A406 North Circular Road Traffic: Live Cameras & Congestion Guide | JamCams
Live cameras, peak hour guide, congestion hotspots and route planning tips — updated 2026-03-02.
The A406 North Circular Road is one of London's most important and consistently congested roads. Running from Chiswick in the west to Beckton in the east, it forms an inner orbital route carrying traffic between West, North and East London without entering central London. The North Circular is infamous for its complexity — a patchwork of dual carriageway, roundabout, gyratory and traffic-light-controlled sections that reflects decades of incremental improvement rather than coherent design. It passes through three of London's worst bottlenecks: Hanger Lane, Brent Cross and Staples Corner.
The A406 has multiple severe congestion zones. Hanger Lane gyratory (A406/A40) consistently ranks among London's worst junctions — queues begin forming from 07:15 and can extend for miles in all directions by 08:00. Brent Cross (A406/A41) is the second major bottleneck, particularly eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening. Staples Corner (A406/A5 near the M1) handles the highest HGV volumes of any London junction and backs up correspondingly. The eastern section through Edmonton and Beckton is significantly better than the western section, though it still experiences regular delays.
Morning peak: 07:30–09:30 · Evening peak: 16:30–19:00
Outside these windows, the A406 typically flows much more freely. Saturdays can be busy between 11:00–15:00.
These TfL JamCam feeds cover the A406 across London. Each image updates every 5 minutes — click any camera to see the full live feed and nearby cameras.
Showing 8 of 33 A406 cameras. Browse all cameras →
Typical congestion levels on the A406 by hour. Green = free-flowing, red/orange = heavy delays.
| 00–05 | 05–07 | 07–08 | 08–09 | 09–10 | 10–12 | 12–14 | 14–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 | 19–21 | 21–24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Friday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Saturday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
| Sunday | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ | ▓ |
There is no practical shortcut past Hanger Lane — if you need to cross the A406/A40 junction, plan your time around it rather than trying to route around it.
The North Circular peaks more sharply than most London roads — 07:45–09:15 is the absolute worst window. Before 07:15 or after 20:00 is dramatically different.
For trips covering more than a quarter of the orbital, the M25 is almost always faster than the A406, despite the longer distance.
If Hanger Lane cameras show stationary traffic, assume the whole western A406 is affected. Check Brent Cross and Staples Corner cameras separately.
If the A406 is heavily congested, these alternatives are worth considering:
The entire A406 is inside the ULEZ. There is no Congestion Charge on the A406. ULEZ operates 24/7 with no time restrictions. Non-compliant vehicles pay £12.50 per day. Check at tfl.gov.uk/ulez.
Hanger Lane gyratory is where the A406 North Circular meets the A40 Western Avenue — two of West London's most important arterials. The 1930s gyratory design cannot serve the current traffic volumes, and the junction handles a disproportionate share of West London's through traffic because there is no practical alternative crossing of this A406/A40 intersection. During peak hours, demand simply exceeds the capacity of the junction regardless of signal optimisation.
The A406 typically clears between 19:30 and 20:30 on weekday evenings — noticeably later than most London roads. Hanger Lane and Brent Cross are the last to clear. Friday evenings can take until 21:00 to fully clear due to weekend leisure traffic. The eastern section (Edmonton to Beckton) clears around 19:00.
No — the A406 is a mix of dual carriageway, single-carriageway and gyratory sections. The section from Hanger Lane to Brent Cross is dual carriageway. Several sections in North and East London are single-carriageway with traffic lights. This inconsistency is part of why congestion is so severe at certain bottlenecks — traffic flowing freely on dual carriageway sections backs up immediately when it hits a constrained gyratory or single-carriageway section.
Yes — the entire A406 North Circular is inside the ULEZ, which covers all roads in Greater London. There is no Congestion Charge on the A406. Non-compliant petrol cars (registered before 2006) and diesel cars (registered before 2015) pay £12.50 per day. Check your vehicle at tfl.gov.uk/ulez.