Moorgate tube station
Circle line, Hammersmith & City line, Metropolitan line and Northern line · Zone 1 · City of London
About Moorgate station
Moorgate Street, as it was called until 24 October 1924, opened on 23 December 1865 as the Metropolitan Railway’s first extension eastwards from its original terminus at Farringdon. Traffic from other companies soon led to the City Widened Lines, which opened from Moorgate to Farringdon on 1 July 1866. The City & South London Railway’s deep-level platforms, now the Northern line, followed on 25 February 1900, and the Great Northern & City Railway arrived on 14 February 1904 in tube tunnels large enough for main line trains. In the 1960s the station was completely modernised, and realigned platforms let about 500 yards of the line to Barbican be straightened for the Barbican Estate.
On 28 February 1975 a southbound Northern City Line train ran at speed into the dead-end tunnel beyond its platform, killing 43 people in the Moorgate tube crash, the Underground’s worst peacetime accident. The Thameslink branch closed on 20 March 2009, leaving its platforms for storage, and Crossrail works built the western ticket hall of the Elizabeth line’s Liverpool Street station just east of Moorgate, linking its Northern line platforms with the Central line at Liverpool Street; a refurbished Moorfields entrance opened on 5 July 2021. The station is unusual in having three distinct levels, with ten numbered platforms.
First and last trains from Moorgate
| 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) | 05:40 – 00:44 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:40 – 00:44 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:40 – 00:44 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 07:17 – 00:27 |
| Circle towards Edgware Road (Circle line), Aldgate or Liverpool Street | 05:08 to Aldgate – 00:48 to Liverpool Street | 05:08 to Aldgate – 00:48 to Liverpool Street | 05:08 to Aldgate – 00:48 to Liverpool Street | 06:53 – 00:26 to Liverpool Street |
| Hammersmith & City towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) | 05:27 – 00:35 | 05:27 – 00:35 | 05:27 – 00:35 | 06:54 – 00:13 |
| Hammersmith & City towards Barking or Plaistow | 05:32 – 00:51 | 05:32 – 00:51 | 05:32 – 00:51 | 07:21 – 00:30 |
| Metropolitan towards Uxbridge, Watford or Amersham | 06:20 – 00:17 | 06:20 – 00:17 | 06:22 to Amersham – 00:17 | 07:42 – 00:02 |
| Metropolitan towards Aldgate | 06:03 – 23:58 | 06:03 – 23:58 | 06:03 – 23:58 | 07:28 – 23:48 |
| Northern towards Morden | 05:56 – 00:36 | 05:56 – 00:36 | 05:56 – 00:36 | 07:29 – 23:45 |
| Northern towards Edgware, High Barnet or Mill Hill East | 05:48 – 00:36 to High Barnet | 05:48 – 00:36 to High Barnet | 05:48 – 00:36 to High Barnet | 07:28 to High Barnet – 23:41 to High Barnet |
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, 8 Hammersmith & City trains an hour per direction, 16 Metropolitan trains an hour per direction and 25 Northern trains an hour per direction from Moorgate, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Moorgate
Running times between Moorgate and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Barbican | 1.8 min |
| Circle | Liverpool Street | 1.6 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Barbican | 1.8 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Liverpool Street | 2 min |
| Metropolitan | Barbican | 1.8 min |
| Metropolitan | Liverpool Street | 1.8 min |
| Northern | Bank | 2.1 min |
| Northern | Old Street | 1.4 min |
Connections
- Tube: change here between the Circle line, Hammersmith & City line, Metropolitan line and Northern line.
- National Rail: Great Northern.
Station facilities
What is near Moorgate station
Great Northern trains to Welwyn Garden City, Hertford North and Stevenage start here, and the station has entrances on both Moorgate and Moorfields. The British Red Cross Museum is about 120 m away and Finsbury Circus Gardens about 130 m. Girdlers’ Garden and Marks & Spencer are about 180 m from the station, and a memorial to the 1975 Moorgate train crash stands about 280 m away. Finsbury Square is about 340 m, while the Guildhall, the Guildhall Art Gallery and the Guildhall Library are all around 360–370 m.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Finsbury Circus Gardens | 130 m |
| Cripplegate (memorial) | 330 m |
| Finsbury Square | 340 m |
| Guildhall Art Gallery | 360 m |
| Guildhall | 360 m |
| Guildhall Library | 370 m |
| St Mary Aldermanbury | 370 m |
| British Red Cross Museum | 120 m |
Frequently asked questions
On 28 February 1975 a southbound Northern City Line train failed to stop at the platform and ran into the dead-end tunnel beyond, hitting the buffers and the wall. 43 people were killed and 74 seriously injured. The cause was the unexplained failure of the driver to stop or even slow down.
Platforms 5 and 6 served Thameslink trains from Bedford via St Pancras. The branch was cut to peak hours only in 2003 and closed on 20 March 2009, so that the platforms at Farringdon could be lengthened southwards. The Moorgate platforms are now used for storage.