London Drum

Balham ⇄ Great Portland St Station

This journey is in zones 1-3 and you’ll have to use the Northern and Metropolitan lines, changing trains at Moorgate

  1. From Balham take the Northern Line
  2. Change at Moorgate to the Metropolitan Line
  3. Leave the train at Great Portland Street

Number of 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

Live status and delays

Closures on the Northern and Metropolitan line

First and last train times

Northern line timetable

Alternative routes include Balham to Regents Park, Balham to Warren Street and Balham to Goodge Street

Stairs, lifts and escalators

Balham is not wheelchair accessible

Great Portland Street is not wheelchair accessible

Balham 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 trains 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 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)

This journey is in zones 1-3 and you’ll have to use the Metropolitan and Northern lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras

  1. From Great Portland Street take the Metropolitan Line
  2. Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Northern Line
  3. Leave the train at Balham

Number of 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

Live status and delays

Closures on the Metropolitan and Northern line

First and last train times

Metropolitan line timetable

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

Great Portland Street is not wheelchair accessible

Balham is not wheelchair accessible

Great Portland Street 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 trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms

Balham 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

Cash, Oyster & Travelcard fares

The journey is in zones 1-3. The cheapest fare is £3 off-peak (£3.70 peak) when you pay by Oyster or contactless. There are no return tickets, you just pay the same as two singles

Cost of tube fare from Balham ⇄ Great Portland St Station
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
Travelcard prices from Balham ⇄ Great Portland St Station
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
Note: Ticket prices are correct as of

Peak and off-peak 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.

The fare is based on what time your journey begins. It doesn’t matter when it ends.

Alternative ways to travel

Walking – We don’t recommend walking as they are 5¾ miles apart

By bus – A single ticket is £1.75 (you may need more than one bus). The daily cap is £5.25 and a 1-day travelcard is £6 – Bus fares

By taxi – A 5¾ mile ride should cost you about £28 to £40 and take anything from 26-39 minutes

By carParking near Great Portland Street station