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Sydenham
SydenhamLocation of Sydenham in Greater London
Location	Sydenham
Local authority	London Borough of Lewisham
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	SYD
DfT category	D
Number of platforms	2 (facing 4 tracks)
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	4.080 million
2020–21	1.137 million
2021–22	2.401 million
2022–23	3.105 million
2023–24	3.518 million
Key dates
5 June 1839	Opened by the London and Croydon Railway
1844	Croydon platform re-sited
1982	London platform re-sited
23 May 2010	East London line started
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°25′31″N 0°03′16″W / 51.4254°N 0.0544°W / 51.4254; -0.0544
London transport portal

Sydenham is an interchange station between the Windrush line of the London Overground and National Rail services operated by Southern, located in Sydenham in the London Borough of Lewisham. Originally opened in 1839, the station is located on the former Croydon Canal, which is now a branch of the Brighton Main Line, often known as the Sydenham Corridor. The station is 6 miles 32 chains (6.40 miles, 10.30 km) down the line from London Bridge. Sydenham falls within Travelcard Zone 3.

History

The Croydon Canal opened in 1809 linking the Grand Surrey Canal to Croydon, however the waterway was never successful, and in 1836, it was the first canal to be abandoned by an Act of Parliament. The alignment was purchased by the London and Croydon Railway, who drained the canal and re-opened as a railway on the 5 June 1839. In 1844, L&CR was given authority to test the first atmospheric railway equipment between Dartmouth Arms (now Forest Hill) and West Croydon. In 1846, the railway became part of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and in the following year, the system was abandoned. The station was originally built south of Sydenham Road (A212) however, due to the construction of the branch to Crystal Palace in 1852, platform 2 was resited to its current position. Platform 1 and its station building remained south of the road bridge, until 1982 when British Rail decided to construct a replacement platform 90 meters north, parallel to Peak Hill Gardens due to the retaining wall beginning to collapse.

The Big Four grouping led to Southern Railway (SR) management until nationalistation in 1948. Between 1948 and 1982 Sydenham was part of the Southern Region and following sectorisation, until privatisation, Sydenham became part of the Network SouthEast sector. Upon privatisation in May 1996, the station management passed to Connex South Central. Connex was stripped of the franchise due to poor financial management and in 2001, Govia South Central (Southern) took over the franchise and management of the station. Southern remained the sole train provider until 2010, when London Overground took over management of the station and began running trains as part of the East London line extension (now the Windrush line).

Sydenham was the first station to serve the area, however, there are, or have been, five other stations in the Sydenham:

• 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, an entrance on platform 1 from Peak Hill Gardens and a gate on platform 2. A small cafe is in the main station building.

Services

v t e Windrush Line
Legend
London Overground
Highbury & Islington Canonbury Dalston Junction Haggerston Kingsland Viaduct Hoxton Shoreditch High Street Whitechapel Shadwell ( 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 ( Clapham North) Honor Oak Park Wandsworth Road Forest Hill Battersea Park (limited) Sydenham Clapham Junction Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon

Sydenham is on the Windrush line of the London Overground, with services operated using Class 378 EMUs. Additional services are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

• 2 tph to London Bridge
• 8 tph to Highbury & Islington via Surrey Quays (Windrush line)
• 2 tph to London Victoria via Streatham Hill
• 4 tph to Crystal Palace (Windrush line)
• 4 tph to West Croydon (Windrush line)

In the peak hours, the station is served by 4tph to London Bridge as well as 2 trains that run down to Sutton.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Forest Hill		SouthernCrystal Palace Line		Crystal Palace
		SouthernBrighton Main Line Stopping ServicesLimited Service		Penge West
Preceding station	London Overground			Following station
Forest Hilltowards Highbury & Islington		Windrush lineEast London line		Crystal PalaceTerminus
				Penge Westtowards West Croydon

Connections

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

References

1. "London Overground system map" (PDF). Transport for London. May 2018.
2. ^ "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. "News: Sydenham Rail Users Meeting". Sydenham Town. 17 September 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009.
4. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. p. 250. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
5. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. pp. 41–45. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
6. "Sydenham Station one of best preserved on line". Sydenham Society. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
7. Table 171, 177, 178 National Rail timetable, May 2022
8. "London Overground Timetable: Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon" (PDF). London Overground. Retrieved 4 August 2022.

External links

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

v t e London Overground
Windrush line Highbury & Islington Canonbury Dalston Junction Haggerston Hoxton Shoreditch High Street Whitechapel Shadwell Wapping Rotherhithe Canada Water Surrey Quays New Cross Queens Road Peckham Peckham Rye Denmark Hill Clapham High Street (from Clapham North) Wandsworth Road Battersea Park Clapham Junction New Cross Gate Brockley Honor Oak Park Forest Hill Sydenham Crystal Palace Penge West Anerley Norwood Junction West Croydon Stations in italics have a limited service.
Other topics Future plans Planned and proposed stations Brent Cross West Castle Green Thamesmead Abbey Wood East Brixton Maiden Lane Junction Road Surrey Canal Old Oak Common Lane Hythe Road Primrose Hill Planned and proposed routes R25 (London) West London Orbital Rolling stock Current Class 378 Class 710 Former Class 150 Class 172 Class 313 Class 315 Class 317 Class 508 Operations Arriva Rail London London Overground Night Service London Rail National Rail Network Rail Transport for London History East London line extension London Overground Rail Operations North London Railway Orbirail Overground Network Silverlink
London transport portal

• Rail transport stations in London fare zone 3
• DfT Category D stations
• Railway stations in the London Borough of Lewisham
• Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1839
• Railway stations served by London Overground
• Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway
• Sydenham, London
• Windrush line stations