Sydenham railway station (London)

Sydenham is a railway station in Sydenham in the London Borough of Lewisham, South London. Originally opened in 1839, the station is located on the former Croydon Canal, which is now a branch of the Brighton Main Line, often known as the Sydenham Corridor. Sydenham falls within Travelcard Zone 3 and is served by London Overground and Southern. The station is 6 miles 32 chains (6.40 miles, 10.30 km) down the line from London Bridge.

For other stations called Sydenham, see Sydenham railway station (disambiguation).

Sydenham London Overground National Rail
Sydenham is located in Greater London
Sydenham
Sydenham
Location of Sydenham in Greater London
LocationSydenham
Local authorityLondon Borough of Lewisham
Managed byLondon Overground
OwnerNetwork Rail
Station codeSYD
DfT categoryD
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2017–18Decrease 4.148 million[2]
2018–19Increase 4.265 million[2]
2019–20Decrease 4.080 million[2]
2020–21Decrease 1.137 million[2]
2021–22Increase 2.401 million[2]
Key dates
5 June 1839Opened by the London and Croydon Railway
1844Croydon platform re-sited
1982London platform re-sited
23 May 2010East London Line started[3]
Other information
External links
WGS8451.4254°N 0.0544°W / 51.4254; -0.0544
 London transport portal

History
A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Brighton Main Line between South Croydon and Selhurst / Forest Hill, as well as surrounding lines

The Croydon Canal opened in 1809 linking the Grand Surrey Canal to Croydon, however the waterway was never successful, and in 1836, it was the first canal to be abandoned by an Act of Parliament. The alignment was purchased by the London and Croydon Railway, who drained the canal and re-opened as a railway on the 5 June 1839. In 1844, L&CR was given authority to test the first atmospheric railway equipment between Dartmouth Arms (now Forest Hill) and West Croydon.[4] In 1846, the railway became part of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and in the following year, the system was abandoned. The station was originally built south of Sydenham Road (A212) however, due to the construction of the branch to Crystal Palace in 1852, platform 2 was resited to its current position.[5] Platform 1 and its station building remained south of the road bridge, until 1982 when British Rail decided to construct a replacement platform 90 meters north, parallel to Peak Hill Gardens due to the retaining wall beginning to collapse.[6]

The Big Four grouping led to Southern Railway (SR) management until nationalistation in 1948. Between 1948 and 1982 Sydenham was part of the Southern Region and following sectorisation, until privatisation, Sydenham became part of the Network SouthEast sector. Upon privatisation in May 1996, the station management passed to Connex South Central. Connex was stripped of the franchise due to poor financial management and in 2001, Govia South Central (Southern) took over the franchise and management of the station. Southern remained the sole train provider until 2010, when London Overground took over management of the station and began running trains as part of the East London Line extension.

Sydenham was the first station to serve the area, however, there are, or have been, five other stations in the Sydenham:

Station layout

Like all intermediate stations between New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction, Sydenham has two platforms, facing two (up and down slow) of the four tracks with the two fast tracks run between the two slow lines. There are three entrances – the ticket office on platform 2 from Sydenham Station Approach, an entrance on platform 1 from Peak Hill Gardens and a gate on platform 2. A small cafe is in the main station building.

Services

Services at Sydenham are operated by Southern and London Overground using Class 377 and 378 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[7][8]

The station is also served by a single early morning and late evening service to East Croydon via Norwood Junction, with the early morning service continuing to Tattenham Corner and Caterham.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Southern
Southern
Limited Service
Preceding station London Overground Following station
Forest Hill
towards Highbury & Islington
 East London line Crystal Palace
Terminus
Penge West
towards West Croydon

Connections

London Buses routes 122, 176, 197, 202 and 450 serve the station. While routes 75 and 194 run close by.

References
  1. "London Overground system map" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2018.
  2. "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. "News: Sydenham Rail Users Meeting". Sydenham Town. 17 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009.
  4. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. p. 250. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
  5. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. pp. 41–45. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
  6. "Sydenham Station one of best preserved on line". Sydenham Society. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  7. Table 171, 177, 178 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  8. "London Overground Timetable: Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon" (PDF). London Overground. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
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