London Underground

Assuming that you have a good underground map, you won't have any difficulty. As you start down to the platforms, there is clear signage as to where the train is going. Every stop the train will make from the station you are in to the end of the line is shown. You'll quickly be able to determine if you are going in the right direction.

While there are line diagrams in a few places, signage in the London Underground doesn't go by terminus but by direction of travel (northbound, southbound, eastbound, westbound) which can be a bit confusing if you don't know the geography. But if you have a map with you it will be possible to check the relative direction on that. The connected circles refer to connections between lines serving the same station.

Actually, I liked the Underground's line name with compass directions better than using the last stop on the line. To me, it's easier to remember, as an example, I took district line east in the morning, so I'll need the district line west to get back. The circles show places where you can connect to a different line.

Its always best to be sure your London Underground map is in colour. Each line is inexorably tied to a particular colour. The Circle Line - yellow Central Line - red District Line (all branches) - green Piccadilly Line - dark blue Northern Line (both branches) - black Victoria Line - blue Bakerloo Line - brown Hammersmith and City Line - pink Metropolitan Line - purple Jubilee Line - silver Docklands Light Railway - hollow green
LORAL - London Overground railway - orange (all lines) Happy planning...

To add to the above- You only need to know whether you are going N, S, W or E to find the right platform. most platforms serve only one line so you usually dont have to do further checking. Exception are the platforms serving both District (green) and Circle (yellow ) lines. On these platforms there are electric signs letting you know which train is next. On a few lines the lines split toward the outskirts of town (piccadilly, Northern, district among others) then if you are travelling past the junction you should know the terminus of the line you want. This is always (usually?) shown on a card in the front of the train- as well as on the electric signs yes- the interconnecting circles are to indicate where you can interchange among different lines - usually (except yellow and Green) by having to go to a different platform- good signage

The answer to your question is YES. On the front of each train will be a station, which is the direction the train is heading. You need to know if that station is in the direction you want to go on the Line you want to go on! Many platforms serve more than one line. For example in Paddington the trains may be Circle Line (yellow) or District Line (green). Fortunately a rudimentary understanding of the system will serve you well. Wife and I had no trouble catching the correct underground train after getting to Paddington from Heathrow in 2008.