TfL released its own drawings of every London Underground station’s public areas, including tunnels foot tunnels and stairs
TfL provided 3D maps of different Tube stations(Image: Getty Images)
The London Underground is widely regarded as one of the finest transport networks in the world, but navigating it can sometimes feel like wandering through a labyrinth. While most Londoners might believe they know the system inside out, with its countless escalators, staircases, and extended passages, there’s far more to each station than meets the eye.
The reality that these stations exist almost completely below ground makes understanding how they’re laid out difficult, even at stops you might use all the time. So it’s interesting to discover how they look when illustrated in three dimensions.
After a 2015 freedom of information request, Transport for London disclosed its own drawings of every London Underground station’s public areas, including the train tunnels themselves, foot tunnels, staircases and more. The drawings offer a captivating glimpse into the twists, turns and angles of each station.
We’ve chosen some of the most recognisable for you to examine here, but you can explore the layouts of every single station here.
Bank / Monument
Bank and Monument stations are interlinked(Image: TfL)
Undeniably the largest ‘station’, the interconnected Bank and Monument stations accommodate Central, District, DLR, and Northern Line services. The Central Line is on the Bank end of the complex, District on the Monument end, and the other two lines fill the space between these two stations.
Kings Cross St Pancras
Kings Cross serves 6 Tube lines(Image: TfL)
Kings Cross, among London’s most congested stations, serves as a major interchange with four connecting Underground tunnels. It’s served by a remarkable six London Underground Lines: Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Piccadilly, Northern, and Victoria.
Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street is the busiest station in the UK since the introduction of the Elizabeth line(Image: TfL)
Liverpool Street station functions as East London’s transport interchange. It provides Overground, National Rail, and Tube services on the Central, Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines.
Nevertheless, only the Central line operates deep underground, as illustrated on the map.
Victoria
The Victoria line runs beneath the District and Circles lines at Victoria station(Image: TfL)
Despite its comparatively straightforward configuration, Victoria Station has two lines running perpendicular to one another. The deeper level Victoria line passes beneath the District and Circle lines.
Waterloo
Waterloo is a real maze(Image: TfL)
This station seems to have one of the most intricate configurations. Three separate axonometric illustrations are required to comprehensively explain the station’s arrangement with Jubilee, Waterloo and City, Northern and Bakerloo trains all travelling through.
Westminster
Westminster takes you deep beneath the ground(Image: TfL)
Finally, Westminster station contains Jubilee line tunnels and surface level District and Circle line platforms. This specific configuration illustration adopts a somewhat different angle to the others, presenting a more lateral viewpoint.
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