How to travel between Paddington and other London stations

These guides on how to travel between Paddington and the other London stations are focused on, or at least include, the easiest routes - so that the simpler alternatives when travelling with heavy luggage or with young children etc can be followed.

Also note the advice for travel to a station from Paddington can vary from that on how to access Paddington from another station, for multiple reasons including the availability of lifts (elevators) in various locations and the access to and from bus stops.

At weekends the Underground lines and both the Elizabeth line and Thameslink trains can be impacted by construction work, those affecting the Underground and Elizabeth line trains can be looked up here, while those impacting the Thameslink trains, can be found here.

All of the ticket gates at central London stations have 'readers' which enable contactless payment.

Regardless of whether you are resident in the UK, or are visiting, there are three methods of using Contactless:

1. A payment app on a mobile device, including your bank's contactless payment app, or the likes of Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay.
2. A debit / credit card as long as it has the contactless symbol
3. An Oyster card (you touch in and out as you do when using Contactless).

Good to know about using Contactless

• The system works by touching in and out.
• When using bank cards, take care to use the same card when touching out at the end of a journey, as you did when touching in at the start.
• You have to pay with Contactless on the regular red buses, you cannot pay with cash.
• When travelling by the Underground or Elizabeth line, you can save 10 - 20p per journey by paying with a banking app / card instead of an Oyster card.
• Making a Contactless payment is cheaper than buying a ticket from a station counter or machine - the price difference is usually at least 50%!

More info is available on the general London by train guide.

The trains to the other London stations use three separate parts of Paddington station.

1. The Elizabeth line station is right beside the main station building, parallel to platform 1.
   The platforms in the Elizabeth line station can be accessed by lifts (elevators) and escalators.

2. The Circle line via Victoria trains which travel along the north bank of the River Thames and the 'tube trains' of The Bakerloo line, which travel across the western side of central London, can both be accessed from the Underground station, which is by the main concourse.
   Though the access to the Bakerloo line is by escalator, there is no lift (elevator) down to the trains.
   The route to the eastbound Circle line via Victoria, which are the trains towards The Thames, is solely by stairs, there is a footbridge within the station; it's painted red as seen in the image above.

3. The trains which travel along the northern edge of central London, the Circle via King's Cross and the Hammersmith & City lines, use a separate Underground station which is at the other end of the station, adjacent to platforms 12 and 14.
   In this Underground station a lift (elevator) is available between the ticket hall and the trains, but the route to this station which avoids stairs, is the long way round.

From the main concourse you need to head to the passage way which also leads to the taxi rank.

At the end of this passage way there are escalators, which are pictured above, and lifts (elevators) up to the taxi rank.

Head up to the taxi rank because the pathway which leads to this Underground station, is over to the left of the taxis.

The short-cut route to this Underground station is to use the staircases that are by the rear of the trains which arrive at platforms 1 to 10, each pair of platforms has its own separate staircase.

The notes on how to reach each station below will include which part of the station you'll need to head to in order to take the optimum onward train.

The Bakerloo line of the Underground provides a direct link from Paddington to Charing Cross.
It can be directly accessed from the main concourse.

Note that when heading to Paddington, the suggestion is to take a combination of Jubilee and Bakerloo lines via from Waterloo (East), but as no seat reservations are available on the trains which depart from Charing Cross, it's best to head there in order to board a train.
All trains from Charing Cross will call at London Bridge, but by the time they arrive there, spare seats will be harder to find.

If you'll be arriving on a long-distance train, take the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Tottenham Court Road and then connect there for the northbound Northern line
There are four advantages of this route:

1. The long-distance trains will all arrive at platforms linked to the main concourse at Paddington and the entrance to the Elizabeth line is just to the right of the concourse; through these arches.

2. It avoids having to use any staircases at Paddington, because escalators and a lift (elevator) are available down to the Elizabeth line.

3. Escalators and lifts (elevators) are available at Tottenham Court Road, the transfer point will be by the front of the trains.

4. At Euston you will only need to take a short flight of stairs which lead up to the escalator to the Underground ticket hall - on the other side of the Underground station ticket gates, there are escalators up to the main station, but there are also lifts over to the right-hand side

What looks like a simpler route from Paddington to Euston is taking an eastbound Circle or Hammersmith & City line train to Euston Square, but the two negatives of this option are:

1. The shortest route at Paddington from the long-distance trains to the Underground station that these two lines use, involves ascending a flight of stairs.
2. Euston Square is also a 3-5 minute walk to Euston station and the exit from the eastbound platform at Euston Square is solely by stairs.
   However, some of the non-express trains to Paddington arrive at its platforms 12 and 14 and these are adjacent to the Underground station that the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines use.

Or for a step-free direct route, which also avoids any escalators, take bus route/line 205 from stop E
It's easily located if you head towards the Elizabeth line station as it is adjacent to Eastbourne Terrace, the road on which the bus stop is located.
Head towards the lift (elevator), which is behind the escalators, but instead of heading down into the Elizabeth line station, go up to street level and the lift doors will open right by the bus stop.

