Penge West railway station is located in Penge, a district of the London Borough of Bromley in south London. The station is operated by London Overground, with Overground and Southern trains serving the station. Thameslink and some Southern services pass through the station. It is 7 miles 15 chains (7.19 miles, 11.57 km) down the line from London Bridge, in Travelcard Zone 4.
Penge West   | |
|---|---|
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  Penge West Location of Penge West in Greater London | |
| Location | Penge |
| Local authority | London Borough of Bromley |
| Managed by | London Overground |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Station code(s) | PNW |
| DfT category | E |
| Number of platforms | 2 (facing 4 tracks) |
| Accessible | Yes (Northbound only) |
| Fare zone | 4 |
| OSI | Penge East [1] |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2018–19 |  0.683 million[2] |
| 2019–20 |  0.653 million[2] |
| 2020–21 | 0.218 million[2] |
| 2021–22 | 0.483 million[2] |
| 2022–23 | 0.609 million[2] |
| Key dates | |
| 1839 | Station Opened |
| 1841 | Closed |
| 1 July 1863 | Re-opened |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°25′03″N 0°03′53″W / 51.4174°N 0.0648°W |
 London transport portal | |
Penge East station is a short walk away and has services to London Victoria, Bromley South and Orpington. Crystal Palace station is also within walking distance and has regular trains to London Bridge.
Penge West station forms part of the new southbound route of the London Overground East London line that opened on 23 May 2010.
Penge West station provides convenient access to The Dinosaur Park via the south gate of the Crystal Palace Park.
History
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The original Penge station was opened by the London and Croydon Railway in 1839, probably more for logistical reasons than anything else: the railway crossed the nearby High Street by a level crossing, and the station would have provided a place for trains to wait while the crossing gates were opened for them. The population of Penge was only around 270 at this time, not enough to make the station commercially viable. It was closed in 1841, and the level crossing was converted to a bridge soon afterwards.[3] The entrance to the station was actually on Penge High Street, and not its current position. Evidence of the original entrances can still be seen in the brickwork on either side of the bridge as the track passes over the road.
By the early 1860s, Penge's population had risen to over 5,000 - more than eighteen times its level just twenty years earlier. There was also a demand for improved transport to the Crystal Palace nearby, so the station was reopened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway on 1 July 1863.[4] This was the same day that the London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened its own Penge Lane station on its line to London Victoria. Following the 1923 Grouping of railway companies, the two stations were renamed Penge West, and Penge East by the Southern Railway on 9 July 1923.[5]
A large building on the down platform served as a ticket office and goods office and included the waiting room and Station Master's office. A wide road from the corner of Oakfield Road and Penge High Street provided access to these buildings and sidings which served a coal yard and timber yard on the site of the old brickfield.[6] The sidings were removed, the buildings demolished and the access road closed when the land was sold for the construction of a Homebase store. Since then access to the down platform has been via a footbridge from the up platform. Previously the only passenger access between the two platforms was via Penge High Street.
The 1863 station building serving the Up platform remained in use until April 2005 when it was damaged in a fire set by arsonists.[7][8] After a period of limited station facilities, reconstruction work commenced in the summer of 2006 and was completed in December that year.
Services
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Off-peak, all services at Penge West are operated by London Overground using Class 378 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9][10]
- 4 tph to Highbury & Islington via Surrey Quays
- 4 tph to West Croydon
The station is also served by a limited Southern service of one train per day to London Bridge and two trains per day to East Croydon, one of which continues to Tattenham Corner and Caterham. All day off-peak services to London Bridge were axed in September 2022. These services are operated using Class 377 EMUs.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Limited Service | ||||
| Preceding station |   London Overground
|
Following station | ||
| Sydenham towards Highbury & Islington
|
East London line | Anerley towards West Croydon
| ||
Connections
editLondon Buses routes 176, 197 and 227 stop near the station, while the Bromley-bound 354 stops directly outside the station entrance on Anerley Park.
The station is also a short 9 minuite walk from Penge East station for Southeastern services.
References
edit- ^ "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^ Howard Turner, John (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. p. 48. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
- ^ Howard Turner (1978) | p. 242.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 183. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ Camberwell: Divisions of the New Borough (Map) Ordnance Survey, 1885
- ^ "Southern Railway: Penge West station information". Archived from the original on 17 November 2006.
- ^ "Bromley Borough Liberal Democrats: Penge West station".[permanent dead link]
- ^ Table 171, 177, 178 National Rail timetable, May 2022
- ^ "London Overground Timetable: Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon" (PDF). London Overground. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
External links
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- Train times and station information for Penge West railway station from National Rail
- A Penge Walk starting at Penge West station