St Paul's tube station
Central line · Zone 1 · City of London
About St Paul's station
For its first 37 years this Central line station was called Post Office, after the General Post Office headquarters on St. Martin’s Le Grand. The Central London Railway opened it on 30 July 1900, and the obvious name was probably avoided because the South Eastern Railway already had a St. Paul’s station. Only when that station was renamed Blackfriars in 1937 did the Underground stop take the name St. Paul’s.
The tunnels follow an unusual arrangement. To save on land purchase, the railway ran its tunnels under public roads, and Newgate Street, then narrow and partly medieval, was too tight for two side by side, so they were placed one above the other with the westbound uppermost. The original lifts stopped at a level between the platforms, with stairs up or down; a high-level passage to the disused lift lobby can still be seen from the lowest level. In the 1930s modernisation the entrance moved east from the north side of Newgate Street, and an underground ticket hall and escalators replaced the lifts. A ventilation shaft on the traffic island marks where the lift shafts were, and during the Second World War the old shaft housed the electricity grid control room for London and South East England.
First and last trains from St Paul's
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central towards West Ruislip, Ealing Broadway or White City | 05:50 – 00:26 | 05:50 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:42 to Ealing Broadway |
| Central towards Hainault, Epping or Loughton | 05:54 to Epping – 00:36 to Epping | 05:54 to Epping – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:48 |
Times are TfL’s published timetable departures from this station; on Saturday the list follows TfL’s “Saturdays and public holidays” timetable.
At the busiest hour on a weekday there are up to 30 Central trains an hour per direction from St Paul’s, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from St Paul's
Running times between St Paul’s and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Bank | 2 min |
| Central | Chancery Lane | 2 min |
Connections
St Paul’s is served by the Central line only; there is no interchange with other rail lines here.
Station facilities
What is near St Paul's station
The entrances cluster around the junction of Newgate Street, Cheapside and St. Martin’s Le Grand, with St Paul’s Cathedral about 140 m to the south and One New Change at roughly 180 m. It is also the closest Tube station to the London Stock Exchange. Within 400 m are the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice (220 m), the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey (300 m), St Mary-le-Bow (310 m), St Bartholomew’s Hospital (340 m) and Guildhall Library (370 m).
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| St Paul's Churchyard | 130 m |
| St Paul's Cathedral | 140 m |
| One New Change | 180 m |
| St John Zachary | 190 m |
| St Peter Cheap churchyard | 200 m |
| Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice | 220 m |
| St Mary Staining | 270 m |
| Central Criminal Court | 300 m |