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Lewisham

A junction station of 1857 where the Mid-Kent (Hayes) line leaves the South Eastern Railway’s North Kent line, served by Southeastern, and the southern terminus of the Docklands Light Railway since 1999.

6Platforms
1857Opened
7.0 millionEntries and exits (2024-25)
69thBusiest station in Britain (2024-25)

Platforms 6

Platform plan, to scale from OpenStreetMap1/26534Platforms 1 and 2. About 710 ft (216 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 3. About 780 ft (238 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 4. About 780 ft (238 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 5. About 250 ft (75 m) long, off OpenStreetMapPlatform 6. About 250 ft (75 m) long, off OpenStreetMapN100 ft (30 m)Platforms, tracks and outline © OpenStreetMap contributors

Seen from above, to scale: the platforms, tracks and the station building’s outline (the grey line) from OpenStreetMap, the lines running roughly south-east to north-west. North is marked top left, and the scale bottom left. Point at a platform for its number and length.

Facts

Opened
1 January 1857 as Lewisham Junction, by the Mid-Kent Railway and South Eastern Railway; the first Lewisham station on the North Kent line opened 30 July 1849
Platforms
6: 1 to 4 National Rail (1 and 2 Mid-Kent line, 3 and 4 North Kent line), 5 and 6 DLR
Routes
North Kent Line, the Mid-Kent (Hayes) line, Bexleyheath and Sidcup services and the DLR to Bank and Stratford
Operators
Southeastern and the Docklands Light Railway
DLR
Southern terminus of the Docklands Light Railway since 1999, with trains to Bank and Stratford
Managed by
Southeastern
Listed
No listing found (not confirmed)
Interchanges
1.50 million (2024-25)

unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓

Trains

The trains the operators run here, as the sources give them.

History 8

  1. The South Eastern Railway opens the North Kent line through Lewisham; the first station stands on a viaduct about 180 yards east of the present site.
  2. The Mid-Kent Railway opens to Beckenham, worked by the South Eastern Railway, and the present junction station opens the same day.
  3. Eleven passengers are killed in the Lewisham rail crash.
  4. Electric services begin on the Mid-Kent line, including the Hayes branch, from Charing Cross and Cannon Street.
  5. The North Kent line is electrified to Dartford.
  6. The junction is remodelled on a large scale, to route cross-London freight via Nunhead and Loughborough Junction.
  7. A new loop line opens on the west side of St Johns.
  8. The Docklands Light Railway extension from Island Gardens to Lewisham is opened by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, with Lewisham as the new southern terminus.

Sources 10

Show the 10 sources from Office of Rail and Road, Wikimedia Commons, Kent Rail and 7 more

Where the sources disagree:

  • DLR platform numbers (5 and 6) and the count of two DLR platforms are from Wikipedia only; TfL’s API lists one DLR platform stop point.
  • The National Rail platform numbering (1 and 2 Mid-Kent, 3 and 4 North Kent) is from Kent Rail’s history and Wikipedia; Southeastern’s page confirms platforms 1 to 4 but not which line each serves.
  • The opening date of the DLR extension: Wikipedia’s infobox gives 20 November 1999, while its history text and ianvisits give 22 November 1999 (the opening by John Prescott). Another Wikipedia page gives Cutty Sark station as 3 December 1999.
  • The renaming from Lewisham Junction to Lewisham on 7 July 1929, the 1976 loop and the 28 June 1857 crash are from Wikipedia only; the renaming is left out of the history and the other two are marked.
  • Kent Rail gives 12 July 1926 for the full North Kent electric timetable, while Wikipedia and ianvisits give 6 June 1926 for electrification to Dartford; the dates may mark different events.
  • The brief names a Dartford loop: services to Dartford via Sidcup and via Bexleyheath are confirmed by Southeastern, but no source opened describes the loop lines’ history at Lewisham.
  • Fleet: Southeastern’s page does not name train types. Classes 376, 465, 466 and 707 are from Wikipedia’s list; a 2025 photograph of a 376 at Lewisham is on Commons. DLR stock (B23, B2007, B90/B92) is the network-wide fleet and was not confirmed for Lewisham by a TfL page. Thameslink services (TfL lists Thameslink; Wikipedia says they are diverted through Lewisham during Greenwich line works) are not confirmed and no Thameslink stock is listed.
  • Listing status: not found; Historic England’s site returned 403 and was not opened.
  • The 2009 replacement of the main-entrance canopy is from Wikipedia only.
  • Fare zone 2+3 is from TfL’s API; ORR’s facility owner was not opened for this file.
  • 28 June 1857: Eleven passengers are killed in the Lewisham rail crash: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 6 June 1926: The North Kent line is electrified to Dartford: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 1929: The junction is remodelled on a large scale, to route cross-London freight via Nunhead and Loughborough Junction: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 1 April 1976: A new loop line opens on the west side of St Johns: the date is from Wikipedia only.
  • 22 November 1999: The Docklands Light Railway extension from Island Gardens to Lewisham is opened by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, with Lewisham as the new southern terminus: the date is from Wikipedia only.
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