London Underground Map 2026: Tube, Tickets & Fares

London Underground: What You Need to Know

• The Underground serves London with 11 lines and 272 stations; the Elizabeth line and London Overground are separate networks.
• For adults, a pay as you go journey across Zones 1-2 costs £3.60 (≈ $4.80) at peak times or £3.10 (≈ $4.13) off-peak. The daily cap is £8.90 (≈ $11.86).
• The Piccadilly line serves Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, 4 and 5. Allow about 50 minutes to reach central London.
• Five Underground lines run on Friday and Saturday nights, joined by the London Overground’s Windrush line between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate. The central Piccadilly line is scheduled for 24 trains per hour at peak times.

Current service updates

TfL shows the current status of the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR and Trams, as well as planned work and restrictions at stations and elevators. Check your route on TfL’s service status page before traveling.

The London Underground Map is available as a PDF download to help you navigate the Tube. Visitors may call this a London subway map, but signs in the city say Tube or Underground. You can also enlarge the Tube map above. This guide explains which lines serve major sights, how fares work and where to find current departure times. Use the map to compare stations and transfers before you travel.

The Metropolitan Railway was the world’s first underground railway. It opened to the public between Paddington and Farringdon on January 10, 1863. Today, Transport for London (TfL) operates the Underground as part of a wider transport network.

The 11 Tube lines serve 272 stations across roughly 402 km. By network length, the London Underground is smaller than the metro systems of Shanghai (more than 900 km) and Beijing (909 km). The Underground recorded 1.2 billion journeys in the 2025/26 financial year. Journeys are trips, not a count of individual passengers.

London’s lines have names rather than simple numbers. For comparison, see the line labels on the Barcelona Metro Map, Berlin Metro Map and Tokyo Subway Map. On the London Tube Map, colors and destination stations are useful guides.

The Elizabeth line has operated since 2022 and appears on the TfL map. Like London Overground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Trams, it is separate from the 11 Underground lines. The London Tube Map uses different colors for these systems, though the same TfL fare rules may apply to a journey. Check the exact route in the fare finder.

Since November 2024, the six Overground lines have been named Liberty, Lioness, Mildmay, Suffragette, Weaver and Windrush. The names help passengers navigate routes beyond central London. The embedded London Tube Map shows TfL’s September 2026 standard Tube map and names all six Overground lines. Use it for orientation, then check TfL for current routes and service status.

For a step-free journey, the TfL Journey Planner lets you avoid stairs and escalators and limit walking distance. TfL Go’s step-free mode also accounts for elevator disruptions. Check your chosen station shortly before traveling.

London Underground Lines at a Glance

The end points below describe branches, not necessarily through trains between every pair. Check the train’s destination on the platform.

• Bakerloo line (brown): Harrow & Wealdstone ↔ Elephant & Castle
• Central line (red): West Ruislip / Ealing Broadway ↔ Epping / Hainault
• Circle line (yellow): Hammersmith ↔ Edgware Road, with a loop through Zone 1
• District line (green): Upminster ↔ Richmond / Wimbledon / Ealing Broadway; other branches serve Edgware Road and Kensington (Olympia)
• Hammersmith & City line (pink): Hammersmith ↔ Barking
• Jubilee line (gray): Stanmore ↔ Stratford
• Metropolitan line (magenta): Aldgate ↔ Uxbridge / Watford / Amersham / Chesham
• Northern line (black): Morden / Battersea Power Station ↔ High Barnet / Edgware, with a branch to Mill Hill East
• Piccadilly line (dark blue): Cockfosters ↔ Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 / Terminal 4 / Terminal 5 or Uxbridge
• Victoria line (light blue): Walthamstow Central ↔ Brixton
• Waterloo & City line (mint green): Waterloo ↔ Bank

The Northern line has two central London branches via Bank and Charing Cross. The Central, District, Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines branch as well. A line name alone may not identify the right train. The London Underground Map shows the branches; the destination display tells you which train to board.

