Orpington railway station

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.

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 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.

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

As of December 2019, the current off-peak service in trains per hour is:[6][7][8][9]

• 2 tph to London Victoria via Herne Hill
• 2 tph to Kentish Town via Catford (during the peak hours, these trains continue to Luton)
• 4 tph to London Charing Cross (fast to London Bridge)
• 2 tph to London Charing Cross via Grove Park
• 2 tph to London Cannon Street via Grove Park and Lewisham (all stations)
• 2 tph to Sevenoaks (all stations)
• 4 tph to Tunbridge Wells of which 2 continue to Hastings

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

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]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orpington railway station.

• Train times and station information for Orpington railway station from National Rail