We Are Currently Experiencing Delays as There is a Person Under the Train

Ah, the announcement that every Londoner hates to hear when getting on the Tube.  Don’t you just hate it when someone decides to kill themselves at the height of rush hour?  Couldn’t they find a more convenient time to end it?  Don’t they know I have places to be?  When this is your reaction to someone’s death, you know that you’ve become a full fledged Londoner.  Or perhaps just a cold-hearted bastard.

But back to the topic at hand, the Tube.  It’s small, its crowded and seems due to the impending Olympics seems to always be closed due to engineering works. And for some reason, it doesn't run 24/7.  But the trains come frequently and it’s one of the most efficient ways to get around London.  Unless of course you can afford to take a black cab everywhere.


The trick with the Tube is knowing when to get on.  If you try to go anywhere during rush hour, you’re pretty much going to be crammed in a car.  But if you travel during off peak hours, it really ain’t that bad.  Some may even say it’s enjoyable.

The pricing for Tube tickets is based on a zone system.  So if you’re travelling within zone 1 you pay a set price of either 1.80 GBP with an Oyster card of 4.00 GBP if you’re paying cash.  If you’re going from zone 1 to zone 2, then you’ll pay even more.  You can calculate the price of a single fare here.

If you use the Tube as your main mode of transportation, I highly recommend buying an Oyster card.  This is a card that you can buy from any Tube station.  It costs 3 GBP but as you can see you get great savings on fares for the Tube as well as the bus.

In addition to the saving on pay-as-you-go fares, you can also put a weekly, monthly or annual travelcard on your Oyster card.  The pricing also depends on what zones you are travelling in.  However they have the benefit of paying one price in advance and allow unlimited travel on either the bus and/or the Tube, DLR and London Overground.  You can get more info here.  Please note that you can not get a monthly pass for zone 1 only.  You have to get one for zones 1 and 2.

For more information about the Tube including maps, you can visit the TFL website.