Orpington Railway Station - History

History

The station was opened on 2 March 1868, when the South Eastern Railway opened its cut-off line between Chislehurst and Haysden Junction. 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 ten years later. Crofton Roman Villa was partly destroyed by a railway cutting in the late 1900s 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.

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