London Drum

Old Street ⇄ South Kensington Station

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

  1. From Old Street take the Northern Line
  2. Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Piccadilly Line
  3. Leave the train at South Kensington

Number of stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 32 mins

Stations on the route: Old Street ➜ Angel ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Russell Square ➜ Holborn ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Piccadilly Circus ➜ Green Park ➜ Hyde Park Corner ➜ Knightsbridge ➜ South Kensington

Live status and delays

Closures on the Northern and Piccadilly line

First and last train times

Northern line timetable

Alternative routes include Old Street to Gloucester Road, Old Street to Knightsbridge and Old Street to Sloane Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators

Old Street is not wheelchair accessible

South Kensington is not wheelchair accessible

Old Street entrance – You must use one flight of stairs between Old Street’s northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest entrances and the booking hall (8 steps down), or two flights of stairs from the City Road entrances (2x11 steps from the southwest entrance, or 2x12 steps from the northwest, northeast and southeast entrances). After that you must an escalator (or seven flights of 9, 10, 6x15 steps down) plus another four flights of stairs (16 steps down +15 steps down +18 steps down +17 steps down)

Changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the 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 zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Piccadilly and Northern lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras

  1. From South Kensington take the Piccadilly Line
  2. Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Northern Line
  3. Leave the train at Old Street

Number of stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 30 mins

Stations on the route: South Kensington ➜ Knightsbridge ➜ Hyde Park Corner ➜ Green Park ➜ Piccadilly Circus ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Holborn ➜ Russell Square ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Angel ➜ Old Street

Live status and delays

Closures on the Piccadilly and Northern line

First and last train times

Piccadilly 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

Old Street 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 King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms

Old Street exit – You must an escalator (or seven flights of 6x15, 10, 9 steps) plus four flights of stairs from the platforms to the booking hall (17 steps up +18 steps up +15 steps up +16 steps up). After that you must use another flight of stairs to Old Street’s northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest exits (8 steps up), or two flights of stairs to the City Road exits (2x11 steps to the southwest exit, or 2x12 steps to the northwest, northeast and southeast exits)

Cash, Oyster & Travelcard fares

The journey is in zone 1. The cheapest fare is £2.70 off-peak (£2.80 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 Old Street ⇄ South Kensington Station
Fare zone Cash Oyster & Contactless cards
Single fare Single fare Daily cap
Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak
Zone 1 fare £6.70 £2.80 £2.70 £8.50 £8.50
Travelcard prices from Old Street ⇄ South Kensington Station
Fare Zone Travelcards (Train, Bus & Tram)
One day travel­card Week travel­card Month travel­card
Anytime Off-peak
Zone 1-2 travelcard n/a n/a £42.70 £164
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 4⅓ miles on foot, which is too far to walk

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 4⅓ mile journey will take 18-33 minutes and cost from £23 and £35.50

By carParking near Old Street station