Orpington railway station

LocationOrpingtonLocal authorityLondon Borough of BromleyManaged bySoutheasternStation codeORPDfT categoryC2Number of platforms8AccessibleYes^[1]Fare zone6National Rail annual entry and exit2018–19 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 dates2 March 1868Opened1904Rebuilt1925ElectrificationOther informationExternal links

• Departures
• Layout
• Facilities
• Buses

Coordinates51°22′27″N 0°05′19″E / 51.3741°N 0.0885°E / 51.3741; 0.0885 London transport portal

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.

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. 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

The station has eight platforms. Platform 1 is a bay platform which is only occasionally used for Thameslink services.

Platforms 2-5 are through platforms. 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.

Bay platforms 6-8 are for stopping services 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 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

The multi-story car park with a capacity of 142 cars was inaugurated in 2014. Southeastern rail 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

Services at Orpington are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using Class 375, 376, 465, 466, 700 and 707 EMUs.

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

• 2 tph to London Victoria via Herne Hill
• 4 tph to London Charing Cross (2 of these run non-stop to London Bridge and 2 are stopping services via Grove Park)
• 2 tph to London Cannon Street via Grove Park and Lewisham (all stations)
• 2 tph to Sevenoaks (all stations)
• 2 tph to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells (1 semi-fast, 1 stopping)

During the peak hours and on Sundays, the station is also served by trains to Ashford International, Dover Priory and Ramsgate. The station is also served by a number of peak hour trains to Kentish Town and Luton via Catford which are operated by Thameslink.

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 Peak Hours Only
	Abandoned plans
Terminus		Orpington, Cudham and Tatsfield Light Railway		Green Street Green towards Tatsfield
Terminus		Southern Heights Light Railway		Green Street Green towards Sanderstead

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, Go-Coach route 3 and Arriva Kent Thameside route 477 serve the station.^[9]

See also

• Murder of Deborah Linsley – unsolved 1988 murder of a woman who boarded an Orpington-London Victoria train at Petts Wood. A man had been seen staring at women boarding the train at Orpington^[10]

References

External links

Companies and
organisations

Transport for London (TfL)	London Underground Night Tube Bakerloo Central Circle District Hammersmith & City Jubilee Metropolitan Northern Piccadilly Victoria Waterloo & City London Rail Docklands Light Railway Elizabeth line Tramlink London Overground North London East London South London West London Gospel Oak to Barking Lea Valley Romford–Upminster Watford DC London Buses East London Transit Superloop Night buses Other Coach station Cycle hire Dial-a-Ride IFS Cloud Cable Car London River Services London Streets Source London Taxi and Private Hire office
Bus operators	Arriva Herts & Essex Arriva London Arriva Southern Counties Go-Ahead London Blue Triangle Docklands Buses London Central London General Metrobus Metroline RATP Dev Transit London London Sovereign London Transit London United Stagecoach London East London Selkent Thameside Transport UK London Bus Uno
River operators	Lower Thames and Medway Passenger Boat Company Uber Boat by Thames Clippers Thames River Services Westminster Passenger Services Association
Train operators	Arriva Rail London Avanti West Coast c2c Caledonian Sleeper Chiltern Railways East Midlands Railway Eurostar Govia Thameslink Railway Gatwick Express Great Northern Southern Thameslink Grand Central Great Western Railway Greater Anglia Stansted Express Heathrow Express Hull Trains MTR Elizabeth line London North Eastern Railway London Northwestern Railway Lumo South Western Railway Southeastern
Other	Global Infrastructure Partners Heathrow Airport Holdings Port of London Authority

Airports

Within London	City Heathrow London Heliport Military: Northolt Private: Biggin Hill
Outside London	Gatwick Luton Southend Stansted

Major stations

Central area	Baker Street Bank-Monument Blackfriars Bond Street Cannon Street Charing Cross City Thameslink Earl's Court Elephant & Castle Euston Farringdon Fenchurch Street Green Park King's Cross Liverpool Street London Bridge Marylebone Moorgate Oxford Circus Paddington St Pancras International Tottenham Court Road Vauxhall Victoria Waterloo Waterloo East Westminster
Other	Barking Bromley South Canary Wharf Clapham Junction Ealing Broadway East Croydon Finsbury Park Heathrow stations Highbury & Islington Lewisham London City Airport Richmond Stratford Surbiton Sutton Upminster West Ham West Hampstead stations Whitechapel Willesden Junction Wimbledon

Roads

Motorways	M1 M4 M11 M25 London Orbital Former: M41 (West Cross Route) A40(M) (Westway) A102(M) (East Cross Route)
Ring roads	London Inner Ring Road North Circular Road South Circular Road
Charging	Congestion charge Low emission zone Ultra Low Emission Zone

TicketingOtherFormer BR sectors