The Greenwich Park branch line (also known as the Lewisham line) is a short section of railway line in south east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

which links the

Catford Loop line The Catford Loop Line is a railway line in southeast London. It carries a suburban stopping passenger service from central London to Sevenoaks, and is also a relief route for the Chatham Main Line carrying passenger trains from London Victor ...

to the

South Eastern Main Line The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are t ...

which originally terminated at station. It provides a link for freight trains travelling from north London to the south east, as well as a route for passenger trains from

London Victoria station Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Qu ...

to destinations in South East London and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

The line was originally built as the Greenwich Park branch line by the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and no ...

from

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...

to a terminus at

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritag ...

. It ran from a junction at

in a generally north-east direction to a terminus on the

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

High Road, close to the north-west corner of

, approximately . A short tunnel took the branch under the A2 at Blackheath Hill. The entrance to Brockley Lane station is still visible at Brockley Cross. There were four stations: * Brockley Lane * Lewisham Road *

Blackheath Hill Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England **Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England * Blackheath, Surrey, England **Hundred of Blackhe ...

(opened 1871) *

(opened 1888) All closed on 1 January 1917, and the branch beyond Lewisham Road was abandoned on 1 January 1926 by the Southern Railway.

Creating the link

On 7 July 1929, the branch was reopened as far as

Lewisham Road station Lewisham Road was a railway station in Lewisham, south-east London, opened in 1871 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 ...

, with a new connection to the South Eastern Railway lines at

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

. The Southern Railway had absorbed the London, Chatham and Dover and the South Eastern Railways and sought to link the two networks to enable cross-London freight. From 30 September 1935 the line was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

, enabling passenger trains from Dartford to access

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(see Bexleyheath Line). It has acted as a diversionary route for trains routed to London Bridge for any engineering works in the New Cross area. Trains divert to other London terminals (stations) using this line.

Possible revival of Brockley Lane station

A report released by the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...

and Transport for London in 2016 covering future improvements to rail services in London and the South East mentions a new interchange at Brockley as a potential, long-term future improvement for South East London, opening the possibility of Brockley Lane station being reopened, although there is no further information beyond this.

Current traffic

Passenger services are provided by Southeastern. Currently the off-peak service is 2tph between London Victoria and Gravesend via Bexleyheath (terminating at Dartford late at night). Freightliner Intermodal operates regular container trains to Thamesport on the

Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area i ...

DB Cargo UK DB Cargo UK (formerly DB Schenker Rail UK and English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS)), is a British rail freight company headquartered in Doncaster, England. The company was established in early 1995 as ''North & South Railways'', successful ...

runs engineering trains to Hoo Junction.

References

{{Railway lines in London Railway lines in London Standard gauge railways in London