Greenwich station

Greenwich station is about 400 m south-west of the district centre, in London, England. It is an interchange between National Rail between central London and Dartford (north Kent), and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) between Lewisham to the south and Docklands and the City of London. It is in Travelcard Zones 2 and 3.

This article is about the station in London. For the station in Connecticut, see Greenwich station (Metro-North).

Greenwich
Main station entrance
Greenwich
Location of Greenwich in Greater London
LocationGreenwich
Local authorityRoyal Borough of Greenwich
Managed bySoutheastern
Docklands Light Railway
OwnerNetwork Rail
Docklands Light Railway
Station codeGNW
DfT categoryD
Number of platforms4
AccessibleYes[1][2]
Fare zone2 and 3
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2012 5.359 million[3]
2013 4.604 million[4]
2014 5.038 million[4]
2015 5.343 million[4]
2016 5.415 million[5]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16 3.675 million[6]
2016–17 2.818 million[6]
2017–18 2.534 million[6]
2018–19 3.623 million[6]
2019–20 3.770 million[6]
Key dates
24 December 1838Opened
12 April 1840Resited
11 January 1878Resited[7]
20 November 1999DLR extension
Other information
External links
WGS8451.4781°N 0.014°W / 51.4781; -0.014
 London transport portal

It is the nearest National Rail station to the centre of Greenwich, but Cutty Sark DLR station is closer to the town centre and its tourist attractions.

East of the station the Dartford line goes through a tunnel underneath the grounds of the National Maritime Museum, towards Maze Hill. Northwards, the DLR goes into a tunnel through Cutty Sark station and under the River Thames to the Isle of Dogs; in the opposite direction, it rises on a concrete viaduct to follow the River Ravensbourne upstream to Deptford Bridge and Lewisham.

On the National Rail network, Greenwich is 3 miles 47 chains (5.8 km) measured from London Bridge.

Services

The typical National Rail off-peak service from the station is:

The Docklands Light Railway operates 12 trains per hour northbound to Bank via Canary Wharf, and 12 trains per hour southbound to Lewisham. During morning peaks, some northbound services operate to Stratford.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Deptford   Southeastern
Greenwich line		   Maze Hill
  Thameslink
Greenwich line		  
Preceding station   DLR   Following station
towards Bank
Docklands Light Railway
towards Lewisham

History

The National Rail line is one of London's oldest – the London and Greenwich Railway is reputed to be the world's first suburban railway. It was designed by former army engineer George Landmann, and promoted by entrepreneur George Walter. A massive brick viaduct with 878 arches was built to a station in Spa Road (Bermondsey), and later to London Bridge. The line opened on 8 February 1836 from Deptford, and on 24 December 1838 from a temporary station in Greenwich. Greenwich's handsome station building was designed by George Smith and opened in 1840, making it one of the oldest station buildings in the world.

The South Eastern Railway (SER) leased the Greenwich branch from 1 January 1845.

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway was formed on 1 January 1899 and as such took over operation of the station. The SER and London Chatham and Dover Railway formed a "management committee" comprising the directors of both companies and merged the two companies' operations both of which were on the brink of bankruptcy forced by years of bitter competition.

Up to this point the four tracks through the station (two of which had platforms, two of which did not) terminated at a sector plate which is a traverser that rotates around a pivot that is not at the centre and therefore cannot rotate through 360˚. This saves space and means locomotives can be transferred from one track to another. The original railway company's board room was located at that end of the station behind the sector plate. Both of these features were removed when the line was extended towards Maze Hill.[8]

Difficulties in extending the railway over land owned by the Greenwich Hospital led to the station remaining a terminus until the line was extended eastwards via a cut-and-cover tunnel towards Maze Hill, opening on 1 February 1878.[9][10]

The Southern Railway took over operation of the station following the grouping of 1923.

Up until 1924 there had been two platform tracks and two tracks between them allowing overtaking moves. This facility was removed (possibly in preparation from the forthcoming electrification) and the empty space between the two platforms remained until the arrival of the Docklands Light Railway at the station in 1999.[11]

Two years later following electrification works, a limited service worked by Electric Multiple Units commenced on 10 May 1926 with the full service commencing 19th July. The lines were electrified to the 750v DC system.[12]

Following nationalisation, operation of the station passed to the Southern Region of British Railways on 1 January 1948.

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) was extended to Lewisham via Greenwich on 20 November 1999, the new platforms lying immediately to the south of the main-line station. At the eastern end, the DLR heads underground through the tunnel through Cutty Sark and under the River Thames.

Connections

London Buses routes 129, 177, 180, 188, 199, 286, 386 and night routes N1 and N199 serve the station.[13] The Quietway 1 cycle route terminates at the station.

References
  1. "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2020.
  2. "London and South East" (PDF). National Rail. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009.
  3. Transport for London (12 February 2013). "Freedom of Information DLR usage 1213". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  4. "Up-to-date DLR entry/exit statistics for each station" (XLSX). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  5. "Passenger Numbers - Docklands Light Railway Limited" (XLSX (after downloading zip)). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  7. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 109. ISBN 1-85260-508-1.
  8. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Charing Cross to Dartford. Midhurst UK: Middleton Press. p. 48. ISBN 0 906520 75 4.
  9. Chapman, Stephen. "SER Lines and Stations". Steve's Railway Pages.
  10. Male, David (2005). "Greenwich Day by Day". Greenwich Guide.
  11. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Charing Cross to Dartford. Midhurst UK: Middleton Press. pp. 49/51. ISBN 0 906520 75 4.
  12. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1990). Charing Cross to Dartford. Midhurst UK: Middleton Press. p. 2. ISBN 0 906520 75 4.
  13. "Buses and boats from Greenwich" (PDF). TfL. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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