TfL Spending Up to £11 Million a Year Tackling Tube Graffiti

Transport for London (TfL) is spending as much as £11 million annually to combat graffiti on the Tube, with the Bakerloo and Central Lines the worst affected, it has emerged.

TfL Commissioner Andy Lord told the London Assembly’s Budget and Performance Committee that the authority has seen a notable increase in tagging this year. The costs cover cleaning carriages, investigating offenders, and preventing future incidents.

“We’ve seen quite a spike this year,” Mr Lord said. “We’re spending between £10 million and £11 million on a combination of proactive investigation, prevention, and cleaning. The two fleets most impacted are the Bakerloo and Central Lines. We’re working closely with the British Transport Police and our own investigation teams to target hotspots where people are gaining access to trains.”

Graffiti on the Underground has been a growing concern in 2025. Reports in June revealed cleaners were removing more than 3,000 tags each week. TfL staff have said they are removing “one tag on average every three minutes,” with the majority cleaned when trains are out of service, although some are addressed while trains are running.

Dr Neil Hudson, Conservative MP for Epping Forest, criticised the apparent lack of visible results. “TfL says it is spending money on graffiti, but my constituents are seeing the problem get worse, especially on the Central Line,” he said. “It feels like travelling in a scene from Batman’s Gotham City. TfL and City Hall need to tackle this issue more effectively, using deterrents such as signage, CCTV, and staff presence.”

Earlier in the year, a grassroots group, Looking for Growth, made headlines by attempting to clean Tube trains themselves, highlighting public frustration over the issue. Mayor of London representatives discouraged similar future actions, urging passengers not to attempt cleaning trains on their own.