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Eltham railway station

Coordinates: 51°27′20″N 0°03′05″E / 51.4555°N 0.0515°E / 51.4555; 0.0515
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Eltham National Rail
Eltham is located in Greater London
Eltham
Eltham
Location of Eltham in Greater London
LocationEltham
Local authorityRoyal Borough of Greenwich
Managed bySoutheastern
Station code(s)ELW
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms2
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20Decrease 2.090 million[2]
2020–21Decrease 0.578 million[2]
2021–22Increase 1.297 million[2]
2022–23Increase 1.463 million[2]
2023–24Increase 1.622 million[2]
Key dates
17 March 1985Opened
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°27′20″N 0°03′05″E / 51.4555°N 0.0515°E / 51.4555; 0.0515
London transport portal

Eltham railway station is in the Well Hall area of Eltham, South East London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is 10 miles 68 chains (17.5 km) measured from ‹See TfM›London Victoria. It is in Travelcard Zone 4.

The station is operated by Southeastern. The station has two platforms: platform 1 for services to Central London and platform 2 for Dartford and Barnehurst.

History

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Before 1985, there were two railway stations in Eltham on the Bexleyheath line.

Eltham Well Hall (originally just 'Well Hall'), which opened on 1 May 1895, was about 220 yards (200 m) to the west of the present-day station on the other side of Well Hall Road.[3] It was one of five stations with wooden buildings and was constructed on the west side of the main road,[4] In 1932 the Well Hall buildings were rebuilt.

Eltham Park station, which opened 1 May 1908, was about 500 yards (460 m) further east of the current station with its main entrance adjacent to the London-bound platform, and footpaths to Westmount Road and Glenesk Road. An additional footpath linking the country-bound platform with Westmount Road was available at peak times.[3]

Both stations were closed and replaced by the current station which was opened by British Rail on 17 March 1985 when a new section of the A2, the Rochester Way Relief Road, had opened. A bus station that was built on a raft above the A2 was opened at the same time.

The platforms and buildings of the abandoned Eltham Park station still exist, but there is no trace of Eltham Well Hall station, the site of which is west of the A208 Well Hall Road where the A2 motorway passes under the concrete railway bridge after coming out of a short tunnel beneath Eltham station.

Accidents

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On 11 June 1972, a train derailed near Eltham Well Hall station, when the driver went round a sharp curve too fast. The driver and five passengers were killed, plus 126 people injured; an investigation revealed the driver was drunk.[5][6]

Location

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The station is located on Well Hall Road, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from Eltham High Street.

Buses

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Eltham station is served by several Transport for London bus routes, the 132, 161, 162, 233, 286 and 314 in the adjoining Eltham bus station. These buses carry passengers from the station to Bexley, Bromley, Blackfen, Chislehurst, Greenwich, Mottingham, New Addington, New Eltham, Sidcup, Swanley and Woolwich.

Services

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All services at Eltham are operated by Southeastern using Class 376, 465, 466 and 707 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[7]

During the peak hours, the service between London Charing Cross and Dartford is increased to 2 tph in each direction.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Southeastern

References

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  1. ^ "London and South East" (PDF). National Rail. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. ^ a b Glasspool, David. "Eltham Park". Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  4. ^ Extract from 1898 6inch to the mile OS map. Mottingham, Eltham High Street and new (1895) Bexleyheath Line Railway. (map [:File:Eltham_map_1898.jpg])
  5. ^ "Accident at Eltham Well Hall on 11th June 1972 :: The Railways Archive".
  6. ^ Ministry of Transport; Col J.R.H. Robertson (1973). Railway accident : Report on the Derailment that occurred on 11 June 1972 at Eltham (Well Hall) Station in the Southern Region, British Railways (PDF). HMSO. ISBN 0-11-550303-X.
  7. ^ Table 200 National Rail timetable, May 2023
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