The journey from Balham to Covent Garden is in fare zones 1-3
- From Balham take the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Leicester Square and walk 5 mins to Covent Garden
Number of tube stops: 10 · Journey time: Approx 32 mins
Stations on the route: Balham ➜ Clapham South ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham North ➜ Stockwell ➜ Oval ➜ Kennington ➜ Waterloo ➜ Embankment ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Leicester Square [walk to] Covent Garden
London Underground tube delays
First and last train times on the Northern line
Tube times for the Northern line
Alternative routes include Balham to Leicester Square, Balham to Charing Cross and Balham to Holborn
Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms
Balham train station is not wheelchair accessible
Covent Garden station is not wheelchair accessible
Balham station entrance – You must use three flights of stairs between the Chestnut Grove entrance and the booking hall (7 steps down +14 steps down +11 steps down), or 5 steps down +14 steps down +11 steps down between the Balham High Road West entrance and the booking hall, or 21 steps down +10 steps down between the Balham High Road East entrance and the booking hall, plus another escalator or three flights of stairs from the booking hall to the platforms (2x3 steps down +16 steps down)
Leicester Square station exit – You must an escalator plus a flight of 20 stairs from the platforms to the booking hall. After that you must use two flights of stairs to the Cranbourn Street exit (13 steps up +18 steps up), or two flights of stairs to the Charing Cross Road eastside exit (13 steps up +10 steps up), or three flights of stairs to the Charing Cross Road westside exit (11 steps up +13 steps up +7 steps up)
The journey from Covent Garden to Balham is in fare zones 1-3 and it’s a direct train on the Northern tube line
- From Leicester Square take the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Balham
Number of tube stops: 10 · Journey time: Approx 21 mins
Stations on the route: Leicester Square ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Embankment ➜ Waterloo ➜ Kennington ➜ Oval ➜ Stockwell ➜ Clapham North ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham South ➜ Balham
London Underground tube delays
First and last train times on the Northern line
Tube times for the Northern line
Alternative routes include Leicester Square to Leicester Square, Leicester Square to Charing Cross and Leicester Square to Holborn
Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms
Leicester Square train station is not wheelchair accessible
Balham station is not wheelchair accessible
Leicester Square station entrance – You must use two flights of stairs from the Cranbourn Street entrance and the booking hall (18 steps down +13 steps down), or two flights of stairs from the Charing Cross Road eastside entrance (20 steps down +13 steps down), or three flights of stairs from the Charing Cross Road westside entrance (7 steps down +13 steps down +11 steps down). After that you must an escalator plus a flight of 20 stairs down to the platforms
Balham station exit – You must use an escalator or three flights of stairs from the platforms to the booking hall (16 steps up +2x3 steps up), plus another three flights of stairs between the booking hall and the Chestnut Grove exit (11 steps up +14 steps up +7 steps up), or 11 steps up +14 steps up +5 steps up between the booking hall and the Balham High Road West exit, or 10 steps up +21 steps up between the booking hall and the Balham High Road East exit
Tube fare between Balham and Covent Garden
This tube journey is in Oyster zones 1-3. The cheapest fare is £3 off-peak (£3.70 peak) when you pay by Oyster or contactless. There’s no return fare, you just pay the same as two single tickets
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless cards | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | |||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | ||
| Zone 1-3 fare | £6.70 | £3.70 | £3 | £10 | £10 |
| Fare Zone | Travelcards (Train, Bus & Tram) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One day travelcard | Week travelcard | Month travelcard | ||
| Anytime | Off-peak | |||
| Zone 1-4 travelcard | £15.90 | n/a | £61.40 | £235.80 |
| Zone 1-6 travelcard | £22.60 | £15.90 | £78 | £299 |
| Zone 1-9 travelcard | £28.50 | £17 | £111.30 | £427.40 |
| See our complete list of Adult tube fares, Senior tube fares, Child tube fares, Oyster fares, Contactless fares and Travelcard fares Note: Tube journey prices are correct as of | ||||
Peak and off-peak journey times
For Oyster and contactless off-peak is outside the hours of 6.30 AM-9.30 AM and 4 PM-7 PM (Mon-Fri). For travelcards it’s any time after 9.30 AM (Mon-Fri). Weekends are always classed as off-peak. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.
The fare is based on what time your journey begins. It doesn’t matter what time your journey ends.
Other ways to make this journey
Travel on foot – It’s around 5 miles to Balham, which is too far to walk
Travel by bus – Single fare: £1.75 (you may need more than one bus); Daily cap: £5.25; Weekly cap: £24.70; 1-day travelcard: £6; Weekly travelcard: £24.70 – Adult bus prices · Senior bus prices · Child bus prices
Travel by taxi – A five mile taxi ride between Leicester Square tube station and Balham station should cost between £23 and £35.50 and take about 21-35 mins depending on the traffic
Travel by car – Car parks near Leicester Square station