London City Guide

Paddington ⇄ Russell Square Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares

The journey from Paddington to Russell Square is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Circle and Piccadilly tube lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras

  1. From Paddington take the Circle Line
  2. Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Piccadilly Line
  3. Leave the train at Russell Square

Number of tube stops: 6 · Journey time: Approx 23 mins

Stations on the route: Paddington ➜ Edgware Road ➜ Baker Street ➜ Great Portland Street ➜ Euston Square ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Russell Square

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and closures on the Circle and Piccadilly

First and last train times on the Circle line

Tube times for the Circle line

Alternative routes include Paddington to Holborn, Paddington to Goodge Street and Paddington to Euston

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

The Elizabeth line at Paddington station is wheelchair accessible, and has step-free access from the street to the train. The Bakerloo, Circle (coming from Hammersmith) and Hammersmith & City lines only have step-free access from the street to the platform, and there may be a step up or gap to the train. The Circle (heading towards Edgware Road) and District lines are not wheelchair accessible

Russell Square station is not wheelchair accessible

Paddington station entrance – There’s an escalator between the entrance and the Bakerloo line platforms (or four flights of 18 stairs). There’s a lift between the entrance and the eastbound Circle/​District platforms heading towards Edgware Road (via the National Rail concourse), and the Circle/​H&C platforms heading to/​from Hammersmith (or three flights of 10, 5 and 16 stairs)

Changing tube line at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms

Russell Square station exit – You must use a lift plus one flight of stairs between the platforms and the exit (20 steps up). If you want to avoid the lift then you can use another twelve flights of stairs (14 steps up +5 steps up +16 steps up +6x17 steps up +18 steps up +6 steps up +15 steps up)

The journey from Russell Square to Paddington is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Piccadilly and Hammersmith & City tube lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras

  1. From Russell Square take the Piccadilly Line
  2. Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Hammersmith & City Line
  3. Leave the train at Paddington

Number of tube stops: 6 · Journey time: Approx 24 mins

Stations on the route: Russell Square ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Euston Square ➜ Great Portland Street ➜ Baker Street ➜ Edgware Road ➜ Paddington

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and closures on the Piccadilly and H&C

First and last train times on the Piccadilly line

Tube times for the Piccadilly line

Alternative routes include Russell Square to Holborn, Russell Square to Goodge Street and Russell Square to Euston

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

Russell Square station is not wheelchair accessible

The Elizabeth line at Paddington station is wheelchair accessible, and has step-free access from the street to the train. The Bakerloo, Circle (coming from Hammersmith) and Hammersmith & City lines only have step-free access from the street to the platform, and there may be a step up or gap to the train. The Circle (heading towards Edgware Road) and District lines are not wheelchair accessible

Russell Square station entrance – You must use a lift plus one flight of stairs between the entrance and the platforms (20 steps down). If you want to avoid the lift then you can use another twelve flights of stairs (15 steps down +6 steps down +18 steps down +6x17 steps down +16 steps down +5 steps down +14 steps down)

Changing tube line at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms

Paddington station exit – There’s an escalator between the Bakerloo line platforms and the exit (or four flights of 18 stairs). There’s a lift between the eastbound Circle/​District platforms heading towards Edgware Road and the exit, and the Circle/H&C platforms heading to/from Hammersmith and the exit

Tube fare between London Paddington and Russell Square

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 Paddington ⇄ Russell Square 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 Paddington ⇄ Russell Square 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 London Underground fares, Pensioner fares, Children’s fares, Oyster card fares, Contactless card 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 approximately 2⅓ miles from Russell Square to Paddington, which would take 44-49 mins on foot

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 2024 · Pensioner bus tickets 2024 · Children’s bus tickets 2024

Travel by taxi – Driving 2⅓ miles in a taxi between Russell Square underground station and Paddington station will cost between £14.30 and £24.60 and take 11-23 mins

Travel by carCar parks near Paddington station and Russell Square