Forest Hill railway station

Forest Hill
Forest Hill Location of Forest Hill in Greater London
Location	Forest Hill
Local authority	London Borough of Lewisham
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	FOH
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2008–09	3.024 million[1]
2009–10	2.945 million[1]
2010–11	3.643 million[1]
2011–12	4.184 million[1]
2012–13	4.487 million[1]
2013–14	4.666 million[1]
2014–15	4.661 million[1]
Key dates
5 June 1839	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°26′20″N 0°03′11″W / 51.439°N 0.053°W

Forest Hill railway station is a London Overground station in Forest Hill, part of the London Borough of Lewisham. The station is adjoins a road which serves as part of the South Circular Road (A205).

The station is operated by London Overground, with London Overground and Southern trains serving the station. Thameslink and some Southern services pass through the station and is in Travelcard Zone 3.

There are four tracks through the station, although only the slow lines (the two outer tracks) have platforms. It lies on the Brighton Main Line and London Overground between Honor Oak Park and Sydenham stations.

There are two entrances, the main one being on platform 1 at the bottom of the South Circular Road, and a side entrance on platform 2 on Perry Vale. The ticket office is placed in the main entrance, although there are ticket machines outside both entrances.

History

The station was opened by the original London & Croydon Railway (L&CR) on 5 June 1839, as Dartmouth Arms (the name of the local inn).

The line was also used by the London and Brighton Railway from 1841 and the South Eastern Railway (SER) from 1842. In 1844, the station was chosen by the L&CR as the northern terminus for Phase 1 of an experimental Atmospheric railway to West Croydon. A pumping station was also constructed at the station.^[2] The L&CR and the L&BR merged to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in July 1846; the following year "atmospheric" working was abandoned, and the station became Forest Hill for Lordship Lane.

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

The LB&SCR moved the Down platform during the early 1850s when the line was quadrupled, and extended the island platform around 1864.^[3]

The LB&SCR station buildings were destroyed by bombing during World War II and have been replaced by a more modern system-built structure. The short narrow island platform serving the fast lines was demolished in the early 1960s.

Services

Forest Hill is served by 8 trains in each direction off peak, with additional Southern services at peak hours. Southern operates 4 to 8 car trains throughout the day, with 10 carriage trains at peak hours.

Off-peak frequencies are:

Platform	Frequency (per hour)	Destination	Service Pattern	Operator	Line
1	4	Highbury & Islington	All stations via Shoreditch High Street[4]	London Overground	East London
	4	Dalston Junction		London Overground	East London
	4	London Bridge	All stations[5]	Southern	Metro
2	4	Crystal Palace	All stations[4]	London Overground	East London
	4	West Croydon	All stations[4]	London Overground	East London
	2	London Victoria (Mon-Sat)	All stations via Clapham Junction[5]	Southern	Metro
	2	Caterham (Mon-Sat)	All stations via East Croydon[5]	Southern	Metro
	2	West Croydon (Peaks & Sun only)	Sydenham then fast to Norwood Junction[5]	Southern	Metro
	2	Tattenham Corner (Sun only)	All stations via East Croydon[5]	Southern	Metro

Proposals

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

In a rail meeting in Sydenham, Southern said Thameslink trains may stop here^[6] after the Thameslink Programme is completed in 2018.^[7]

Connections

London Buses routes 122, 176, 185, 197 and 356 serve the station.^[8][9]

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. pp. 249–250. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
3. Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. pp. 43, 245. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
4. "East & Inner South London Line timetable" (PDF). Transport for London. 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
5. "Southern timetables". Southern. 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
6. Forest Hill Society response to Combined Southern and Thameslink Franchise
7. Thameslink Programme
8. Forest Hill station/Dartmouth Road
9. Forest Hill Station/London Road - Bus

External links

• Train times and station information for Forest Hill railway station from National Rail