At Euston, the bus, which will be heading to Bow Church, will stop in the bus station directly in front of the rail station.

These stations share the same Underground station.

If you don't have luggage
The easiest connection from Paddington to both King's Cross and St Pancras stations, is to take the direct link provided by the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines of the Underground.

If you do have luggage
A new step-free route to King's Cross and St Pancras from Paddington has been provided, the first stage of which involves taking an eastbound Elizabeth line train to Farringdon, from where the northbound Thameslink trains make a one-stop hop on to St Pancras.
For King's Cross, on exiting the Thameslink station in St Pancras, turn left and then go straight ahead, towards the exit on the far side of the building.

This exit from St Pancras International on Pancras Road is literally across the street from King's Cross station.

In Farringdon station an escalator provides a direct link from the Elizabeth line to the northbound Thameslink trains.

When you step off the top of the escalator the northbound Thameslink platform will be straight ahead, just over to the left-hand side: or you can take a combination of two lifts.

The escalators down to the Elizabeth line ticket hall will then be steps away over to the right.

For the elevator access, walk to the right of the escalators and then you'll see the elevator over to the left.

Taking the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Liverpool Street is around 15 mins quicker than taking the Underground, plus the transfers from and to the trains are easier than taking the Underground.

Though if you will be travelling on to the likes of Ipswich, Norwich and Southend, now that the Elizabeth line trains towards Shenfield are calling at Stratford (for the attractions in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) making the transfer there will be easier than at Liverpool Street.

The Elizabeth line entrance is by platform 1, so when arriving by train at any other platform go straight ahead on to the main concourse and then when you reach it turn to the right and go through the arches pictured below.

The typically quickest route from Paddington to London Bridge is to take the Bakerloo Line to Baker Street, where a short walk through a passage way connects to the eastbound Jubilee Line.

Though if you will be travelling with luggage etc, the easier route is to take the Elizabeth line to Farringdon where an lift (elevator) is now available to the southbound Thameslink trains; and there will typically be twelve departures per hour from Farringdon on to London Bridge.

Then at London Bridge an elevator/lift will link the Thameslink platform to the main concourse, from where all departures have step-free access.

Though the Thameslink trains go direct from Farringdon to numerous destinations including Greenwich, Brighton and Gatwick Airport

The opening of the Elizabeth Line hasn't impacted on the route from Paddington to Victoria station, so the only direct rail link is by taking the Circle line.

Though due to the lack of step-free access to the part of the Underground station that the eastbound Circle line trains use and the typical 12 min interval between trains, it can be easier to take a bus on line, route 36 instead.
The bus which will be heading towards New Cross will leave from stop E

It's easily located if you head towards the Elizabeth line station as it is adjacent to Eastbourne Terrace, the road on which the bus stop is located.
Head towards the lift (elevator), which is behind the escalators which head down into the Elizabeth line station, go up and the elevator will exit right by the bus stop.

The Bakerloo line of the Underground provides a direct link from Paddington to Waterloo station, take any southbound train

The trains from the other London stations use three separate parts of Paddington station:

1. The Elizabeth line station is right beside the main station building, parallel to platform 1.
   The exit from the Elizabeth line station can be accessed by lifts (elevators) and escalators.

When you have exited from the lift or the escalator, the access to the main concourse will be over to the left.
![Go through these exits from the Elizabeth line station and the main concourse at Paddington is directly ahead]

2. The Circle line via Victoria trains which travel along the north bank of the River Thames and the Bakerloo line tube trains which travel across the western side of central London, both arrive at an Underground station, which is by the main concourse.

The access from the Bakerloo line is by escalator, there is no lift (elevator) up from the trains.
However, the access from the Circle line trains, which use this part of the Underground station, to the main concourse is step-free, the trains arrive at a platform right beside the ticket-hall and a very short escalator links the ticket hall to the main concourse.

3. The trains which travel along the northern edge of central London, the Circle via King's Cross and the Hammersmith & City lines, use a separate Underground station which is at the other end of the station, adjacent to platforms 12 and 14.
   In this Underground station a lift (elevator) is available between trains and the ticket hall and, but the route to the main concourse which avoids stairs, is the long way round.

To access the lifts (elevators) and escalators, which provide the access to the main concourse, you need to head to the other side of the taxi rank.

The short-cut route to the trains is to head to the right by that sign and then use the sets of staircases that lead down to the trains.

The notes on how to reach each station below will include which part of the station you'll need to head to in order to take the optimum onward train.

The Bakerloo line is particularly distant from the entrance/ticket hall of Charing Cross underground station, because the Bakerloo line station was originally entirely separate.
So the transfer at Charing Cross between stepping off a mainline train and being on the Bakerloo platform takes around five minutes.

