Step-free travel
Lifts, ramps, help from staff, and how to read the step-free details on each station guide.
Many central stations still have stairs or escalators only. Of the 36 busiest central stations we summarise from TfL's Step-free Tube guide (October 2026), 10 are step-free and 10 are partly step-free. For the other stations, each guide shows what TfL's station data records: whether there's a step-free route from the street to each platform, and the step and gap when boarding. TfL's data shows a step-free street-to-platform route at all Tube platforms for 83 of those stations.
Help from staff, without booking
TfL runs a turn up and go service on the Tube, London Overground and Elizabeth line, open to everyone. TfL says staff will:
- tell you about disruption and suggest other step-free routes
- take you from the ticket hall to the platform and help you on the train
- help you change trains and get off at the end, and take you back to the ticket hall
- put down a mini ramp or boarding ramp if you need one and one is available
- push a manual wheelchair if needed
If there's no reasonable step-free alternative, TfL says it will book an accessible taxi at its own cost to another step-free station or your destination in Greater London. There are staff at all Tube, Elizabeth line and Overground stations while trains run; look in the ticket hall or at the gates, or use a Help Point.
All Elizabeth line stations are step-free from street to platform, and all DLR stations are step-free from street to train.
What the terms mean
- Level access: no gap or step to the train.
- Mini ramp: staff can put down a small ramp to bridge the gap.
- Staff ramp: ask staff to set up a boarding ramp.
- Step and gap: TfL's station data gives the largest step up and horizontal gap between platform and train, in millimetres.
Central stations at a glance
| Station | Step-free (TfL guide) | Toilets (TfL data) |
|---|---|---|
| Baker Street | Partly | Yes |
| Bank | Partly | Yes |
| Barbican | Partly | None listed |
| Blackfriars | Yes | Yes |
| Bond Street | Yes | None listed |
| Charing Cross | No | Yes |
| Covent Garden | No | None listed |
| Embankment | No | None listed |
| Euston | Partly | Yes |
| Farringdon | Yes | Yes |
| Green Park | Yes | Yes |
| Holborn | No | None listed |
| Hyde Park Corner | No | None listed |
| King's Cross St Pancras | Yes | Yes |
| Knightsbridge | Yes | None listed |
| Lancaster Gate | No | None listed |
| Leicester Square | No | None listed |
| Liverpool Street | Partly | Yes |
| London Bridge | Yes | Yes |
| Marble Arch | No | None listed |
| Monument | No | None listed |
| Oxford Circus | Partly | None listed |
| Paddington | Partly | Yes |
| Piccadilly Circus | No | Yes |
| Russell Square | No | None listed |
| Sloane Square | No | None listed |
| South Kensington | No | None listed |
| Southwark | Yes | None listed |
| St James's Park | No | None listed |
| St Paul's | No | None listed |
| Temple | No | None listed |
| Tottenham Court Road | Partly | Yes |
| Tower Hill | Yes | None listed |
| Victoria | Partly | Yes |
| Waterloo | Partly | Yes |
| Westminster | Yes | Yes |
Every station guide has a step-free section. Lifts break down, so check live lift status on TfL's station page before you go. Travelling with a pushchair? See the Tube with kids or a buggy.
Sources: TfL Step-free Tube guide (October 2026), TfL help from staff, and TfL station data dated 20 October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.