... What if the first train you board at Hampstead is going via Charing Cross? In that case, things aren’t quite so simple. For a start, most Charing Cross trains terminate at Kennington — only during peak times do a few services go all the way to Morden. Riding all the way through to Balham normally isn't even an option.
Thankfully, changing at Kennington doesn't slow you down too much. The average wait at Kennington for a southbound service is just 90 seconds, and the onward trip to Balham takes 11 minutes. Your total journey time is 1½ minutes (waiting) + 21 minutes (to Kennington) + 1½ minutes (waiting) + 11 minutes (to Balham) = 35 minutes. ...
... To the savvy traveller, however, this extra complication is a red herring. Since Balham is south of Kennington, pretty much every train that comes through will be going up the Bank branch. If you were to go all the way to Hampstead on one of these trains, you'd be looking at an average of 3 minutes (waiting) + 38 minutes (to Hampstead) = a tiresome 41-minute journey.
You can do a bit better by catching the first train that arrives at Balham — regardless of its eventual destination — then changing at Kennington for the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line. You'll have to factor in waiting time, however, since again every other service will be going to High Barnet. You can expect a total journey time of 1½ minutes (waiting) + 12 minutes (to Kennington) + 3 minutes (waiting) + 22 minutes (to Hampstead) = 39½ minutes. It's faster than staying on the Bank branch, but not by much. ...
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