Ladywell railway station

Ladywell railway station is in Ladywell, in the London Borough of Lewisham in south east London, in Travelcard Zone 3. It is 6 miles 62 chains (10.9 km) measured from London Charing Cross.

Ladywell
Ladywell Location of Ladywell in Greater London
Location	Ladywell
Local authority	Lewisham
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code	LAD
DfT category	E
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes[1]
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2014–15	1.122 million[2]
2015–16	1.323 million[2]
2016–17	1.291 million[2]
2017–18	1.211 million[2]
2018–19	1.309 million[2]
Key dates
1 January 1857	Opened
Listed status
Listed feature	Ladywell Station
Listing grade	II
Entry number	1246025[3]
Added to list	23 December 1998
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51.4562°N 0.0192°W / 51.4562; -0.0192
London transport portal

The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southeastern. The Grade II station opened in 1857 and is in Ladywell Fields, adjacent to University Hospital, Lewisham.

History

Early years (1857-1922)

The Mid-Kent line was built by the Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway (MK&NKJR) and was opened on 1 January 1857 as far as Beckenham Junction (although it was not technically a junction as the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway’s line did not open until 3 May 1858). From opening the line was worked by the South Eastern Railway (SER). Seven years later the MK&NKJR built an extension from a new junction station at New Beckenham to Croydon (Addiscombe Road) which again was operated by the SER.[4]

In September 1866 a spur was opened from the north end of Ladywell station to the recently opened main line (which avoided Lewisham Junction station) which it joins at Parks Bridge Junction.[5]

Almost all services from the station have terminated at Charing Cross or Cannon Street stations but between 1880 and 1884 a service worked between Croydon (Addiscombe Road) calling all stations to New Cross and then via a connection to the East London Line and terminating at Liverpool Street station.[6]

In 1898 the South Eastern Railway and its bitter rivals the London Chatham and Dover Railway agreed to work as one railway company under the name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway and Ladywell became an SECR station.

Southern Railway (1923-1947)

Following the Railways Act 1921 (also known as the Grouping Act), Ladywell station became a Southern Railway station on 1 January 1923.

The Mid-Kent line was electrified with the (750 V DC third rail) system and electric services commenced on 28 February 1926. Early electric services were worked by early Southern Railway 3-car Electric Multiple Unit trains often built from old SECR carriages.

On 30 June 1929 colour light signalling was introduced north of Ladywell.[7]

British Railways (1948-1994)

After World War II and following nationalisation on 1 January 1948, the station fell under the auspices of British Railways Southern Region.

Colour light signalling was introduced south of Ladywell (as far as New Beckenham) on 4 April 1971.[8]

The privatisation era (1994-Present Day)

On 13 October 1996 operation of the passenger services passed to Connex South Eastern. Services were subsequently operated by South Eastern Trains, and Southeastern since 1 April 2006.

Service

Railways around Lewisham and Hither Green
South Eastern main line to Charing Cross South Eastern main line to Cannon Street via New Cross non-stop via London Bridge   Nunhead to Lewisham link to London Victoria St Johns Greenwich Park branch line to Greenwich Park Docklands Light Railway to Bank–Monument or Stratford Elverson Road Lewisham North Kent & Bexleyheath lines to Dartford via Blackheath Ladywell Hayes line to Hayes via Catford Bridge Hither Green Hither Green TMD Lee Dartford Loop Line to Dartford via Sidcup South Eastern main line to Kent non-stop via Orpington South Eastern main line to Orpington (stopping services)

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9]

• 2 tph to Cannon Street (calls at all stations via Lewisham)
• 2 tph to Charing Cross (fast to London Bridge)
• 4 tph to Hayes

On Sundays, there is a half-hourly service to/from Cannon Street.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lewisham or London Bridge		Southeastern Hayes Line		Catford Bridge

Layout

Side Platform Platform 1

Southeastern towards Charing Cross, Cannon Street

Southeastern towards Hayes

Side Platform Platform 2

Connections

London Buses routes 122, 284 and P4 serve the station.

Notes

References

1. "London and South East" (PDF). National Rail. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009.
2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. Historic England. "Ladywell Station (1246025)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
4. Jackson, Alan A (1999). London's Local Railways (2nd ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport Publishing. pp. 37–40.
5. Jackson, Alan A (1999). London's Local Railways (2nd ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport Publishing. p. 37.
6. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1996). East London Line. Midhurst, UK: Middleton Press. p. 5. ISBN 1 873793 80 4.
7. Jackson, Alan A (1999). London's Local Railways (2nd ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport Publishing. p. 37.
8. Jackson, Alan A (1999). London's Local Railways (2nd ed.). Harrow Weald: Capital Transport Publishing. p. 47.
9. Table 203 National Rail timetable, May 2016

External links

• Train times and station information for Ladywell railway station from National Rail