling the densest suburban business of any London station. In the heart of the metropolis is the Charing Cross terminal of the Southern, and a little further removed are the Waterloo, Victoria, and London Bridge stations of the same line.