The Tube brings you close to Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye. For Tower Bridge, take the Circle or District line to Tower Hill; the ticket office is about a seven-minute walk away. Big Ben is a short walk from Westminster on the Circle, District and Jubilee lines. For the London Eye, walk about five minutes from Waterloo, served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines.

London recorded 20.9 million international and 15.1 million domestic overnight visits in 2024. These figures count visits, not unique visitors or day trips. For busy attractions, the final walk can matter more than choosing between two Tube lines. The London Tube Map shows the stations; the destinations table below gives eight specific stops and practical tips.

Choosing the right station also helps with other attractions. Reach the British Museum from Tottenham Court Road on the Central or Northern line; the museum estimates a five-minute walk. The main entrance is on Great Russell Street. For the Natural History Museum, use South Kensington on the Circle, District or Piccadilly line and walk about five minutes. Do not assume this station offers step-free access.

Buckingham Palace is roughly a ten-minute walk from Green Park, served by the Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. During the Changing of the Guard, the Palace operator recommends approaching from Victoria. St Paul’s Cathedral is about 270 m or three minutes from St Paul’s station on the Central line.

The Piccadilly line goes directly to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 in Zone 6. Allow about 50 minutes to reach central London; a pay as you go journey between Zone 1 and Heathrow on the Piccadilly line costs £5.90 (≈ $7.87). Terminal 4 is not on the through Night Tube branch. Check the train’s destination and your travel day.

The Elizabeth line serves the same three Heathrow stations and reaches central London in under 40 minutes; pay as you go between Zone 1 and Heathrow costs £15.50 (≈ $20.66). Heathrow Express runs from Paddington to Terminals 2 & 3 in 15 minutes and to Terminal 5 in about 21 minutes. A standard single costs £26.00 (≈ $34.66); advance tickets booked at least 30 days ahead start at £10.00 (≈ $13.33). Heathrow Express is excluded from normal TfL caps and Travelcards.

London’s other airports have different rail connections. Gatwick has a station at the South Terminal and a free shuttle to the North Terminal. Gatwick Express takes about 30 minutes to London Victoria, or about 35 minutes on Sundays. Thameslink also serves London Bridge, Farringdon and St Pancras. These routes do not have a single standard Tube fare.

Stansted Express departs from the station directly beneath the Stansted terminal and reaches Liverpool Street in about 48 minutes. Advance single tickets start at £9.90 (≈ $13.20), subject to availability. Oyster is not valid on this airport route; the airport lists contactless payment as an option.

For Luton Airport, take a train from St Pancras to Luton Airport Parkway, then the Luton DART to the terminal. The full trip can take as little as 32 minutes. Combined advance tickets to “Luton Airport” start at £10.00 (≈ $13.33), including DART. If you book only to Parkway, a separate adult DART ticket costs £4.90 (≈ $6.53).

London City Airport has its own DLR station beside the terminal in Zone 3. A direct journey to Bank station takes about 21 minutes. Check the price for your start, destination and time of travel in the TfL Single Fare Finder.

The London Tube Map shows the network. London Tube zones are numbered 1 to 9; the same fare zones also apply to other TfL rail services. Many central attractions are in Zones 1-2; Heathrow is on the Piccadilly line in Zone 6. The London Underground Map helps you choose zones. The actual fare depends on your route, direction, time and mode of transport. North Acton, for example, sits on the boundary of Zones 2 and 3; you cannot assume the cheaper zone applies to every journey.

Pay as you go (PAYG) works with Oyster, a contactless bank card or the same phone or watch. An adult Tube journey across Zones 1-2 costs £3.60 (≈ $4.80) at peak times and £3.10 (≈ $4.13) off-peak. TfL defines rail peak times as 6:30 AM to 9:29 AM and 4:00 PM to 6:59 PM on weekdays, excluding public holidays, with route-specific exceptions. Piccadilly journeys between Zone 1 and Heathrow are charged at the peak fare all day.

With Oyster or contactless, the daily cap limits eligible Zones 1-2 journeys to £8.90 (≈ $11.86) per TfL fare day. The weekly cap there is £44.70 (≈ $59.59) from Monday through Sunday. A fare day runs from 4:30 AM to 4:29 AM the following day. Always use the same card or device; Heathrow Express is outside the cap.

