Some basic London Underground station statistics

Numbers of passenger stations on the Underground

As with the main line network, statistics surrounding London Underground station numbers are not straightforward to compile as what constitutes a station is contaminated by issues around ownership, name, management and when stations were combined.

The following list is compiled from the most accurate source of opening and closure dates available. In order to inject consistency into an area where many have operated on a subjective basis it is taken that irrespective of ownership by individual London Underground predecessors a station only counts as a single entry if it were possible to pass from one to another via a single property boundary. Thus Oxford Circus (which had two station buildings on opposite sides of the road, one for each railway, counts as one station as there was always low level interchange available between lines. Contrariwise,  Notting Hill Gate is counted as two stations until 1959 as (though they were nearby) there was no connection between them until 1959 when an interchange subway was built. It is hoped that this approach seems reasonable and will accord with what passengers experience.

There are inevitably borderline cases. For example, Kings Cross is counted as two stations until 1978, despite the existence of a very long tortuous subway which existed for a few years before the Second World War connecting the tube (and new Met station) with the station in Pentonville Road. Paddington (suburban) and the Circle and Bakerloo station is counted as two. Bank-Monument is counted as one after the escalator link was put in. Stations owned or managed jointly with a main line company are included as owned or managed by LU alone (we have separate figures but not shown in detail here).

For the reasons described there may occasionally be slight discrepancies with officially produced statistics, not themselves consistent. For example LU currently claims to serve 270 stations with stations owned/managed 260. The basis upon which these numbers are arrived at are not explained.