How to travel between Victoria and other stations in central London

The guides on how to travel between Victoria station 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 Victoria can vary from that on how to access Victoria 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.

What aren't included below are guides to how to travel to and from the other stations in central London, which are primarily also used by trains which travel between destinations to the south of the city and the capital.
This is because the the easiest means of accessing a different central London terminus when on a train to Victoria, is usually by making a connection at an interchange station in South London, Surrey or Kent:

• Ashford International for London Bridge, Waterloo and Charing Cross
• Clapham Junction for Waterloo
• Bromley South and Herne Hill for Blackfriars
• East Croydon or Gatwick Airport for London Bridge; connect at London Bridge for Cannon Street and Charing Cross
• Rochester for London Bridge; connect at London Bridge for Charing Cross and Waterloo.

Victoria railway station is served by the Circle, District and Victoria lines, but the Victoria is the sole tube line at the station to/from the heart of the city, hence it being the Underground's busiest line.
So Victoria is a location when taking a bus can be a good option, particularly if you have luggage, pushcairs/strollers, young children etc, with you.

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 entrance to the Underground station in Victoria is right in front of the station, by the taxi rank, there is now a lift (elevator) down into its ticket hall, you don't have to use the staircases.

In the newly enlarged ticket hall, you can't miss the escalators which lead down to the Victoria line as they are just off to the right, though a lift (elevator) is available which provides an alternative route to the trains.

The access to the Circle and District lines is through the passage way over to the left.
In this other entrance hall above these two lines, lifts (elevators) are available to each of the platforms, eastbound and westbound, but because these are sub-surface lines, which are not that far below street level, the only other access to these trains is by using short staircases.

The bus station at Victoria station, pictured at the top of the page, is impossible to miss, as it's directly ahead on the other side of the taxi rank.
Though most of the buses which serve the station, depart from other stops on the surrounding streets.

These three stations; Euston and King's Cross and St Pancras
are all linked from Victoria station by the northbound Victoria line.
Though if time is on your side, you can avoid travelling on some of London’s most crowded Underground trains, by taking the bus instead.

Bus line/route 390 goes from Victoria to Euston and King's Cross and St Panrcas and it leaves from stop C in the bus bays right in front of the rail station.

It then stops in the bus station just in front of Euston station; and then goes on to stop on the same blocks as both St Pancras station and then King's Cross station, so no crossing over streets is required.

Eastbound Circle line trains go direct to Liverpool Street from Victoria, but if you're in a hurry, you can usually save 10 - 15 mins by taking a northbound Victoria line train to Oxford Circus, then connecting there for an eastbound Central line train.

That route via Oxford Circus also avoids having to the use flights of stairs which connect the Circle line to the exit from the Underground at Liverpool Street.

The 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 eastbound Circle Line train from Liverpool Street is direct to Victoria station, but it's a comparatively slow twelve stop journey and the trains are comparatively infrequent, you can wait for more than 15 minutes.
Though it's a comparatively easy journey if you have luggage etc, the access to the eastbound Circle line is adjacent to the entrance to the Underground station in Liverpool Street and lift (elevator) is available at Victoria.
Though if you don't mind using escalators and squeezing on to tube trains, the quicker alternative is take a westbound Central line train to Oxford Circus to connect there for a southbound Victoria line train.

Also if your train towards London calls at Seven Sisters or Tottenham Hale stations, the better option is to connect into the southbound Victoria line at those stations instead.

However, if time is in your side, board London's most scenic regular bus route/line, the 26, as it stops by Victoria station.

The Victoria line is the busiest on the Underground so squeezing on to a southbound train is nearly always somewhat fraught, particularly if you will be travelling with luggage.
However, it's by far the most logical public transport option when heading to Victoria from Euston.

The bus route 390 to Victoria doesn't use the conveniently sited bus station, which is conveniently sited directly in front of the railway station, when travelling in this direction.
Instead it departs from stop H, which is on the other side of Euston Road.

But if using a deep level 'tube' is something you'd pay to avoid and time is on your side, the trains operated by Southern, which usually connect Milton Keynes to Clapham Junction and East Croydon, provide a step-free alternative.
Most of the trains which depart from Victoria will call at Clapham Junction and all of the longer-distance routes operated by Southern, call at East Croydon.
Though these trains which typically depart from Milton Keynes are currently commencing their journeys at Watford Junction.

Taking the Victoria line of the Underground is the fastest option, but its permanently crowded and the transfer at Kings Cross involves walking along seemingly never-ending subways.
Also bus line 390 doesn't provide a particularly convenient alternative in this direction, as the stop at King's Cross is in a comparatively awkward location.

An easier option for accessing Victoria station from King's Cross, particularly if you have heavy luggage, is this route.

• Head over the street to St Pancras station, using the exit at King's Cross on to Pancras Road, which leads off from the main concourse on the opposite side to the departure boards.
• 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.
• Lifts (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 Blackfriars;
• At Blackfriars station elevators and escalators provide step-free connections to the westbound Circle and District Line.
• All of these trains iwll go to Victoria; though when you're on the Thameslink platform in St Pancras, board into the rear of the trains, as this will enable a quicker transfer at Blackfriars.
• The Circle and District lines aren't deep-level 'tube' lines, so at Victoria the exit from them is by using a fairly short staircase and an lift is also available.

However, if you will be heading to a destination south of East Croydon, the easier option is to take a Thameslink train to that station from St Pancras and then make a transfer at East Croydon station.

The opening of the Elizabeth Line hasn't impacted on the route from Paddington, 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, plus 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.

Taking the Victoria line of the Underground is the fastest option, but its permanently crowded and the transfer at St Pancras involves walking along seemingly never-ending subways.
Also bus line 390 doesn't provide a particularly convenient alternative in this direction, as the stop at St Pancras is awkwardly located on the other side of Euston Road

An easier option for accessing Victoria station from St Pancras, particularly if you have heavy luggage, is this route.

• Lifts (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 Blackfriars;
• At Blackfriars station elevators and escalators provide step-free connections to the westbound Circle and District Line.
• All of these trains will go to Victoria; though when you're on the Thameslink platform in St Pancras, board into the rear of the trains, as this will enable a quicker transfer at Blackfriars.
• The Circle and District lines aren't deep-level 'tube' lines, so at Victoria the exit from them is by using a fairly short staircase and an lift is also available.

However, if you will be heading to a destination south of East Croydon, the easier option is to take a Thameslink train to that station from St Pancras and then make a transfer at East Croydon station.

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