A Day Travelcard is a separate ticket, not PAYG. The Anytime version for Zones 1-4 costs £16.60 (≈ $22.13); a 7 Day Travelcard for Zones 1-2 costs £44.70 (≈ $59.59), and a Monthly Travelcard costs £171.70 (≈ $228.89). A Travelcard covers rail travel in the zones purchased and London buses throughout Greater London, regardless of those rail zones. Paper single tickets are another separate ticket type.

You can buy paper single tickets at station machines. For PAYG rail travel, touch your Oyster or contactless card on the yellow reader when entering and use the same card when leaving, even if the gates are open. On buses and trams, touch in only. Travelcards and Oyster are sold through official TfL channels; a Visitor Oyster must be ordered before your trip.

A Visitor Oyster card costs £10.50 (≈ $14.00) before adding credit and any shipping charge; the card fee is non-refundable. It does not discount every journey. Up to four children under 11 can travel free with a fare-paying adult on the Tube, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line. For ages 11-15, options include a Zip Oyster or the Young Visitor Discount on a Visitor Oyster for up to 14 days.

A worked example shows why the ticket types should stay separate. Three eligible off-peak journeys across Zones 1-2 at £3.10 (≈ $4.13) each would total £9.30 (≈ $12.40). If they are recorded using the same payment method, the daily cap applies first at £8.90 (≈ $11.86); the third journey then costs £2.70 (≈ $3.60). A Day Travelcard for Zones 1-4 costs £16.60 (≈ $22.13). This example excludes special fares and other zones and is not a universal comparison for every route.

A Travelcard can also reduce the fare on some river bus journeys. The current operator is Uber Boat by Thames Clippers; those trips do not count toward the standard TfL cap. The former Emirates Air Line is now called the IFS Cloud Cable Car. The cable car has a separate fare; a Travelcard does not provide a blanket discount.

The first and last Underground trains vary by line, station, direction and day of the week. Treating 5:30 AM to 12:30 AM as a network-wide schedule would be misleading. TfL publishes first and last Tube trains and line-specific departures. For example, the Bakerloo timetable shows a weekday train leaving Waterloo toward Oxford Circus at 5:50 AM and arriving at 5:56 AM. That is not a network-wide start time.

Frequency also varies by section and time. TfL schedules 24 trains per hour on the central Piccadilly line at peak times, or about one every 2.5 minutes. Intervals differ on outer branches and late in the evening. The London Tube Map shows routes, not departure minutes. For a last train, airport connection or specific transfer, use the timetable for that line.

Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights on sections of the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. The London Overground’s Windrush line also runs overnight between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate. This does not mean every Tube line or branch operates all night. Additional Night Tube lines announced for 2021 are not part of the current official service.

Night buses serve other times and routes. Some carry an N before the number, such as N20; others run around the clock under their regular number, such as 12, 14 or 24. Check the stop and overnight route in the Journey Planner: buses and the Tube do not serve the same stations. Weekend Night Tube departures also vary by station and line.

Timetables for all 11 London Underground lines: Bakerloo line, Central line, Circle line, District line, Hammersmith & City line, Jubilee line, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line, Victoria line, Waterloo & City line. Each TfL page lets you choose the station and travel day for that line.

The Northern line was extended from Kennington via Nine Elms to Battersea Power Station on September 20, 2021. Battersea Power Station is therefore an active station, not a future project.

TfL also plans a Bakerloo extension to Lewisham via Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate. It still lacks a secure funding package and has no confirmed opening date. Do not plan a journey on that proposed route as if it were already operating.

New Piccadilly line trains are due to enter service between December 2026 and June 2027. TfL expects them to support more trains in the central section later; the current scheduled figure remains 24 trains per hour. Replacing the fleet does not create another Tube line.

Fun Fact: “Mind the gap” was introduced in 1968 as a warning about the space between train and platform. The phrase has become part of London’s street culture and appears on T-shirts, hoodies and caps. The German band Scooter released an album titled “Mind The Gap” in 2004.