Sydenham Station (SYD)

Address: Sydenham Road, London SE26 5EU
Opened: 5th June 1839
Station Code: SYD
Fare Zone: 3

London Overground Line(s) Served:

East London Line

Service Pattern(s):

8 trains per hour to Highbury & Islington
4 trains per hour to Crystal Palace
4 trains per hour to West Croydon

Interchange(s)

Southern

Station History

Although the site at Sydenham now contains a railway station, it was originally host to another form of transport. The Croydon Canal linking Croydon with New Cross and the River Thames at Rotherhithe was originally routed through the site and opened in 1809.

The canal never became commercially viable and it was closed in 1836. However, the alignment was purchased by the London & Croydon Railway to construct a railway line from London Bridge to West Croydon (on the site of the former canal basin).

Construction began almost immediately and the line and Sydenham Station opened for passenger use on the 5th June 1839. The London & Croydon Railway itself fell victim to financial issues and was amalgamated with other companies to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1846.

Under the new ownership, and following the relocation of the Crystal Palace from Hyde Park, the LB&SCR constructed a spur line from Sydenham to the new attraction. This required the relocation of platform 2 to its current site, and the line opened on 10th June 1854.

The passing of the Railways Act 1921 saw the LB&SCR grouped with other railways to form Southern Railways on 1st January 1923. This was followed by Nationalisation on 1st January 1948 when the Southern Railway came under the management of British Railways Southern Region.

Nothing of any note occurred at the station in the following decades until 1982, when British Rail discovered that the retaining wall behind Platform 1 had begun to fail. The decision was taken to relocate the platform 90 metres to the other side of the road bridge dividing the station and replace the station buildings simultaneously.

Sectorisation of the railways saw the station and its lines become part of the London and Southeast business sector later that year, with the business being renamed to Network Southeast on 10th June 1986.

Privatisation of the Railways following the Railways Act 1993 saw the station and its lines franchised to Connex, who operated them under their South Central subsidiary.

A further management change occurred on 26th August 2001, when the new franchisee of the line Govia bought out the remaining two years of the Connex agreement to assume services early.

The final management change thus far happened on 27th April 2010 when London Overground assumed operation of the new East London Line, although services did not commence until the 23rd May.