London Drum

Balham ⇄ Tottenham Court Rd Station

This journey is in zones 1-3 and it’s a direct train on the Northern line

  1. From Balham take the Northern Line
  2. Leave the train at Tottenham Court Road

Number of stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 22 mins

Stations on the route: Balham ➜ Clapham South ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham North ➜ Stockwell ➜ Oval ➜ Kennington ➜ Waterloo ➜ Embankment ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Tottenham Court Road

Live status and delays

Strikes and station closures

First and last train times

Northern line timetable

Alternative routes include Balham to Covent Garden, Balham to Leicester Square and Balham to Oxford Circus

Stairs, lifts and escalators

Balham is not wheelchair accessible

The Elizabeth and Northern lines at Tottenham Court Road are wheelchair accessible, and have step-free access from the street to the train. The Central line only has step-free access from the street to the platform, and there may be a step up or gap to the train

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)

Tottenham Court Road exit – There’s a lift between the entrance and the platforms. If you want to avoid the lift then you can use an escalator and one flight of 20 stairs from the Central line platforms to the booking hall, or two escalators and two flights of 9 and 14 stairs from the Northern line platforms, followed by two flights of stairs to the Tottenham Court Road/​New Oxford Street exit (2x19 steps up), or two flights to the Oxford Street exit (19 steps up +17 steps up), or three flights to the Andrew Borde Street exit (20 steps up +2x13 steps up), or three flights to the Centre Point exit (20 steps up +13 steps up +8 steps up), or four flights to the Centre Point Piazza exit (20 steps up +6 steps up +14 steps up +8 steps up), or four flights to the Charing Cross Road exit (10 steps up +13 steps up +8 steps up +9 steps up)

This journey is in zones 1-3 and it’s a direct train on the Northern line

  1. From Tottenham Court Road take the Northern Line
  2. Leave the train at Balham

Number of stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 22 mins

Stations on the route: Tottenham Court Road ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Charing Cross ➜ Embankment ➜ Waterloo ➜ Kennington ➜ Oval ➜ Stockwell ➜ Clapham North ➜ Clapham Common ➜ Clapham South ➜ Balham

Live status and delays

Strikes and station closures

First and last train times

Northern line timetable

Alternative routes include Tottenham Court Road to Covent Garden, Tottenham Court Road to Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road to Oxford Circus

Stairs, lifts and escalators

The Elizabeth and Northern lines at Tottenham Court Road are wheelchair accessible, and have step-free access from the street to the train. The Central line only has step-free access from the street to the platform, and there may be a step up or gap to the train

Balham has step-free access from the street to the platform (but there may be a step up or gap to the train)

Tottenham Court Road entrance – There’s a lift between the entrance and the platforms. If you want to avoid the lift then you can use two flights of stairs from the Tottenham Court Road/​New Oxford Street entrance (2x19 steps down), or two flights from the Oxford Street entrance (19 steps down +17 steps down), or three flights from the Andrew Borde Street entrance (2x13 steps down +20 steps down), or three flights from the Centre Point entrance (8 steps down +13 steps down +20 steps down), or four flights from the Centre Point Piazza entrance (8 steps down +14 steps down +6 steps down +20 steps down), or four flights from the Charing Cross Road entrance (9 steps down +8 steps down +13 steps down +10 steps down), followed by an escalator and one flight of 20 stairs down to the Central line platforms, or two escalators and two flights of 9 and 14 stairs down to the Northern line 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 ⇄ Tottenham Court Rd 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 ⇄ Tottenham Court Rd 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 on foot is about 5¼ miles, so we don’t recommend walking

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 5¼ miles journey should cost approximately £23 to £35.50 and take 23-37 minutes

By carParking near Tottenham Court Road station