London Underground and more

Whether it's using the Piccadilly line from Heathrow to the centre of London, or taking the Stansted Express via Tottenham Hale and the Victoria line, or heading from Luton to St. Pancras and the array of lines at King's Cross St. Pancras, or a train into London Bridge to take the Jubilee line across the city, or landing at London City to take the Docklands Light Railway to meet the other options at Canning Town, chances are that any trip to London will involve using the London Underground and its friends.

So here's a little about it.

The London Underground is as iconic as black cabs, red buses, Big Ben, the red phone box and more - but at first glance the map can look like a complex mix of multi-coloured spaghetti.

​The first thing to note is that more than half of the Underground is actually above ground.  Secondly, there's quite a lot of rail in London that isn't the Underground, although it may well be operated by or on behalf of the same people - Transport for London. 

There are eleven lines and they all have their own colour to help you understand the maps.

Bakerloo - coloured BROWN, connecting Baker Street and Waterloo (hence the name), this line runs from Elephant and Castle to the south of the river, heading north then north-west to Harrow and Wealdstone.

Central - coloured RED, running through the centre of London to the north of the Thames, this line runs from Ealing Broadway in the west (not forgetting a branch that runs north-west to West Ruislip) then heads east and north-east, to terminate at Epping. 

Circle - coloured YELLOW, it circles the centre of London although has an extending section to Edgware Road.  In the north it more or less mirrors the Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines, to the south it more or less mirrors the District line. 

District - coloured GREEN, it runs from west to east somewhat south of the Central line, staying north of the river for much of its journey.  It has a number of branches with termini at Ealing Broadway in the east, Richmond in the southwest, Wimbledon in the southwest, Edgware Road west of the centre, and Upminster in the east.  There is also a part-time extension from Earl's Court to Kensington Olympia.

Hammersmith and City - coloured PINK, this line starts in Hammersmith in the west then runs east to the northern parts of the City of London, before then carrying on to Barking.

Jubilee - coloured SILVER/GREY, this line connects several places that seem odd companions, starting at Stanmore in the northwest and heading south to Waterloo before heading east through Docklands before a final turn to the north to Stratford.

Metropolitan - coloured MAROON, this line has four starting points to the north-west, Uxbridge, Amersham, Chesham and Watford.  It then runs south-east to the northern parts of central London before turning east and terminating at Aldgate.

Northern - coloured BLACK, this line starts far to the south at Morden, heading north before splitting at Kennington.  The two lines converge at Euston then split once more, with one heading to Edgware and the other to High Barnet.  The latter has a short spur line to Mill Hill East.

Piccadilly - coloured DARK BLUE, the line starts in two areas in the west.  In the north-west it begins at Uxbridge and heads south, and in the southwest it starts at Heathrow Terminal 5 (with a small loop for Heathrow Terminal 4) and heads east.  The two routes meet at Acton Town and the new single line heads east before turning north-east to go through the centre of London and head for Cockfosters.

Victoria - coloured LIGHT BLUE, the line starts south of the river at Brixton, heading north but to the west of the centre.  After reaching Victoria itself, it heads broadly north-east to terminate at Walthamstow Central.

Waterloo and City - coloured TURQUOISE, this line is rarely used by visitors, running from Waterloo to Bank in the City.

​As well as all of the above you will also find lots more on an Underground map. 

Docklands Light Railway - coloured TURQUOISE (although a darker shade than the Waterloo and City line), generally weaving through the former dock areas of London, with the business districts of Canary Wharf and London City Airport drawing people in.

Elizabeth line - coloured PURPLE, the line starts in the west at Heathrow and runs initially north from the airport towards Paddington.  It then turns east across the top of central London before turning south again towards the Docklands area.  In addition, a section runs west from Hayes and Harlington to Reading.

Heathrow Express - coloured with double BLUE lines, this is a dedicated fast line from Heathrow to London Paddington station.

Overground - coloured with double ORANGE lines, this is a collection of former routes under one heading, these trains connect suburban areas with a focus in north London and Hertfordshire.

And some other things you might see on the map, but are less likely to use.

Trams - coloured GREEN, these mostly serve Croydon and surrounds but do stretch to Wimbledon where they connect with the Underground.

Cable Car - coloured RED, this runs from one side of the Thames to the other between Royal Victoria and North Greenwich.

Cross Rail - coloured with dashed PURPLE lines.

Thames Link - coloured dashed PINK lines.

If you have any specific questions about the London Underground and the other routes please do ask - we've used it a lot!

For any rail tickets, we use Trainline and you can access their excellent site using the image below.

If you need more about any of London's main five airports, just click the relevant image below for our guide.