The journey from Balham to Great Portland Street is in fare zones 1-3 and you’ll have to use the Northern and Metropolitan tube lines, changing trains at Moorgate
- From Balham take the Northern Line
- Change at Moorgate to the Metropolitan Line
- Leave the train at Great Portland Street
Number of tube stops: 16 · Journey time: Approx 44 mins
Stations on the route: Balham ➜ Clapham South ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham North ➜ Stockwell ➜ Oval ➜ Kennington ➜ Elephant & Castle ➜ Borough ➜ London Bridge ➜ Bank ➜ Moorgate [change train] Moorgate ➜ Barbican ➜ Farringdon ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Euston Square ➜ Great Portland Street
London Underground tube delays
Strikes and closures on the Northern and Metropolitan
First and last train times on the Northern line
Tube times for the Northern line
Alternative routes include Balham to Regents Park, Balham to Warren Street and Balham to Goodge Street
Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms
Balham underground station is not wheelchair accessible
Great Portland Street 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)
Changing tube line at Moorgate – You must use an escalator when changing between the Circle/Metropolitan/H&C eastbound platforms and the Northern line. You must use stairs for all other platform changes
Great Portland Street station exit – You must use three flights of stairs between the westbound platform and the exit (6 steps up +16 steps up +19 steps up), and four flights from the eastbound platform (5 steps up +6 steps up +12 steps up +19 steps up)
The journey from Great Portland Street to Balham is in fare zones 1-3 and you’ll have to use the Metropolitan and Northern tube lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras
- From Great Portland Street take the Metropolitan Line
- Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Balham
Number of tube stops: 16 · Journey time: Approx 42 mins
Stations on the route: Great Portland Street ➜ Euston Square ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Angel ➜ Old Street ➜ Moorgate ➜ Bank ➜ London Bridge ➜ Borough ➜ Elephant & Castle ➜ Kennington ➜ Oval ➜ Stockwell ➜ Clapham North ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham South ➜ Balham
London Underground tube delays
Strikes and closures on the Metropolitan and Northern
First and last train times on the Metropolitan line
Tube times for the Metropolitan line
Alternative routes include Great Portland Street to Regents Park, Great Portland Street to Warren Street and Great Portland Street to Goodge Street
Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms
Great Portland Street train station is not wheelchair accessible
Balham station is not wheelchair accessible
Great Portland Street station entrance – You must use three flights of stairs between the entrance and the westbound platform (19 steps down +16 steps down +6 steps down), and four flights to the eastbound platform (19 steps down +12 steps down +6 steps down +5 steps down)
Changing tube line at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between 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 Great Portland Street
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 tickets, Senior tickets, Child tickets, 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 – We don’t recommend walking – the stations are 5¾ miles apart
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 fares · OAP bus fares · Kids bus fares
Travel by taxi – A 5¾ mile taxi fare between Great Portland Street station and Balham should cost you about £28 to £40 and will take anything from 26-39 mins depending on the traffic
Travel by car – Car parks near Great Portland Street station