Orpington railway station

Orpington
Orpington Location of Orpington in Greater London
Location	Orpington
Local authority	London Borough of Bromley
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code	ORP
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	8
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2011–12	5.105 million
2012–13	5.239 million
2013–14	5.601 million
2014–15	6.014 million
2015–16	5.044 million
Key dates
2 March 1868	Opened
1904	Rebuilt
1925	Electrification
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°22′27″N 0°05′19″E / 51.3741°N 0.0885°E / 51.3741; 0.0885Coordinates: 51°22′27″N 0°05′19″E / 51.3741°N 0.0885°E / 51.3741; 0.0885

Orpington railway station is on the South Eastern Main Line, serving the town of Orpington in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London. It is 13 miles 65 chains (22.2 km) down-line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Petts Wood and Chelsfield stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 6.

The station has eight platforms. Platform 1 is a bay platform which is rarely used. Platform 2 is used for fast services to Charing Cross or Cannon Street . Platforms 3 and 4 are an island, 3 used by trains towards Ashford International or Tunbridge Wells and 4 by stopping services from Sevenoaks to Charing Cross or Cannon Street. Platform 5 hosts the Sevenoaks slows with platforms 6-8 being bay platforms used by services starting at Orpington towards Charing Cross, London Victoria, Cannon Street and Luton/Bedford. At the country end, the four tracks become two. At the London end there is a stabling and servicing area for trains.

There are two entrances, both with ticket offices and ticket barriers, the main one on the platform 1/2 side (Crofton Road), the other on the platforms 5-8 side (Station Approach and the bus interchange). Access to platforms is via an underground subway (unsuitable for wheelchair users) or via a new bridge opened in 2008 which incorporates lift access to all platforms.

The station was opened on 2 March 1868 by the South Eastern Railway (SER), when the SER opened its cut-off line between Chislehurst and Sevenoaks. Previously, trains between London and Tunbridge Wells had taken a circuitous route via Redhill. The line was widened and the station rebuilt in 1904, expanding to six platforms. Third rail electrification reached Orpington in 1925, and extended to Sevenoaks in 1935. About this time the Southern Heights Light Railway was proposed, which would have diverged from the main line south of Orpington and finished at Sanderstead.Crofton Roman Villa was partly destroyed by a railway cutting in the late 1800s but was (re)discovered in 1926 when work was carried out to the area to the west of the station entrance as an entrance to a new council building. Platforms 7 and 8 were built in the early 1990s on the site of former carriage sidings. In 2008, the station became fully accessible following the opening of a new footbridge providing lift access to all platforms. In 2013 the former steam locomotive shed (closed for steam in 1926 in use as sidings until 1960) is still standing converted to offices (sited adjacent to platform 8). In 2014 the car park was rebuilt with 2 stories to increase capacity.