Oxford Circus

Live status — lines serving Oxford Circus

Live departures from Oxford Circus

Oxford Circus is the busiest station in London's West End and one of only a small handful where three deep-tube lines meet. The four-corner ticket-hall design — one entrance on each corner of the Oxford Street / Regent Street junction — was a Victorian compromise that has shaped how the station works (and doesn't) ever since. On a busy Saturday or during the post-Christmas sales, you will often see queues at the gateline and short station-control closures while crowds clear.

If Oxford Circus is closed

• Heading east on the Central? Walk 6 minutes east on Oxford Street to Tottenham Court Road for the Central, Elizabeth and Northern (Charing Cross branch) lines.
• Heading west on the Central? Walk 6 minutes west on Oxford Street to Bond Street for the Central, Elizabeth and Jubilee lines.
• Heading on the Victoria? Walk 7 minutes south to Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo, Piccadilly) and change for the Victoria at Green Park or Victoria itself.
• Heading on the Bakerloo? Walk 8 minutes south to Piccadilly Circus for the same line.

About the station

Oxford Circus sits directly beneath the most famous shopping intersection in Britain. The Central line platforms (opened 1900) and the Bakerloo line platforms (opened 1906) were built independently by competing private railway companies, then linked underground; the Victoria line platforms (opened 1969) were threaded into the existing complex from a third direction. The result is a station with three deep-tube platform levels at different depths, connected by a labyrinth of passageways and escalator banks. It is famously navigable but rarely intuitive — even regulars take the wrong escalator occasionally.

Above ground, the junction is enclosed by the four matching cream-stone Edwardian buildings designed by Henry Tanner in 1912–13, each housing one of the four station entrances. Since 2009 the junction has operated a diagonal pedestrian crossing — one of the first in London — that brings all road traffic to a stop and allows pedestrians to cross in every direction at once. It moves around 200,000 people a day.

Lines that serve Oxford Circus

• Bakerloo line — north to Queen's Park, Wembley Central and Harrow & Wealdstone; south to Waterloo, Lambeth North and Elephant & Castle.
• Central line — east to Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, Bank, Liverpool Street, Stratford, Epping and the Hainault loop; west to Bond Street, Marble Arch, Notting Hill Gate, Shepherd's Bush, Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip.
• Victoria line — north to King's Cross St Pancras, Highbury & Islington, Finsbury Park, Tottenham Hale and Walthamstow Central; south to Victoria, Vauxhall, Stockwell and Brixton.

Step-free access — none

Oxford Circus has no step-free access. Every route from street to any platform involves stairs and escalators, and there are no lifts. This is a significant gap given the station's centrality and the volume of visitors.

If you need step-free access in the West End shopping area, the closest alternatives are:

• Bond Street (Central, Elizabeth, Jubilee lines) — 6 minutes west on foot, step-free since the 2018 rebuild and again expanded for the Elizabeth line.
• Tottenham Court Road (Central, Elizabeth, Northern lines) — 6 minutes east, step-free since the Elizabeth line rebuild.

See the full step-free Tube stations guide for what step-free actually covers and how to plan an accessible journey.

Exits and what is nearby

• Exit 1 — north-west corner. Closest to House of Fraser (former), Nike Town and Oxford Street west towards Bond Street.
• Exit 2 — north-east corner (Argyll Street). Closest to John Lewis, the Palladium Theatre and Oxford Street east towards Tottenham Court Road.
• Exit 3 — south-west corner. Closest to Regent Street south, Hamleys and Liberty (Great Marlborough Street).
• Exit 4 — south-east corner. Closest to Regent Street south-east, Carnaby Street and the side entrance to Liberty.

A bit of history

The Central line platforms opened on 30 July 1900 as part of the original Central London Railway — the "Twopenny Tube" — and were among the first deep-tube stations anywhere in the world. The Bakerloo line followed in 1906; the two companies were rivals, and the underground passages between them were only added years later. The Victoria line platforms, threaded in from a different angle, opened in 1969 as part of the line's extension into central London. A major modernisation in the early 1980s added escalators between the Victoria and Bakerloo levels and rebuilt much of the passenger circulation.

Common quirks

• Pick the right corner before you go down. The four corner entrances do not give equal access to every line — some routes are much shorter than others. Use Exit 2 (north-east) for the most direct route to the Victoria southbound platform; Exit 1 or 4 for the Bakerloo.
• The Victoria line platforms run hot. A combination of deep depth, frequent service and crowding makes them noticeably warmer than the Central or Bakerloo platforms, especially in summer.
• Avoid Saturday afternoons if you can. 13:00 to 17:00 on a Saturday is the single busiest window of the week. Travelling outside that window saves real time.
• Listen for "Oxford Circus is closed." If you hear this on the train approach, the closure is usually short — wait it out at the next stop along the line rather than detraining and walking.

Frequently asked questions

Which lines serve Oxford Circus?

Three Underground lines: the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria. It is one of only a handful of stations on the network where three deep-tube lines meet.

Is Oxford Circus step-free?

No. There is no step-free route from street to any platform. For step-free access in the West End, use Bond Street or Tottenham Court Road.

What zone is Oxford Circus in?

Zone 1.

Why does Oxford Circus close on busy Saturdays?

The four ticket halls cannot safely absorb peak shopping crowds, so TfL applies short "exit only" or "non-stopping" closures to prevent platform-level overcrowding. Closures are usually 10–30 minutes and are announced on station displays and the live status board.

Which exit is for John Lewis?

Exit 2 (north-east corner, Argyll Street side) is closest. Exit 1 (north-west) is also a short walk.

Lines serving this station

Guides