What are the shortest and longest journeys between adjacent Underground stations?
I'm going to attempt to answer this question with the aid of an FOI request answered by TfL last month. They didn't answer it terribly helpfully, burying all the data in tables cut-and-pasted into ten separate Word documents, so it's taken me quite a while to extract the information. But I had nothing else to do yesterday, so here are my results.
I'll break it down line by line, then look at the whole network.
n.b. Data is about time, not distance.
n.b. All times are in seconds.
n.b. The data provided is "Wheel Turn Time" - the duration of the journey rather than the interval between doors opening and closing.
n.b. Journey times in the opposite direction may be different.
n.b. At the end of a line I've only considered journey times departing the terminus, not arriving (which is often a lot slower).
Bakerloo
Shortest
Longest
1
Embankment–Charing Cross
50
1
Queen's Park–Kensal Green
165
2
Marylebone–Edgware Road
57
2
Stonebridge Park–Wembley Central
140
2
Baker Street–Marylebone
57
3
Willesden Junction–Kensal Green
131
4
Piccadilly Circus–Charing Cross
70
4
Harrow & Wealdstone–Kenton
129
5
Waterloo–Lambeth North
73
5
Harlesden–Stonebridge Park
121
The quickest journey on the Bakerloo line is between Embankment and Charing Cross at 50 seconds. Journeys to and from Marylebone are the only others which take less than a minute. All the shortest journeys are in zone 1, whereas all the longest are up the northern end. The longest journey is the slow trundle through the sheds at Queen's Park.
Central
Shortest
Longest
1
Holborn–Chancery Lane
45
1
Chigwell–Roding Valley
183
2
Oxford Circus–Tottenham Ct Rd
51
2
Debden–Theydon Bois
181
2
Marble Arch–Bond Street
51
2
Mile End–Stratford
181
4
Bond Street–Oxford Circus
57
4
Hanger Lane–North Acton
171
5
Holland Park–Notting Hill Gate
58
5
Bethnal Green–Liverpool Street
159
The quickest journey on the Central line is between Holborn and Chancery Lane at 45 seconds. The whole of the Central line's journey beneath Oxford Street appears in the 'shortest' list. The longest journeys are out in the Essex countryside and on the long run between Mile End and Stratford, at three minutes apiece.
Circle and Hammersmith & City
Shortest
Longest
1
Monument–Cannon Street
50
1
Barking–East Ham
183
1
Cannon Street–Mansion House
50
2
Farringdon–King’s Cross
175
3
Wood Lane–Shepherds Bush
55
3
Aldgate East–Liverpool Street
135
4
Latimer Road–Wood Lane
58
4
Gloucester Rd–High St Ken
127
5
Shepherds Bush–Goldhawk Road
59
5
Stepney Green–Whitechapel
123
The quickest journeys on the Circle line are either side of Cannon Street, then either side of Wood Lane. These stations exist solely to provide access to a mainline station and to Westfield, and wouldn't be viable otherwise. The longest journey on the Hammersmith and City line is at the far eastern end. At almost three minutes, Farringdon to King's Cross is an unusually long journey for zone 1. The average journey time between stations on the Circle line is 87 seconds, the shortest on any line.
District
Shortest
Longest
1
Monument–Cannon Street
50
1
Richmond–Kew Gardens
191
1
Cannon Street–Mansion House
50
2
Kensington Olympia–Earl's Court
186
3
Bow Road–Mile End
62
3
Barking–East Ham
183
4
Turnham Green–Stamford Brook
63
4
Earl's Court–High St Kensington
176
5
Mansion House–Blackfriars
67
5
Ealing Broadway–Ealing Common
168
Cannon Street appears again at the top of the list of District line shortest journeys. In third place is my local station, Bow Road, which is barely a minute from Mile End. Both halves of the Kensington Olympia service appear in the longest list. Other long journeys include the first stops out of the termini at Richmond and Ealing Broadway.
Jubilee
Shortest
Longest
1
Southwark–Waterloo
42
1
Wembley Park–Kingsbury
194
2
Finchley Road–Swiss Cottage
55
2
Baker Street–St John's Wood
151
3
Finchley Road–West Hampstead
59
3
Wembley Park–Neasden
145
4
Westminster–Waterloo
69
4
Stratford–West Ham
137
5
Canada Water–Bermondsey
71
5
Canary Wharf–Canada Water
128
The quickest journey on the Jubilee line is between Southwark and Waterloo at just 42 seconds. Two other journeys on the Jubilee line extension appear in the shortest list, along with both journeys out of Finchley Road. Wembley Park is the big hitter in the longest list taking first and third positions. As an example of the 'end of the line' effect, West Ham to Stratford is timetabled at 23 seconds longer than Stratford to West Ham.
Metropolitan
Shortest
Longest
1
Moorgate–Liverpool Street
69
1
Chesham–Chalfont & Latimer
490
2
Farringdon–Barbican
70
2
Wembley Park–Finchley Road
393
2
Great Portland St–Euston Square
70
3
Baker Street–Finchley Road
300
2
Ruislip Manor–Ruislip
70
4
Croxley–Rickmansworth
270
5
Moorgate–Barbican
75
5
Moor Park–Rickmansworth
254
All the shortest journeys on the Metropolitan line are in zone 1, with the exception of Ruislip Manor to Ruislip in zone 6. The next shortest suburban journey would have been Ickenham to Hillingdon at 91 seconds. The Metropolitan line also has some really long journeys, including a massive eight minute ride along the Chesham branch. Fast running also means some very long journeys to either side of Finchley Road. In fourth place is the rarely-used North Curve between Croxley and Rickmansworth. Croxley to Moor Park is in sixth.
