London City Guide

Charing Cross ⇄ Holborn Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares

The journey from Charing Cross to Holborn is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Northern and Piccadilly tube lines, changing trains at Leicester Square

  1. From Charing Cross take the Northern Line
  2. Change at Leicester Square to the Piccadilly Line
  3. Leave the train at Holborn

Number of tube stops: 3 · Journey time: Approx 16 mins

Stations on the route: Charing Cross ➜ Leicester Square [change train] Leicester Square ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Holborn

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and closures on the Northern and Piccadilly

First and last train times on the Northern line

Tube times for the Northern line

Alternative routes include Charing Cross to Chancery Lane, Charing Cross to Tottenham Court Road and Charing Cross to Russell Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

Charing Cross underground station is not wheelchair accessible

Holborn station is not wheelchair accessible

Charing Cross station entrance – You must an escalator from the main railway station concourse to the booking hall (or three flights of 12, 12, 11 steps down), or two flights from the Trafalgar Square westside entrance (11 steps down +12 steps down), or three flights from the Trafalgar Square central island entrance (21 steps down +3 steps down +8 steps down), or four flights from the Trafalgar Square northside and eastside entrance (9 steps down +10 steps down +2x8 steps down), or three flights from the William IV Street entrance (16 steps down +13 steps down +14 steps down), or three flights from The Courtyard entrance (2x12 steps down +11 steps down), or two flights from the Strand southside entrance (21 steps down +16 steps down), or two flights from the Strand northside entrance (2x15 steps down), or two flights from the Villiers Street entrance (2x9 steps down). After that there’s an escalator plus one flight of 20 steps to the Bakerloo line platforms, or an escalator plus one flight of 19 steps to the Northern line platforms. If you want to avoid the escalator then you can use another five flights of stairs (4x17 steps down +8 steps down)

Changing tube line at Leicester Square – You must use stairs when changing between the Northern/​Piccadilly line platforms

Holborn station exit – You must use an escalator plus one flight of stairs from the platforms to the exit (19 steps up from the Central eastbound platform, or 20 steps up from the Central westbound/​Piccadilly southbound platforms, or 22 steps up from the Piccadilly northbound platform)

The journey from Holborn to Charing Cross is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Piccadilly and Northern tube lines, changing trains at Leicester Square

  1. From Holborn take the Piccadilly Line
  2. Change at Leicester Square to the Northern Line
  3. Leave the train at Charing Cross

Number of tube stops: 3 · Journey time: Approx 16 mins

Stations on the route: Holborn ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Leicester Square [change train] Leicester Square ➜ Charing Cross

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and closures on the Piccadilly and Northern

First and last train times on the Piccadilly line

Tube times for the Piccadilly line

Alternative routes include Holborn to Chancery Lane, Holborn to Tottenham Court Road and Holborn to Russell Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

Holborn train station is not wheelchair accessible

Charing Cross station is not wheelchair accessible

Holborn station entrance – You must use an escalator plus one flight of stairs from the entrance to the platforms (19 steps down to the Central eastbound platform, or 20 steps down to the Central westbound/​Piccadilly southbound platforms, or 22 steps down to the Piccadilly northbound platform)

Changing tube line at Leicester Square – You must use stairs when changing between the Northern/​Piccadilly line platforms

Charing Cross station exit – You must use an escalator plus one flight of 20 steps from the Bakerloo line platforms and the booking hall, or an escalator plus one flight of 19 steps from the Northern line platforms. If you want to avoid the escalator then you can use another five flights of stairs (8 steps up + 4x17 steps up). After that must another escalator to the main railway station concourse exit (or three flights of 12, 12, 11 steps up), or two flights to the Trafalgar Square westside exit (11 steps up +12 steps up), or three flights to the Trafalgar Square central island exit (21 steps up +3 steps up +8 steps up), or four flights to the Trafalgar Square northside and eastside exits (9 steps up +10 steps up +2x8 steps up), or three flights to the William IV Street exit (16 steps up +13 steps up +14 steps up), or three flights to The Courtyard exit (2x12 steps up +11 steps up), or two flights to the Strand southside exit (21 steps up +16 steps up), or two flights to the Strand northside exit (2x15 steps up), or two flights to the Villiers Street exit (2x9 steps up)

Tube fare between London Charing Cross and Holborn

This tube journey is in Oyster zone 1. The cheapest fare is £2.70 off-peak (£2.80 peak) when you pay by Oyster or contactless. There’s no return fare, you just pay the same as two single tickets

Cost of tube fare from Charing Cross ⇄ Holborn Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares
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 Charing Cross ⇄ Holborn Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares
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
See our complete list of Adult train tickets, Senior train tickets, Child train tickets, Oyster train fares, Contactless train fares and Travelcard fares
Note: Tube journey prices are correct as of

Peak and off-peak journey 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. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.

The fare is based on what time your journey begins. It doesn’t matter what time your journey ends.

Other ways to make this journey

Travel on foot – The distance is roughly ¾ of a mile which would take you about 14-15 mins

Travel by bus – Single fare: £1.75 (you may need more than one bus); Daily cap: £5.25; Weekly cap: £24.70; 1-day travelcard: £6; Weekly travelcard: £24.70 – Adult bus tickets · OAP bus tickets · Kids bus tickets

Travel by taxi – The ¾-mile taxi journey between Holborn station and Charing Cross will cost approximately £7 to £12 and take 5-12 mins

Travel by carCar parks near Charing Cross station and Holborn