Highbury & Islington tube station
Victoria line · Zone 2 · Islington
About Highbury & Islington station
Two older stations lie behind today’s interchange. On this site the North London Railway opened ‘Islington’ on 26 September 1850, a Victorian-gothic building by Edwin Henry Horne with a drive-in forecourt, renamed Highbury & Islington on 1 July 1872. Across Holloway Road the Great Northern & City Railway opened its underground station on 28 June 1904; it was known as Highbury until 20 July 1922. A V-1 flying bomb damaged the North London building on 27 June 1944, but it stayed in use until it was demolished in the 1960s during construction of the Victoria line.
The present single-storey entrance was built for the Victoria line’s opening on 1 September 1968 and serves all lines. A new escalator shaft, running at a relatively steep inclination under Holloway Road from the old lift landings, replaced the two Otis lifts of the GN&CR, which were taken out of service on 8 April 1968; the old GN&CR building now houses Victoria line signalling equipment. Below ground the tunnels were rearranged so that the southbound Victoria line and Northern City line platforms are directly linked, part of the Victoria line’s aim of cross-platform connections wherever possible. The ticket hall was extended in 2010, when step-free access was added to the Overground platforms.
First and last trains from Highbury & Islington
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 36 Victoria trains an hour per direction from Highbury & Islington, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from Highbury & Islington
Running times between Highbury & Islington and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Finsbury Park | 2.4 min |
| Victoria | King's Cross St Pancras | 2.8 min |
Connections
- National Rail: Great Northern.
- London Overground: Mildmay line and Windrush line.
Station facilities
What is near Highbury & Islington station
Among the busiest stations in the UK, it links the Victoria line, towards King’s Cross St Pancras and Finsbury Park, with the Mildmay and Windrush lines and Great Northern trains. Highbury Island is about 70 m away, Highbury Corner Magistrates Court about 160 m, Laycock Green about 210 m and Compton Terrace Gardens about 230 m. The Estorick Collection is about 340 m from the station and Highbury Fields about 390 m. Bus routes 4, 19, 21, 30, 43, 263 and 393 call here.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Estorick Collection | 340 m |
| Highbury Fields | 390 m |
| Highbury Island | 70 m |
| Laycock Green | 210 m |
| Compton Terrace Gardens | 230 m |
| Kaplan | 280 m |