For a South West Londoner like me, it's easy to think of Farringdon as primarily a tube station. After all, the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines all visit Farringdon station, and so for someone like me, it's likely to be a stop on the tube, rather than a station on a railway. However, Farringdon is home to a couple of platforms servicing First Capital Connect services to Luton and Bedford and points thataway.
Farringdon, despite being a tube station, is completely outdoor. There aren't any major concessions there - unlike some other suburban stations, you won't find loads of coffee shops on the concourse, though you will, of course, find plenty unconnected to the station in the surrounding area.
The tube platforms can be deceptive - because the Metropolitan Line trains are so much longer than the circle or Hammersmith and City, you can find yourself in the right part of the platform for one line, but in a trainless part for another.
The station has electronic displays of when the next train is coming and to where (for both the Mainline and tube trains). There is one ticket booth, and a handful of ticket machines, which dispense both tickets and Oyster top ups.
Considering the number of platforms (around 4, maybe 5 - it depends on how you count), and the number of lines served, the station is tiny, and can get very crowded. read more