So if you will be heading to Paddington, the recommended option is to connect into the northbound Jubilee line at Waterloo East station instead.

All trains heading to Charing Cross will call at Waterloo East and the elevator access, by the rear of the trains, leads down to Southwark station of the Jubilee line.

Then at Baker Street station, a simple as can be level connection is available to northbound Bakerloo line trains.

Making this connection into the Jubilee line, using a combination of Waterloo East and Southwark stations, is also simpler than making the connection into the Jubilee line at London Bridge.

If you don't have luggage etc so walking across city streets and descending staircases won't be an issue, the easiest option for a Euston to Paddington transfer is to take any westbound Circle or Hammersmith and City line train from Euston Square station, the train will be heading to Hammersmith.
An elevator is available to the westbound trains at Euston Square, but you need to cross to the other side of Euston Road, but on arrival at Paddington, by far the quickest route to the trains is by using stairs.

If you do have heavy luggage:
The first stage of the alternative route is to take a southbound Northern line train on the route 'via Charing Cross' to Tottenham Court Road.
Though a short flight of stairs leads to the southbound Northern Line platform - then at Tottenham Court Road station a lift (elevator) goes to the westbound Elizabeth line.
At Paddington both lifts (elevators) and escalators are available for the transfer up from the Elizabeth line.

Also take this route if you'll want or need to make use of the facilities in Paddington station, such as its food/drink outlets or the ticket office.

If you don't have heavy luggage:
Head to the the part of the Underground station at King's Cross and St Pancras used by both the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines and take an eastbound train to Paddington, these trains will be heading to Hammersmith.
These Underground lines can be accessed by lift (elevator), but in St Pancras, if you arrive by the EMR or Southeastern trains, the access to them is at the opposite end of the station

Then at Paddington, the Underground station used by these lines, is some distance from the main concourse, where most of the station facilities at Paddington are located.
Also the short-cut route from Circle and Hammersmith & City lines to all of the main line departures from Paddington, involves walking down staircases, one of which is pictured below.

If you do have heavy luggage

This route involves a transfer but the step-free access to and from the mainline trains is shorter at all stations in comparison to the transfer from and to the Circle and the Hammersmith & City line trains,

(1) From King's Cross:

• Use the exit from King's Cross on to Pancras Road, which leads off from the main concourse on the opposite side to the departure boards, you'll then see the entrance to St Pancras just across the street.

• Once you have entered St Pancras International go straight ahead and you will then see the entrance to the part of the station, used by Thameslink trains, over to the right, on the other side of a ticket desk.

(2) From St Pancras:
Elevators and relatively short escalators are available down to the platform/track used by the southbound Thameslink trains, which is platform A.

Up to 16 trains per hour now depart from platform A for a one station hop to Farringdon and at that station, on the southbound platform, there are lifts / elevators down to the Elizabeth line.

They are by the front of the trains; the signs above the lift doors state that they go to the exit, but they do also go to the Elizabeth line.

All westbound Elizabeth line trains will go to Paddington where the Elizabeth line is adjacent to the main concourse and both lifts and escalators are available up to the main station.

Go direct from Liverpool Street to Paddington on a westbound Elizabeth line train.

The Elizabeth line can be accessed through the Underground ticket hall which is opposite platforms 3 to 6.
The primary access from the main concourse into this Underground ticket hall is by using a short flight of stairs, but an elevator is also available to the left of these stairs.

On the other side of the ticket barriers the access to the Elizabeth line is a short walk away through a passage way over to the right, an escalator and a lift (elevator) lead down to the trains.

Though if your train to London will be calling at Stratford, then connecting there into the Elizabeth line will be easier than at Liverpool Street, by the front of the trains there are lifts on each of the platforms at Stratford.

On arrival at Paddington a lift (elevator) and escalators lead to an area which is immediately beside the station.

The main concourse will then just be steps away through the three gaps in the wall, which will be over to the left

(1) If you are happy to use escalators and squeeze on to tube trains, then typically the quickest route from London Bridge to Paddington is to take the northbound Jubilee line to Baker Street, because at that station a simple cross-platform transfer is available with northbound Bakerloo line trains which call at Paddington.

(2) Though an easier option, particularly if you have luggage etc is to head for platform 5 to take a Thameslink train to Farringdon, where elevators and escalators provide a link to the westbound Elizabeth line.
At Paddington yet more lifts/elevators and escalators link the Elizabeth line to the main concourse, so the access to the onward trains is easier than when taking the Bakerloo line.
And if a Thameslink departure is due within the next 3-5 mins, it can be quicker than taking the Underground.

Westbound Circle line, trains heading towards Edgware Road are scheduled to depart every 12 mins from Victoria, but the waiting time can be longer.
Though a tick in the box is that at Paddington station, making the transfer to the main concourse from the part of the station that these Circle line trains arrive at, couldn’t be easier.

The northbound Bakerloo line trains go direct to Paddington station from Waterloo.

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