Northern
Shortest
Longest
1
Charing Cross–Embankment
35
1
Hampstead–Golders Green
210
2
Tottenham Ct Rd–Leicester Sq
44
2
East Finchley–Finchley Central
186
3
Warren Street–Goodge Street
46
3
Euston–Camden Town
161
4
Charing Cross–Leicester Sq
54
4
Colindale–Hendon Central
149
5
Goodge Street–Tottenham Ct Rd
56
5
High Barnet–Tott & Whetstone
144
The quickest journey on the Northern line is between Charing Cross and Embankment at 35 seconds (fifteen seconds faster than on the Bakerloo line). All the quickest journeys are on the Charing Cross branch, covering the entire run from Charing Cross to Warren Street. The longest journeys are on the line's northern branches, peaking with Hampstead to Golders Green at 3½ minutes (where an intermediate station was planned but never built).
Piccadilly
Shortest
Longest
1
Leicester Square–Covent Garden
39
1
Hammersmith–Acton Town
350
2
Northfields–South Ealing
51
2
Heathrow T4–Heathrow T23
289
3
Leicester Square–Piccadilly Circus
60
3
Hounslow West–Hatton Cross
226
4
Green Park–Piccadilly Circus
61
4
Hatton Cross–Heathrow T23
202
5
Hyde Pk Corner–Knightsbridge
62
5
South Ealing–Acton Town
200
It'll surprise nobody that Leicester Square to Covent Garden is the quickest journey on the Piccadilly line. More surprising is that Northfields to South Ealing is only 51 seconds, a very short journey for the suburbs. The other quickest journeys are through the West End where stops are frequent. The longest journey is the fast run between Hammersmith and Acton Town which skips several District line stations. The Heathrow extension appears three times, with the longest journey (out of Terminal 4) taking almost five minutes.
Victoria
Shortest
Longest
1
Euston–King's Cross
54
1
Finsbury Park–Seven Sisters
176
2
Warren Street–Oxford Circus
61
2
Highbury & Islington–King's Cross
143
3
Warren Street–Euston
62
3
Highbury & Islington–Finsbury Pk
118
4
Pimlico–Vauxhall
65
4
Vauxhall–Stockwell
109
5
Seven Sisters–Tottenham Hale
77
5
Walthamstow Ctrl–Blackhorse Rd
102
The three quickest journeys on the Victoria line are all in the central section between Oxford Circus and King's Cross. The Victoria line is a fast line, so some of these quick journeys cover a considerable distance. The three longest journeys are the other side of King's Cross on the run out to Finsbury Park. This is a well-spaced line... only two pairs of adjacent stations are more than two minutes apart.
Waterloo & City
Bank platform 7 to Waterloo
215
Bank platform 8 to Waterloo
236
Waterloo to Bank platform 8
240
Waterloo to Bank platform 7
255
The Waterloo and City line only has two stations so a shortest/longest table would be null and void. But I've included this list to demonstrate the variation that exists once you start taking into account different directions and different platforms. Bank to Waterloo turns out to be approximately half a minute quicker than Waterloo to Bank, a consequence of one station having the depot and the other having two sets of buffers. Meanwhile departing from Bank platform 7 is 20 seconds faster than departing from platform 8, but arriving on platform 8 is 15 seconds faster than arriving on platform 7. Take all the other figures in the FOI with a reasonable degree of scepticism.
Finally, here are the shortest and longest tube journeys across the whole Underground network.
London Underground
Shortest
Longest
1
Charing Cross-Embankment
35s
1
Chesham–Chalfont & Latimer
8m 10s
2
Leicester Sq–Covent Garden
39s
2
Wembley Park–Finchley Road
6m 33s
3
Southwark–Waterloo
42s
3
Hammersmith–Acton Town
5m 50s
4
Tottenham Ct Rd–Leicester Sq
44s
4
Finchley Road–Baker Street
5m 00s
5
Holborn–Chancery Lane
45s
5
Heathrow T4–Heathrow T23
4m 49s
6
Warren Street–Goodge Street
46s
6
Croxley–Rickmansworth
4m 30s
7
Monument–Cannon Street
50s
7
Waterloo–Bank
4m 15s
7
Cannon Street–Mansion House
50s
8
Moor Park–Rickmansworth
4m 14s
7
Embankment–Charing Cross
50s
9
Hounslow West–Hatton Cross
3m 46s
10
Marble Arch–Bond Street
51s
10
Croxley–Moor Park
3m 34s
Charing Cross to Embankment on the Northern line takes the crown for the quickest journey, with Leicester Square to Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line in second place. If we'd measured distance rather than time, these two would have been the other way round. The entire top ten is in zone 1, mostly in the heart of the West End. At least six different lines get a look in.
As for the list of slowest journeys, this is composed almost entirely of the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines, with the Waterloo & City line as the sole intruder. Chesham to Chalfont takes by far the longest time, followed by three examples of trains on one line skipping past stations on another. Four of the ten longest journeys are outside London and two are around Heathrow.
One final fact... the longest journey (Chesham to Chalfont & Latimer) is exactly fourteen times longer than the shortest (Charing Cross to Embankment). There's nothing ordinary about the London Underground.
