How to Use the Iconic London Underground AKA the Tube

Understanding the Underground System

The London Underground, or the "tube" as we Londoners call it, is an amazing mode of transportation and is the most revered system in the world. It allows you to get just about anywhere in the city much more efficiently than taking a taxi. While it is the easiest way to get around, you may be a bit intimidated by the process, but I promise it's easy to master! Read below for my introduction and guide on how to use the London Underground.

Click here for a full map of the full underground system

Let's start with a basic overview of the tube system. You have

• Piccadilly

• District

• Hammersmith & City

• Northern

• Central

• Elizabeth

• Jubilee

• Victoria

• Bakerloo

• Circle

• Overground

That's a lot, but the main lines that you will likely use during your visit are:

• Piccadilly

  • Goes diagonally across the city from Heathrow up through King's Cross and hits most of your central locations through SoHo

• District

  • Goes horizontally across the lower part of central London hitting Chelsea, Embankment (good to walk into Covent Garden from here), City of London, all the way over to Tower Bridge

• Central

  • Goes horizontally across the upper part of central London hitting Notting Hill, Oxford Street, all the way through the British Museum

• Northern

  • Goes vertically through central London from Tooting through Embankment up to Camden and Hampstead Heath. It is important to note that there are two branches of the Northern line that do not connect, so make sure you know if you're on the east branch or west branch

• Jubilee

  • Goes in a U-shape through the city and is good for hitting Stratford, Greenwich, Canary Wharf, London Bridge, and then heading up through Oxford Street

• Victoria

  • Goes diagonally through central London up to King's Cross and Finsbury Park

• Elizabeth

  • Also goes horizontally across the upper part of central London but starting from Heathrow, going to Paddington, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court all the way through the British Museum

How to Actually Use the Tube

The easiest way to plan your journey is by using GoogleMaps or CityMapper which will give you instructions to find the closest station, providing the train lines to use, and even showing you which platform to go to. However, even with the best navigational support, it's still good to understand how to get yourself around using the tube. Here's a step by step of how to do it:

1. Step 1: Go to the nearest station. You'll always be able to spot the famous tube sign from the street with its red circle and blue stripe through it

2. Step 2: Tap your credit card, ApplePay, or GooglePay to get through the turnstile

3. Step 3: Find the map posted on the wall (it's helpful if you know directionally if you're going East/West or North/South so that you can narrow down which sign you want to look at)

4. Step 4: Find the station name on the map that is your desired destination and follow directions to the platform servicing that stop

5. Step 5: Get on the train that has your stop on its route

   1. This takes a bit more of an explanation, so let's walk through this. When you find the tube map, you want to see if it is a straight line to your destination or if it has branches (images below). If the tube map has branches, this is where you will want to pay attention. Find which branch your stop is on and remember this. Now, when the train comes to the platform, it will have the destination name on it. Alternatively, the digital sign on the platform shows which trains are coming through and will have a stop name on them. For example, the train coming through is for "Heathrow T1, T2, T3". This means that the train is going to terminate at Heathrow. This is important to note because you want to make sure you get on a train that has the destination further than your stop. So if you look at the map below, if you are trying to go to Rayners Lane, you want to make sure that the train you get on is going to Uxbridge or any stop between Rayners Lane through Uxbridge. Similarly, if you were trying to go to Heathrow, make sure you don't get onto the Uxbridge train.

Sometimes, the train name will not list the final stop on the map as the final destination, so just make sure that your destination is one of the stops before the train's final destination.

As I mentioned, if the map is a straight line without any branches, then it's more straightforward and you can likely get on any train. If the train is not going to terminate at or past your stop, then you can always take it as far as you can and then wait for the next train at that station. For example, if you get on the train and it's only going to Arnos Grove (map below), but you are trying to get to Cockfosters, you can take the train to Arnos Grove, get off and wait for a Cockfosters train to come through and take you the rest of the way.

Junctions & Switching Lines

An incredibly important part of understanding the train lines is knowing where they all connect to each other. This will allow you to navigate when your cell service decides to quit on you underground (as it often does). On the train, you will find the trainline maps on the walls above the seats. Here, you will see that under some stops there are colored bands with names of the other train lines. This means that at that stop, you can catch the other line listed. For example, in the image above, if you are heading East starting at Gloucester Road, and you need to go North to King's Cross St. Pancras, you can go to Victoria and switch to the Victoria line (the turquoise blue ribbon under the Victoria stop).

Click here for an example of the full District Line map

And with that, you should be able to navigate yourself on the Tube! And if you're ever in doubt, the TFL (Transport for London) staff are always willing to help you find your way.

Happy tubing!

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