London’s busiest Tube stations will soon be available to explore virtually using Google Street View.
Transport for London (TfL) has said more than 30 stations will be added to the online service, in the hope of allowing passengers to better plan their journeys.
The project will use cameras that capture 360-degree images, with stations set to include Green Park, King’s Cross St Pancras and Waterloo.
Google is expected to start collecting imagery within the stations over the coming weeks, with posters placed at stations to alert customers when photography may be occurring.
The images will be collected by a small team organised by Google between 10am to 4pm to avoid peak hours, using a backpack camera.
Google's blurring technology will then be applied to the imagery, which is designed to automatically blur identifiable faces before publishing.
The images will be launched throughout 2024, allowing passengers to get a better sense of the layout of the stations when planning journeys, as well as identify key facilities such as toilets and help points.
Seb Dance, deputy mayor for transport, said: “This exciting new project will give people the ability to plan their routes on the London Underground in the same way they would when walking and cycling across the city.”
Thomas Ableman, TfL’s director of innovation and strategy, said the project will help passengers “build confidence in using our network when visiting London, as well as plan the best way to interchange between lines”.
Street View currently covers almost every street in London, along with a section of the Thames stretching from Richmond to Woolwich.
It comes after TfL last month announced a separate collaboration with Google, which aims to improve the usefulness of Google Maps to cyclists by taking account of traffic conditions and the availability of high-quality cycling infrastructure on different routes.
The stations set to go on Google Street View are:
- Baker Street
- Bank/Monument
- Bond Street
- Camden Town
- Canada Water
- Canary Wharf
- Canning Town
- Cannon Street
- Clapham Junction
- Custom House
- Embankment
- Euston
- Euston Square
- Farringdon
- Green Park
- Hammersmith
- Highbury and Islington
- King’s Cross St. Pancras
- Liverpool Street
- London Bridge
- Moorgate
- Old Street
- Oxford Circus
- Paddington
- South Kensington
- Stratford
- Tottenham Court Road
- Victoria
- Waterloo
- Westminster
- Whitechapel
