Orpington railway station

Orpington railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line, serving the town of Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London. It is 13 miles 65 chains (22.2 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Petts Wood and Chelsfield stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 6.

Orpington
The station building in 2007
Orpington
Location of Orpington in Greater London
LocationOrpington
Local authorityLondon Borough of Bromley
Managed bySoutheastern
Station codeORP
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms8
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2014–15 6.014 million[2]
2015–16 5.044 million[2]
2016–17 5.155 million[2]
– interchange 1.154 million[2]
2017–18 5.044 million[2]
– interchange  1.153 million[2]
2018–19 5.347 million[2]
– interchange  1.387 million[2]
Key dates
2 March 1868Opened
1904Rebuilt
1925Electrification
Other information
External links
WGS8451.3741°N 0.0885°E / 51.3741; 0.0885
London transport portal

The station has eight platforms. Platform 1 is a bay platform which is only occasionally used for Thameslink services. Platform 2 is used for fast services to Charing Cross or Cannon Street . Platforms 3 and 4 are an island, 3 used by trains towards Ashford International or Tunbridge Wells and 4 by stopping services from Sevenoaks to Charing Cross or Cannon Street. Platform 5 hosts the Sevenoaks slows with platforms 6-8 being bay platforms used by services starting at Orpington towards Charing Cross, London Victoria, Cannon Street and Luton/Bedford. At the country end, the four tracks become two. At the London end there is a four-road sidings, where trains are stabled and cleaned.

There are two entrances, both with ticket offices and ticket barriers, the main one on the platform 1/2 side (Crofton Road), the other on the platforms 5-8 side (Station Approach and the bus interchange). Access to platforms is via an underground subway (unsuitable for wheelchair users) or via a new bridge opened in 2008 which incorporates lift access to all platforms.

History

The station was opened on 2 March 1868 by the South Eastern Railway (SER),[3] when the SER opened its cut-off line between Chislehurst and Sevenoaks. Previously, trains between London and Tunbridge Wells had taken a circuitous route via Redhill. The line was widened and the station rebuilt in 1904, expanding to six platforms. Third rail electrification reached Orpington in 1925, and extended to Sevenoaks in 1935.[4] About this time the Southern Heights Light Railway was proposed, which would have diverged from the main line south of Orpington and finished at Sanderstead.[5] Crofton Roman Villa was partly destroyed by a railway cutting in the late 1800s but was rediscovered in 1926 when work was carried out to the area to the west of the station entrance as an entrance to a new council building. Platforms 7 and 8 were built in the early 1990s on the site of former carriage sidings. In 2008, the station became fully accessible following the opening of a new footbridge providing lift access to all platforms. In 2013, the former steam locomotive shed (closed for steam in 1926; in use as sidings until 1960) is still standing, converted to offices (sited adjacent to platform 8). In 2014 the car park was rebuilt with 2 storeys to increase capacity.

Services

Services are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink.

As of December 2019, the typical off-peak service is:[6][7][8][9]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
London Bridge   Southeastern
South Eastern main line
   Sevenoaks
Petts Wood   Southeastern
Grove Park line
   Chelsfield
or
Terminus
  Southeastern
Bromley South line		   Terminus
  Thameslink
Kentish Town to Orpington
  

Connections

London Buses routes 51, 61, 208, 353, 358, B14, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, school routes 654, 684, night route N199 and Arriva Kent Thameside route 477 serve the station.[10]

References
  1. "Southeastern wheelchair and scooter guide" (PDF). Southeastern. May 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 178. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Southern Electric by G.T.Moody page 56
  5. "Southern Heights Railway". The Times (45098). London. 11 January 1929. col D, p. 9.
  6. "Timetable 4 - London to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings" (PDF). Southeastern, December 2019.
  7. "Timetable 6 - London to Grove Park, Orpington and Sevenoaks" (PDF). Southeastern, December 2019.
  8. "Timetable 7 - London to Bromley South and Orpington" (PDF). Southeastern, December 2019.
  9. "Timetable 05 - Luton to Orpington" (PDF). Thameslink, December 2019.
  10. "Buses from Orpington" (PDF). TfL. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
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