Westminster tube station
Circle line, District line and Jubilee line · Zone 1 · City of Westminster
About Westminster station
Opened as Westminster Bridge on 24 December 1868, this was the eastern terminus of the steam-hauled District Railway’s first section from South Kensington, its cutting ending at a concrete wall buffered by timber sleepers. The approach tunnel runs under Broad Sanctuary and diagonally beneath Parliament Square, so close to Westminster Abbey and St Margaret’s church that care was needed not to undermine their foundations. Trains continued to Blackfriars from 30 May 1870, and the present name came in 1907. Charles Holden’s 1922 entrance and canopy on Bridge Street were among the first of his many projects for the Underground’s forerunners.
The Jubilee line extension transformed the site. Michael Hopkins & Partners designed the rebuilt station together with Portcullis House above it, and a 39-metre-deep station box, the deepest excavation ever made in central London, was dug to house the escalators. With the clock tower known as Big Ben only 34 metres from its edge, grout was injected on 22 occasions between January 1996 and September 1997, keeping the tower’s movement to 35 millimetres. The Jubilee platforms opened on 22 December 1999 in an austere interior of concrete and stainless steel that won Civic Trust and RIBA awards and was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
First and last trains from Westminster
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines), Aldgate or Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:47 to Aldgate – 00:23 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:47 to Aldgate – 00:23 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:47 to Aldgate – 00:23 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 07:25 to Aldgate – 23:58 |
| Circle towards Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:40 – 00:21 | 05:40 – 00:21 | 05:40 – 00:21 | 07:13 – 00:00 |
| District towards Wimbledon, Ealing Broadway or Richmond | 05:49 to Richmond – 00:38 to Ealing Broadway | 05:49 to Richmond – 00:38 to Ealing Broadway | 05:49 – 00:38 to Ealing Broadway | 07:06 to Richmond – 00:02 |
| District towards Upminster, Tower Hill or Barking | 05:25 – 00:38 | 05:25 – 00:38 | 05:25 – 00:38 | 06:52 – 00:02 |
| Jubilee towards Stanmore, Wembley Park or West Hampstead | 05:36 – 00:32 | 05:36 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:58 |
| Jubilee towards Stratford, North Greenwich or West Ham | 05:29 – 00:47 | 05:29 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 00:02 |
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 6 Circle trains an hour per direction, 23 District trains an hour per direction and 28 Jubilee trains an hour per direction from Westminster, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Westminster
Running times between Westminster and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Embankment | 1.7 min |
| Circle | St James's Park | 1.4 min |
| District | Embankment | 1.7 min |
| District | St James's Park | 1.7 min |
| Jubilee | Green Park | 2.2 min |
| Jubilee | Waterloo | 1.7 min |
Connections
- Tube: change here between the Circle line, District line and Jubilee line.
- Buses: 12, 24, 26, 87, 88, 159, 453 (night buses N109, N11, N136, N155, N26, N3, N381, N44, N53, N87).
Station facilities
What is near Westminster station
This is the stop for Parliament. From the corner of Bridge Street and Victoria Embankment, Elizabeth Tower is about 70 m away and Parliament Square roughly 160 m, ringed by statues including Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George, Millicent Fawcett, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, all within about 200 m. The Cenotaph is around 170 m off and the Battle of Britain Memorial about 210 m. Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Downing Street, Westminster Bridge, the Supreme Court and the London Eye are also close by.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Tower | 70 m |
| Winston Churchill (statue) | 120 m |
| David Lloyd George (statue) | 130 m |
| Jan Smuts (statue) | 150 m |
| Lord Palmerston (statue) | 160 m |
| Parliament Square | 160 m |
| The Cenotaph (memorial) | 170 m |
| Earl of Derby (statue) | 180 m |
Frequently asked questions
The station box was excavated only 34 metres from the clock tower, putting its foundation at risk. Long steel tubes were installed around and beneath it, and grout was injected 22 times between January 1996 and September 1997 to offset settlement. This limited the tower’s movement to 35 millimetres instead of at least 120.
Portcullis House, a parliamentary office building designed by Michael Hopkins & Partners together with the rebuilt station. To give ground-level access to it, the Circle and District platforms were lowered in small increments, with the work carried out at night while the line was closed.