Plan your trip
Getting to Battersea Power Station: travel times to central London
Tube, bus, river, bike or car: how long it takes from Battersea Power Station to central London.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Battersea Power StationBattersea Power Station has its own Zone 1 Underground station, a river pier and bike docks at the gate. Here is how long the journey takes to the West End, Westminster and the City, by every way of travelling.
The station, on Battersea Park Road beside Electric Boulevard, opened on 20 September 2021 when the Northern line was extended from Kennington. The times below come from TfL’s Journey Planner for a weekday mid-morning, and include changes but not the walk to the platform; allow a few more minutes at busy times.
By Underground
Trains from Battersea Power Station call at Nine Elms and Kennington, then run without a change to Waterloo (about 7 minutes), Embankment (9), Leicester Square (11) and Tottenham Court Road (12). Pay with a contactless card or Oyster, as on every Tube line.
With one change, Westminster takes about 15 minutes, London Bridge about 14 and Bank about 16 (changing at Kennington for the Bank branch). Piccadilly Circus takes about 16 minutes and Oxford Circus about 17 to 18; Victoria about 19 to 20; St Paul’s about 22; and King’s Cross St Pancras about 21.
By bus
Two stops serve the Power Station. From Battersea Park / Chelsea Gate on Chelsea Bridge Road, nearest the Grosvenor Arch entrance, routes 44, 137, 211 and 452 run north over Chelsea Bridge; the 44 reaches Victoria in about 20 minutes, including the walk to the stop, and the 137 and 452 run to Sloane Square.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Battersea Power Station · Brendan BellFrom the Battersea Power Station stop on Battersea Park Road, by the Pump House Lane entrance, routes 156, 344 and 436 run east to Vauxhall, with its bus station and Victoria line. For the West End, Westminster and the City, TfL’s planner needs at least one change by bus and takes about 40 to 55 minutes, so the Underground is far quicker.
By river
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers calls at Battersea Power Station Pier, beside the park, with boats east along the Thames to Westminster, Embankment, Blackfriars, London Bridge City and Canary Wharf; Uber Boat gives about 37 minutes to London Bridge City. Pay with a contactless card or Oyster, the Uber app or at the pier, and check the timetable before you travel, as sailings vary through the day.
By rail
Battersea Park station, about ten minutes’ walk from the entrances by Chelsea Bridge or at Pump House Lane, has Southern trains to London Victoria. Queenstown Road station, about 15 minutes’ walk away, has South Western Railway trains to London Waterloo.
Leicester Square is 11 minutes away on the Northern line, without a change.
By car and taxi
Taxis and ride-hailing drivers should head for Pump House Lane, off Battersea Park Road, the vehicle entrance, where security will direct them. The car parks are reached from Pump House Lane (SW11 8BJ) and Circus Road West (SW11 8EZ), with more than 200 spaces, EV charging and a 2.2-metre height limit; at the time of writing a stay of under two hours costs £6 and a full day £30. They fill at weekends.
We do not quote driving times, which change hour by hour with traffic. Central London lies inside TfL’s Congestion Charge zone, and all of London is in the Ultra Low Emission Zone, so check TfL’s rules before you drive.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Battersea Power StationBy bike
Santander Cycles has a docking station in Grosvenor Arch, listed as Battersea Power Station, Battersea Park, with others at Sopwith Way, Bradmead, Battersea Park Road (Nine Elms) and Riverlight South (Nine Elms). If you bring your own bike, the Bike Hub has space for about 500 bikes, reached by the Prospect Way lifts or from Malaysia Square along Lumen Lane.
TfL’s planner gives these cycling times from the Power Station: Sloane Square about 9 minutes, Victoria 10, Westminster 17, Piccadilly Circus 19, Trafalgar Square and Embankment 20, Oxford Circus and Leicester Square 21, Waterloo 23, London Bridge 29, and Bank and St Paul’s 30.
On foot
Battersea Power Station’s own guide puts Sloane Square at a 12-minute walk, by Chelsea Bridge and Ranelagh Gardens, and Victoria at about 20 minutes, by Chelsea Bridge, Ebury Bridge Road and Buckingham Palace Road. Vauxhall is about 20 minutes east along Nine Elms Lane.
Our advice: take the Northern line for speed and the river for the view. Arrive by Uber Boat to see the chimneys rise from the water, then leave on the Tube from the far end of Electric Boulevard; on a fine evening, walk over Chelsea Bridge to Sloane Square instead.
Why it's on our list
- By Underground
- By bus
- By river
- By rail
- By car and taxi
- By bike
- On foot
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyLiquid history: the ThamesFrom Roman port to empire’s docks and today’s galleries: the river that made London.
The back storyFrom chop houses to MICHELIN stars: the London tableOysters, chop houses, curry houses and the gastropub: how London learned to eat.
The back storyBritish CuisineThe Sunday roast, fish and chips, the full English and the great puddings, and where to eat them.