Orpington railway stationis on theSouth Eastern Main Line,serving the town ofOrpingtonin theLondon Borough of Bromley,south-east London. It is 13 miles 65 chains (22.2 km) down the line fromLondon Charing Crossand is situated betweenPetts WoodandChelsfieldstations. It is inTravelcard Zone 6.
Orpington | |
|---|---|
 The station main entrance off Crofton Road in 2023 | |
  Orpington Location of Orpington in Greater London | |
| Location | Orpington |
| Local authority | London Borough of Bromley |
| Managed by | Southeastern |
| Station code(s) | ORP |
| DfT category | C2 |
| Number of platforms | 8 |
| Accessible | Yes[1] |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2018–19 |  5.348 million[2] |
| – interchange | 1.387 million[2] |
| 2019–20 |  5.236 million[2] |
| – interchange | 1.414 million[2] |
| 2020–21 | 1.308 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.189 million[2] |
| 2021–22 | 3.189 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.549 million[2] |
| 2022–23 | 4.030 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.579 million[2] |
| Key dates | |
| 2 March 1868 | Opened |
| 1904 | Rebuilt |
| 1925 | Electrification |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°22′27″N0°05′19″E/ 51.3741°N 0.0885°E |
 London transport portal | |
History
edit
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2014) |
The station was opened on 2 March 1868 by theSouth Eastern Railway(SER),[3]when the SER opened its cut-off line betweenChislehurstand Sevenoaks. Previously, trains between London and Tunbridge Wells had taken a circuitous route viaRedhill.The line was widened and the station rebuilt in 1904, expanding to six platforms.Third rail electrificationreached Orpington in 1925, and extended to Sevenoaks in 1935.[4]
About this time theSouthern Heights Light Railwaywas proposed, which would have diverged from the main line south of Orpington and finished atSanderstead.[5]Crofton Roman Villawas 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. As of 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.[6]
Layout
editThe station has eight platforms. Platform 1 is abay platformwhich is only used for extra capacity duringrush hourand other periods of high traffic.
Platforms 2-5 are through platforms. Platform 2 is used for fast services toCharing CrossorCannon Street.Platforms 3 and 4 are anisland,3 used by trains towardsAshford InternationalorTunbridge Wellsand 4 by stopping services fromSevenoaksto Charing Cross or Cannon Street. Platform 5 hosts the Sevenoaks slows.
Bay platforms 6-8 are bay platforms for stopping services towards Charing Cross,London Victoria,Cannon Streetand 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 containing ticket offices and ticket barriers. The main entrance is on the platform 1/2 side (Crofton Road), while the other entrance is on the platform 5-8 side (Station Approach and the bus interchange). Access to platforms 3 and 4 is available via an underground subway (inaccessible for wheelchair users) or via a bridge opened in 2008 which incorporates lift access to all platforms.
Parking
edit
The multi-story car park with a capacity of 142 cars was inaugurated in 2014.Southeasternrail company funded the expansion with a cost of £1.9 million.Jo Johnson,who was serving as the MP for Orpington, as well as David Statham, Southeastern's Managing Director at the time, were hosting the event.[7]
Services
editServices at Orpington are operated bySoutheasternandThameslinkusingClass 375,376,465,466,700and707EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[8]
- 2 tph toLondon VictoriaviaHerne Hill
- 4 tph toLondon Charing Cross(2 of these run non-stop toLondon Bridgeand 2 are stopping services viaLewisham)
- 2 tph toLondon Cannon Street
- 2 tph toSevenoaks(all stations)
- 2 tph toHastingsviaTunbridge Wells(1 semi-fast, 1 stopping)
Additional services, including a number ofThameslinkservices between to and fromKentish TownandLutonviaCatfordcall at the station during the peak hours.
On Sundays, the services to and from London Cannon Street do not run.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern | ||||
| Petts Wood | Southeastern |
Chelsfield orTerminus | ||
| Southeastern | Terminus | |||
| Thameslink Peak Hours Only | ||||
Connections
editLondon Busesroutes51,61,208,353,358,B14,R1,R2,R3,R4,R5,R6,R7,R8,R9,R10,school routes654,684,night routeN199,Go-Coachroute 3 andArriva Kent Thamesideroute 477 serve the station.[9]
See also
edit- Murder of Deborah Linsley– unsolved 1988 murder of a woman who boarded an Orpington-London Victoria train atPetts Wood.A man had been seen staring at women boarding the train at Orpington[10]
References
edit- ^"Southeastern wheelchair and scooter guide"(PDF).Southeastern.May 2009.Retrieved20 June2017.
- ^abcdefghij"Estimates of station usage".Rail statistics.Office of Rail Regulation.Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^Butt, R.V.J. (1995).The Directory of Railway Stations.Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 178.ISBN1-85260-508-1.R508.
- ^Southern Electric by G.T.Moody page 56
- ^"Southern Heights Railway".The Times.No. 45098. London. 11 January 1929. col D, p. 9.
- ^"Southeastern adds 142 spaces to Orpington rail station car park".News Shopper.9 February 2015.Retrieved29 March2021.
- ^"Southeastern adds 142 spaces to Orpington rail station car park".9 February 2015.
- ^Table 52, 195, 196, 199, 204, 206, 207National Railtimetable, December 2023
- ^"Buses from Orpington"(PDF).TfL.5 December 2017.Retrieved2 June2020.
- ^Boseley, S. (25 March 1988). "Police name woman murdered on train".The Guardian.
External links
edit
- Train timesandstation informationfor Orpington railway station fromNational Rail