London Drum

Balham ⇄ South Kensington Station

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

  1. From Balham take the Northern Line
  2. Change at Stockwell to the Victoria Line
  3. Change at Victoria to the District Line
  4. Leave the train at South Kensington

Number of stops: 9 · Journey time: Approx 39 mins

Stations on the route: Balham ➜ Clapham South ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham North ➜ Stockwell [change train] Stockwell ➜ Vauxhall ➜ Pimlico ➜ Victoria [change train] Victoria ➜ Sloane Square ➜ South Kensington

Live status and delays

Closures on the Northern, Victoria and District line

First and last train times

Northern line timetable

Alternative routes include Balham to Gloucester Road, Balham to Knightsbridge and Balham to Sloane Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators

Balham is not wheelchair accessible

South Kensington 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 Stockwell – Changing between the Northern northbound and Victoria northbound, or the Northern southbound and Victoria southbound, is on the level, but you must use stairs for all other platform changes

Changing trains at Victoria – You can use a lift when changing between the Circle/​District/​Victoria/​National Rail platforms

South Kensington exit – You must use two flights of stairs down from the Circle/​District line platforms to the booking hall (12 steps up +13 steps up), or use two escalators plus one flight of stairs from the Piccadilly line platforms (17 steps down to the eastbound, or 20 steps up to the westbound platform). After that you must use another two flights of stairs to the Pelham Street/​Thurloe Street exits (3 steps up +13 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the National History Museum exit (8 steps down +16 steps up +15 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the Science Museum exit (8 steps down +14 steps up +10 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the Ismaili Centre exit (8 steps down +2x14 steps up)

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

  1. From South Kensington take the District Line
  2. Change at Embankment to the Northern Line
  3. Leave the train at Balham

Number of stops: 13 · Journey time: Approx 38 mins

Stations on the route: South Kensington ➜ Sloane Square ➜ Victoria ➜ St. James’s Park ➜ Westminster ➜ Embankment [change train] Embankment ➜ Waterloo ➜ Kennington ➜ Oval ➜ Stockwell ➜ Clapham North ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham South ➜ Balham

Live status and delays

Closures on the District and Northern line

First and last train times

District line timetable

Alternative routes include South Kensington to Gloucester Road, South Kensington to Knightsbridge and South Kensington to Sloane Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators

South Kensington is not wheelchair accessible

Balham is not wheelchair accessible

South Kensington entrance – You must use two flights of stairs from the Pelham Street/​Thurloe Street entrances to the booking hall (13 steps down +3 steps down), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the National History Museum entrance (15 steps down +16 steps down +8 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the Science Museum entrance (10 steps down +14 steps down +8 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the Ismaili Centre entrance (2x14 steps down +8 steps up). After that you must use another two flights of stairs down to the Circle/​District line platforms (13 steps down +12 steps down), or use two escalators plus one flight of stairs to the Piccadilly line platforms (17 steps up to the eastbound, or 20 steps down to the westbound platform)

Changing trains at Embankment – You must use stairs when changing platforms

Changing trains at – You can use a lift when changing between the Circle/​District/​Victoria/​National Rail 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 ⇄ South Kensington 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 ⇄ South Kensington 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 – The distance is about 3¾ miles on foot, which would take about 80 minutes

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 – The 3¾ mile ride should cost you from £18 to £31 and take anything from 15 to 29 minutes

By carParking near South Kensington station