Farringdon tube station
Circle line, Hammersmith & City line and Metropolitan line · Zone 1 · Islington
About Farringdon station
On 10 January 1863 the Metropolitan Railway’s first trains ran 4 miles from Paddington to a terminus here called Farringdon Street, making this one of the oldest surviving underground railway stations in the world. That first station stood a short distance away; the present site dates from 23 December 1865, when the line was extended to Moorgate. A freight station alongside took livestock to the slaughterhouse supplying Smithfield Market until the 1920s, and the tracks towards King’s Cross run beside the Fleet ditch, culverted since 1734.
Charles Walter Clark’s building facing Cowcross Street opened on 26 January 1922, when the station became Farringdon & High Holborn; it took its present name on 21 April 1936, yet the 1922–1936 name is still on the facade, together with a parcel office sign from the Metropolitan’s main-line style days. The station has since been expanded for longer Thameslink trains and the Elizabeth line, which arrived on 24 May 2022, with a second ticket hall south of Cowcross Street and lifts to all four platforms. In 2019 a memorial to Edward Johnston, creator of the Underground’s typeface, was unveiled on the concourse.
First and last trains from Farringdon
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) or Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:43 – 00:47 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:43 – 00:47 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:43 – 00:47 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 07:20 – 00:30 |
| Circle towards Edgware Road (Circle line), Aldgate or Liverpool Street | 05:05 to Aldgate – 00:45 to Liverpool Street | 05:05 to Aldgate – 00:45 to Liverpool Street | 05:05 to Aldgate – 00:45 to Liverpool Street | 06:49 – 00:23 to Liverpool Street |
| Hammersmith & City towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) | 05:30 – 00:38 | 05:30 – 00:38 | 05:30 – 00:38 | 06:57 – 00:16 |
| Hammersmith & City towards Barking or Plaistow | 05:28 – 00:48 | 05:28 – 00:48 | 05:28 – 00:48 | 07:17 – 00:27 |
| Metropolitan towards Uxbridge, Watford or Amersham | 06:23 – 00:20 | 06:23 – 00:20 | 06:25 to Amersham – 00:20 | 07:45 – 00:05 |
| Metropolitan towards Aldgate | 06:00 – 23:55 | 06:00 – 23:55 | 06:00 – 23:55 | 07:25 – 23:45 |
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 7 Circle trains an hour per direction, 7 Hammersmith & City trains an hour per direction and 16 Metropolitan trains an hour per direction from Farringdon, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Farringdon
Running times between Farringdon and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Barbican | 1.3 min |
| Circle | King's Cross St Pancras | 3.2 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Barbican | 1.5 min |
| Hammersmith & City | King's Cross St Pancras | 3 min |
| Metropolitan | Barbican | 1.4 min |
| Metropolitan | King's Cross St Pancras | 3 min |
Connections
- Tube: change here between the Circle line, Hammersmith & City line and Metropolitan line.
- Elizabeth line at this station.
- National Rail: Thameslink.
Station facilities
What is near Farringdon station
Farringdon is the only station on both the north–south Thameslink route and the east–west Elizabeth line, so it is as much an interchange as a destination. St Johns Garden is about 100 m away, and within 300 m are galleries such as Tintype, WW Gallery and Rokeby, Hicks Hall Garden, Smithfield Market (270 m) and The London Improv Theatre. The Museum of the Order of St John is about 250 m away, the Marx Memorial Library and Clerk’s Well about 310 m, Leather Lane Market 330 m and The Charterhouse 380 m. Barbican is the next stop east.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Museum of the Order of St John | 250 m |
| Marx Memorial Library | 310 m |
| Leather Lane Market | 330 m |
| The Charterhouse | 380 m |
| St Johns Garden | 100 m |
| Tintype | 220 m |
| WW Gallery | 230 m |
| Hicks Hall Garden | 230 m |