The London Underground, or "The Tube" provides excellent transport connections across the city. Here is a quick guide to help visitors to London use the service.
Visitors to London look forward to travelling on the Tube with either excitement or trepidation. Some people believe that travelling on the maze of twelve lines that cross the capital is as much a part of a trip to London as watching the Changing of the Guard. Others regard the London Underground, to use its full name, with levels of contempt ranging from “necessary evil” to “absolute nightmare”.
Love it or loathe it, the Underground provides a vital service stretching from Central London to residential suburbs, roughly twelve miles in each direction. Taking the Tube for the first time can be a daunting experience but following a few simple guidelines will help.
Planning Your Journey
The world famous London Tube Map is widely available either on paper or online. The map shows different lines in varying colours, with interchange stations marked with joining circles.
Once you know your starting and destination station, plan a route with the fewest possible changes. This may not at times appear to be the shortest route but it will usually be easier and quicker. Try to plan changes at stations where only two lines meet, as larger stations can be confusing and involve a lot of walking.
With the exception of the Circle Line, all the lines run either from North to Southor from East to West Work out your direction of travel as station signs tend to direct you to the “Northbound Platform” or the “Southbound Platform”. The Circle Line runs “Clockwise” and “Anti-clockwise”, and catching the wrong train will result in a far longer ride than necessary.
Buying Your Ticket
You must have a valid ticket before you pass the ticket barrier. For pricing, the network divides into six zones. Zone 1 is Central London and the zone numbers then increase the further out you travel. Tickets for single journeys can be bought at either station ticket offices or automatic ticket machines, but if you intend making more than 3 or 4 journeys in a day a will save money. You can often buy these through your local travel agents or rail station before leaving home; they provide unlimited travel for a day, three days or a week in specified zones on the network.
At the time of writing, a daily off peak ticket covering zones 1 and 2 costs £5.10. A peak ticket allowing weekday travel before 9:30 costs £6.60.
Getting to the Platform
Go to the ticket barrier with your ticket. If there is a collector on duty, show your ticket and you are on your way. More often than not, an automatic barrier will face you; these have a slot for your ticket. Put your ticket, or Travelcardin the slot and the barrier will open. Your ticket will be returned to you, make sure you collect it as you will need it later.
Once through the barrier, direction signs will lead you to the platform. First look for signs for the line you want and follow those. In Central London, you will be invariably led down steps and escalators to the platform level. When you reach the platform level, the signs for your line will split to indicate the direction of travel. If you want a “Northbound” train follow the “Northbound” signs.
Boarding the Train
While waiting for the train stand well clear of the platform edge. The train will arrive and the doors open automatically. Simply head for the nearest door and, if you can, find yourself a seat. The morning and evening rush hours are usually very busy so try to avoid them. If you arrive on the platform and a train is at the station do not try to get on as the doors are closing. This is very dangerous and there will be another train in a few minutes.
Once on the train, each carriage has maps of the line, usually just above the windows. Check how many stops it is before you need to get off and mentally note the stop before yours. Keep an eye on the station names as you pass each stop.
Most, but not all, trains also announce the station names over a loudspeaker on the train.
Leaving the Station
When you arrive at your stop wait for the doors to open, then step on to the platform. The Way Out signs will be marked, but often there is more than one exit depending on where you want to go. If you are changing trains, look for the exit for your next line. If you have completed your journey, look for the exit to street level. For your security, try to do this without appearing lost. The Tube is generally a safe place but obvious strangers can be vulnerable.
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