Liverpool Street tube station
Central line, Circle line, Hammersmith & City line and Metropolitan line · Zone 1 · City of London
About Liverpool Street station
The Underground was planned into Liverpool Street from the outset. The Great Eastern Railway built its new terminus as a dual-level station with provision for the Underground, on a 10-acre site once occupied by the Bethlem Royal Hospital. Metropolitan trains used the main line station as a terminus from 1 February 1875 until 11 July 1875, and the company’s own underground station opened on 12 July 1875; the physical connection between the two railways was closed in 1904. Until 1909 the sub-surface station carried the name Bishopsgate. The street that eventually named the whole complex was itself named in 1829 after the Tory Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.
The station has been at the centre of several moments in the city’s history. In the build-up to the Second World War, thousands of child refugees of the Kindertransport arrived in London through it, and on 7 July 2005 seven passengers were killed when a bomb exploded aboard an Underground train just after it had left Liverpool Street. Today the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines meet the Elizabeth line, whose platforms opened in 2022, and with 94.5 million passengers between April 2023 and March 2024 the combined station was the busiest in the United Kingdom.
First and last trains from Liverpool Street
| 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 | 05:46 – 00:23 | 05:46 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:37 to Ealing Broadway |
| Central towards Hainault, Epping or Loughton | 05:58 to Epping – 00:40 to Epping | 05:58 to Epping – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:52 |
| Circle towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) or Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:38 – 00:43 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:38 – 00:43 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:38 – 00:43 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 07:28 – 00:25 |
| Circle towards Edgware Road (Circle line) or Aldgate | 05:10 to Aldgate – 00:50 | 05:10 to Aldgate – 00:50 | 05:10 to Aldgate – 00:50 | 06:55 – 00:28 |
| Hammersmith & City towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) | 05:26 – 00:33 | 05:26 – 00:33 | 05:26 – 00:33 | 06:53 – 00:10 |
| Hammersmith & City towards Barking or Plaistow | 05:34 – 00:53 | 05:34 – 00:53 | 05:34 – 00:53 | 07:23 – 00:32 |
| Metropolitan towards Uxbridge, Watford or Amersham | 06:18 – 00:15 | 06:18 – 00:15 | 06:20 to Amersham – 00:15 | 07:40 – 00:01 |
| Metropolitan towards Aldgate | 06:05 – 00:00 | 06:05 – 00:00 | 06:05 – 00:00 | 07:29 – 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, 7 Circle trains an hour per direction, 8 Hammersmith & City trains an hour per direction and 16 Metropolitan trains an hour per direction from Liverpool Street, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Liverpool Street
Running times between Liverpool Street and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Bank | 2.1 min |
| Central | Bethnal Green | 3.2 min |
| Circle | Aldgate | 2.2 min |
| Circle | Moorgate | 1.6 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Aldgate East | 4.3 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Moorgate | 2 min |
| Metropolitan | Aldgate | 1.9 min |
| Metropolitan | Moorgate | 1.8 min |
Connections
- Tube: change here between the Central line, Circle line, Hammersmith & City line and Metropolitan line.
- National Rail: Greater Anglia and c2c.
- Elizabeth line at this station.
- London Overground: Weaver line.
Station facilities
What is near Liverpool Street station
As the City terminus for main line trains to Cambridge, Norwich and Stansted Airport, Liverpool Street is one of London’s major interchanges. Just outside, the Kindertransport – The Arrival statue stands about 50 m away, and the Great Eastern Railway War Memorial and the For the Child monument are both around 90 m. Finsbury Circus Gardens is about 230 m from the station, Petticoat Lane Market about 290 m and the Bishopsgate Institute about 310 m, while Horizon 22, a viewpoint, is roughly 330 m away.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Kindertransport – The Arrival (statue) | 50 m |
| Finsbury Circus Gardens | 230 m |
| Bishopsgate Institute | 310 m |
| St Martin Outwich (memorial) | 340 m |
| Great Eastern Railway War Memorial | 90 m |
| For the Child | 90 m |
| St Botolph without Bishopsgate Churchyard | 120 m |
| All Hallows London Wall | 130 m |
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The sub-surface station, opened by the Metropolitan Railway on 12 July 1875, was called Bishopsgate from 1875 until 1909. Bishopsgate was also the name of the Great Eastern Railway’s earlier London terminus in Shoreditch, which closed to passengers and became a goods station from 1881.
The station was built on a 10-acre site previously occupied by the Bethlem Royal Hospital. The land was compulsorily purchased, displacing around 3,000 residents of the parish of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, and the company was required to run daily low-cost workmen’s trains from the new station.