Underground › District

District line

Opened in 1868 as the Metropolitan District Railway, it has more stations than any other Underground line: 60, on branches to Ealing Broadway, Richmond, Wimbledon, Kensington (Olympia), Edgware Road and Upminster.

1868Opened
64 kmLength
60Stations
22Peak trains per hour, Gloucester Road–Earl's Court
251.2 millionLine boarders a year (2019)

Facts

Opened
24 December 1868
Termini
Ealing Broadway / Richmond / Wimbledon / Kensington (Olympia) / Edgware Road – Upminster
Type
sub-surface
Depots
Ealing Common, Upminster
Shares track
With the Circle from Edgware Road to High Street Kensington and from Gloucester Road to Tower Hill, the Hammersmith & City from Aldgate East to Barking, and the Piccadilly from Acton Town to Ealing Common. From Gunnersbury to Richmond it runs on Network Rail track, with the London Overground. London Underground owns the Wimbledon branch, but Network Rail signals it.
S7 Stock, schematic side elevation, 2 cars
S7 Stock · Bombardier, Derby Litchurch Lane

Route 60 stations

Earl's Court – Upminster 33
Earl's Court – Upminster: schematic, not to scale Earl's Court — change for PiccadillyEarl's Court Gloucester Road — change for Circle, PiccadillyGloucester Road South Kensington — change for Circle, PiccadillySouth Kensington Sloane Square — change for CircleSloane Square Victoria — change for Circle, Victoria, National RailVictoria St James's Park — change for CircleSt James's Park Westminster — change for Circle, JubileeWestminster Embankment — change for Bakerloo, Circle, NorthernEmbankment Temple — change for CircleTemple Blackfriars — change for Circle, National RailBlackfriars Mansion House — change for CircleMansion House Cannon Street — change for Circle, National RailCannon Street Monument — change for CircleMonument Tower Hill — change for CircleTower Hill Aldgate East — change for Hammersmith & CityAldgate East Whitechapel — change for Hammersmith & City, Elizabeth line, Overground (Windrush)Whitechapel Stepney Green — change for Hammersmith & CityStepney Green Mile End — change for Central, Hammersmith & CityMile End Bow Road — change for Hammersmith & CityBow Road Bromley-by-Bow — change for Hammersmith & CityBromley-by-Bow West Ham — change for Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, DLR, National RailWest Ham Plaistow — change for Hammersmith & CityPlaistow Upton Park — change for Hammersmith & CityUpton Park East Ham — change for Hammersmith & CityEast Ham Barking — change for Hammersmith & City, Overground (Suffragette), National RailBarking UpneyUpney BecontreeBecontree Dagenham HeathwayDagenham Heathway Dagenham EastDagenham East Elm ParkElm Park HornchurchHornchurch Upminster BridgeUpminster Bridge Upminster — change for Overground (Liberty), National RailUpminster
Earl's Court – Wimbledon 9
Earl's Court – Wimbledon: schematic, not to scale Earl's Court — change for PiccadillyEarl's Court West Brompton — change for Overground (Mildmay), National RailWest Brompton Fulham BroadwayFulham Broadway Parsons GreenParsons Green Putney BridgePutney Bridge East PutneyEast Putney SouthfieldsSouthfields Wimbledon ParkWimbledon Park Wimbledon — change for Trams, National RailWimbledon
Turnham Green – Earl's Court 7
Turnham Green – Earl's Court: schematic, not to scale Turnham Green — change for PiccadillyTurnham Green Stamford BrookStamford Brook Ravenscourt ParkRavenscourt Park Hammersmith — change for Circle (other station), Hammersmith & City (other station), PiccadillyHammersmith Barons Court — change for PiccadillyBarons Court West KensingtonWest Kensington Earl's Court — change for PiccadillyEarl's Court
Edgware Road – Earl's Court 6
Edgware Road – Earl's Court: schematic, not to scale Edgware Road — change for Circle, Hammersmith & CityEdgware Road Paddington — change for Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith & City (other station), Elizabeth line, National RailPaddington Bayswater — change for CircleBayswater Notting Hill Gate — change for Central, CircleNotting Hill Gate High Street Kensington — change for CircleHigh Street Kensington Earl's Court — change for PiccadillyEarl's Court
Ealing Broadway – Turnham Green 5
Ealing Broadway – Turnham Green: schematic, not to scale Ealing Broadway — change for Central, Elizabeth line, National RailEaling Broadway Ealing Common — change for PiccadillyEaling Common Acton Town — change for PiccadillyActon Town Chiswick ParkChiswick Park Turnham Green — change for PiccadillyTurnham Green
Turnham Green – Richmond 4
Turnham Green – Richmond: schematic, not to scale Turnham Green — change for PiccadillyTurnham Green Gunnersbury — change for Overground (Mildmay)Gunnersbury Kew Gardens — change for Overground (Mildmay)Kew Gardens Richmond — change for Overground (Mildmay), National RailRichmond
Kensington (Olympia) – Earl's Court 2
Kensington (Olympia) – Earl's Court: schematic, not to scale Kensington (Olympia) — change for Overground (Mildmay), National RailKensington (Olympia) Earl's Court — change for PiccadillyEarl's Court

Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one branch, between junctions or termini. Station order from TfL open data.

StationZoneInterchanges
Earl's Court1/2Piccadilly
Gloucester Road1Circle, Piccadilly
South Kensington1Circle, Piccadilly
Sloane Square1Circle
Victoria1Circle, Victoria, National Rail
St James's Park1Circle
Westminster1Circle, Jubilee
Embankment1Bakerloo, Circle, Northern
Temple1Circle
Blackfriars1Circle, National Rail
Mansion House1Circle
Cannon Street1Circle, National Rail
Monument1Circle
Tower Hill1Circle
Aldgate East1Hammersmith & City
Whitechapel2Hammersmith & City, Elizabeth line, Overground (Windrush)
Stepney Green2Hammersmith & City
Mile End2Central, Hammersmith & City
Bow Road2Hammersmith & City
Bromley-by-Bow2/3Hammersmith & City
West Ham2/3Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, DLR, National Rail
Plaistow3Hammersmith & City
Upton Park3Hammersmith & City
East Ham3/4Hammersmith & City
Barking4Hammersmith & City, Overground (Suffragette), National Rail
Upney4
Becontree5
Dagenham Heathway5
Dagenham East5
Elm Park6
Hornchurch6
Upminster Bridge6
Upminster6Overground (Liberty), National Rail
West Brompton2Overground (Mildmay), National Rail
Fulham Broadway2
Parsons Green2
Putney Bridge2
East Putney2/3
Southfields3
Wimbledon Park3
Wimbledon3Trams, National Rail
Turnham Green2/3Piccadilly
Stamford Brook2
Ravenscourt Park2
Hammersmith2Circle (other station), Hammersmith & City (other station), Piccadilly
Barons Court2Piccadilly
West Kensington2
Edgware Road1Circle, Hammersmith & City
Paddington1Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith & City (other station), Elizabeth line, National Rail
Bayswater1Circle
Notting Hill Gate1/2Central, Circle
High Street Kensington1Circle
Ealing Broadway3Central, Elizabeth line, National Rail
Ealing Common3Piccadilly
Acton Town3Piccadilly
Chiswick Park3
Gunnersbury3Overground (Mildmay)
Kew Gardens3/4Overground (Mildmay)
Richmond4Overground (Mildmay), National Rail
Kensington (Olympia)2Overground (Mildmay), National Rail

Stations, zones and interchanges from TfL open data (2026-10-02). National Rail interchanges are listed where TfL groups the stations together.

Rolling stock

Earlier trains on this line

History 16

  1. The Metropolitan District Railway opens from South Kensington to Westminster, with five stations.
  2. Extended east to Mansion House, and Earl's Court to High Street Kensington opens.
  3. Reaches Hammersmith. Trains run on to Richmond from 1 June 1877 and to Ealing Broadway from 1 July 1879.
  4. The Inner Circle is completed, and District trains reach Whitechapel.
  5. Extended from Putney Bridge (reached in 1880) to Wimbledon.
  6. Trains run east of Whitechapel, and a steam service to Upminster begins.
  7. Electric trains take over on the main line, reaching Wimbledon by 27 August. The first electric District trains had run to South Harrow in 1903.
  8. Electric trains reach Upminster.
  9. The last District trains run to Uxbridge; the branch passes to the Piccadilly.
  10. The last District trains run to Hounslow; that branch passes to the Piccadilly too.
  11. D78 Stock enters service.
  12. London Underground takes over ownership of the Wimbledon branch from British Rail.
  13. The weekday shuttle to Kensington (Olympia) is withdrawn; weekend trains continue.
  14. The last C Stock train runs, on the Edgware Road–Wimbledon service.
  15. The last D78 Stock train runs, leaving the line to the S7 Stock.
  16. New signalling goes live from Barons Court to Stamford Brook and Fulham Broadway to Putney, completing the District sections. West of Stamford Brook and south of East Putney keep the old signals.

Sources 16

How we source figures →