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Londoners know that there is no more hostile space than the Northern line at rush hour. The busiest time on the capital’s busiest London Underground line, packed tight with commuters in gilets – it’s the opposite of a vibe.
Not everyone can choose when they travel, but if you can, you'll be reassured to hear that changing your commute time by even half an hour could be the difference between getting a seat or standing there seething in silence. If you’d like to avoid being squashed up against a tube door like a sweaty sardine, read on.
It comes as no huge surprise that one of the busiest times to travel on the Underground is between 8am and 8.30am. A fave travel time of the 9am-ers, if you try to board a tube in this half-hour gap midweek, you’re just asking for trouble. According to data from the Centre for Cities, Thursday is the day on which most London workers actually commute rather than working from home, so it follows that 8-8.30am on a Thursday is the busiest single half hour on the network.
Stats show that 20 percent fewer people travel between 7.30am and 8am than the peak 8-8.30am period, and 16 percent fewer between 8.30am and 9am. If you have flexibility in your start time, it might be best to hop on the tube in those half-hour gaps instead.
But what’s the busiest period overall? TfL says it’s evening peaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays - the three hour period between 4pm and 7pm. This likely encapsulates both commuters and people heading out to socialise. Between 5pm and 6.30pm are the most congested within that time frame.
Quieter times (in terms of crowdedness, not volume – the Victoria line will never be truly quiet), according to TfL, are between 8.45am and 5pm, and after 6.30pm on weekdays. Presumably, given figures show that a smaller amount of people commute into work on a Monday, and even fewer on a Friday, tubes aren’t as packed on those days, even during peak times. On weekends, travelling before midday, and after 6.30pm, will help you beat the crowds.
The busiest train lines are the Northern line, the Jubilee line, the Victoria line, the Central line, and the Lizzie line, which TfL says is the UK’s busiest train line (by total ridership, rather than crowdedness).
So, if you value your peace – don’t be anywhere near a tube station between 8am and 8.30am, especially not on a Thursday.
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