Sydenham (London) railway station

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

Sydenham (London)
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Sydenham (London) Location of Sydenham (London) in Greater London
Location	Sydenham
Local authority	London Borough of Lewisham
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	SYD
DfT category	D
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2008–09	2.222 million
2009–10	2.162 million
2010–11	2.582 million
2011–12	2.993 million
2012–13	3.191 million
2013–14	3.296 million
Key dates
5 June 1839	Opened by the London and Croydon Railway
1844	London platform re-sited
1852	Croydon platform moved
???	Station building moved
23 May 2010	East London Line started
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

Sydenham (London) railway station a National Rail station in the south London Borough of Lewisham and is in Travelcard Zone 3. Sydenham is served by London Overground's East London Line and Southern Metro services. The station is known as Sydenham (London) to distinguish it from Sydenham railway station, Belfast and is located on a part of the Brighton Main Line which is often known as the Sydenham Corridor.

Sydenham is located 6 route miles (9.6 km) from London Bridge, 9.7 route miles (15.6 km) from London Victoria and 10.5 route miles (16.8 km) from Highbury & Islington. Opened in June 1839 on a route which was originally the Croydon Canal, it is slightly to the north of Sydenham junction, where the Crystal Palace line branches from the main line.

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

Sydenham station is on the site of the former Croydon Canal which was purchased and drained by the London and Croydon Railway and re-opened as a railway on 5 June 1839. Around 1844 the 'Up' (London bound) platform was re-sited during the installation of the Atmospheric railway equipment used by the railway. The railway became a part of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in July 1846 and the following year 'Atmospheric' working was abandoned.

The 'Down' (Croydon bound) platform had to be moved to the north of the road bridge in 1852 as a result of the construction of the branch line to Crystal Palace railway station. The 'up'(London bound) platform had also to be moved north of the road bridge in the 1980s.

Before May 2010, Southern was the only TOC serving the station with 6 trains per hour during off peak periods. However, when the London Overground's East London Line opened this changed with Southern reducing its services into London Bridge to 4 trains per hour by withdrawing trains to Sutton, supplemented by an additional 8 trains operated by London Overground - giving the current total of 12 trains per hour.

There are, or have been, five other stations in the Sydenham area:

• Lower Sydenham on the Hayes Line
• Upper Sydenham on the now closed Crystal Palace (High Level) line
• Sydenham Hill, Penge East on the Victoria to Orpington line.

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, entrance on platform 1 from Peak Hill Gardens and a gate on platform 2 which isn't unlocked regularly. A locally owned small cafe named On The Hoof which also has locations at other stations on the line, is located in the main station building.

Services

London Overground East London Line
Legend
Highbury & Islington    Canonbury Dalston Junction Kingsland Viaduct ▼ Haggerston Hoxton Kingsland Viaduct ▲ Shoreditch High Street Whitechapel Shadwell Wapping Thames Tunnel under River Thames Rotherhithe Canada Water Surrey Quays Queens Road Peckham New Cross Peckham Rye New Cross Gate Denmark Hill Brockley Clapham High Street Honor Oak Park Wandsworth Road Forest Hill Clapham Junction Sydenham Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon

Sydenham is served by 8 trains in each direction off peak, with additional Southern services at peak hours. London Overground operates 4-5 car trains while Southern operates 4-10 car trains throughout the day.

Off Peak frequencies are:

Platform	Frequency (per hour)	Destination	Service Pattern	Operator	Line
1	4	Highbury & Islington	All stations via Shoreditch High Street	London Overground	East London
		Dalston Junction		London Overground	East London
		London Bridge	All stations	Southern	Metro
2	4	Crystal Palace	Next station	London Overground	East London
		West Croydon	All stations	London Overground	East London
	2	London Victoria (Mon-Sat)	All stations via Clapham Junction	Southern	Metro
		Caterham (Mon-Sat)	All stations via East Croydon	Southern	Metro
		West Croydon (Peaks & Sun only)	Fast to Norwood Junction	Southern	Metro
		Tattenham Corner (Sun only)	All stations via East Croydon	Southern	Metro

Connections

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

Lines

Preceding station		London Overground		Following station
Forest Hill towards Highbury & Islington or Dalston Junction		East London Line		Crystal Palace Terminus
				Penge West towards West Croydon
	National Rail
Forest Hill		Southern Crystal Palace Line		Crystal Palace
		Southern Brighton Main Line		Penge West

External links

Further information about Sydenham station.

• National Rail: Sydenham (SYD)
• National Rail: Sydenham station plan
• Southern: Sydenham page
• Southern: Live departures, Sydenham
• Maps and aerial photos