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Hither Green
Hither GreenLocation of Hither Green in Greater London
Location	Hither Green
Local authority	London Borough of Lewisham
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code(s)	HGR
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	6
Fare zone	3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	3.332 million
– interchange	0.561 million
2020–21	0.833 million
– interchange	0.126 million
2021–22	1.959 million
– interchange	0.298 million
2022–23	2.440 million
– interchange	0.438 million
2023–24	2.689 million
– interchange	0.415 million
Key dates
1 June 1895	Opened
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°27′07″N 0°00′03″W / 51.4519°N 0.0008°W / 51.4519; -0.0008
London transport portal

Hither Green is a railway station located in Hither Green in the London Borough of Lewisham, south-east London. It is 7 miles 16 chains (11.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross and is situated between Lewisham and either Grove Park or Lee depending on the route.

It is a busy commuter station with services to several London termini (Cannon Street, Charing Cross and London Bridge) and destinations to other parts of south-east London and the south-east of England (Orpington and Sevenoaks on the South Eastern Main Line, and Dartford and Gravesend on the Dartford Loop Line).

It is in Travelcard Zone 3 and very close to Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD), Grove Park Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot, and Grove Park Safety Training Centre. The station straddles the Prime Meridian, which is marked across the roof of the pedestrian tunnel forming the main entrance.

The station and all trains are operated by Southeastern.

History

Hither Green station was opened on 1 June 1895, by the South Eastern Railway (SER). It was built at Hither Green junction which had been formed some thirty years earlier. Originally there was a booking hall in Springbank Road which was built to serve the St. Germans Estate. The red brick gateposts are still visible outside the site, which was occupied by a timber merchant for many years, but is now being redeveloped for residential use. The original stationmaster's house survives, at 69 Springbank Road. The main station building was built in Staplehurst Road. Since 1974, access to the new booking hall, located between platforms 4 and 5, has been up a ramp from a foot tunnel which runs between Staplehurst Road and Maythorne Cottages.

In 1899 the SER entered a working relationship known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, which managed the station until 1 January 1923, when it became part of the Southern Railway. The Southern Region of British Rail was responsible from nationalisation in 1948 until the regions were completely abolished at the end of 1992.

Accidents and incidents

• On 4 September 1934, two freight trains collided at Hither Green.
• On 5 November 1967, the Hither Green rail crash occurred. An express train from Hastings to Charing Cross derailed between Grove Park and Hither Green station, close to where the railway crosses St. Mildred's Road, due to a broken rail. Forty-nine passengers were killed. Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and his then-fiancée Molly Hullis were among the survivors. Gibb would express the emotions he experienced during the accident in the song Really and Sincerely featured on the group's 1968 album Horizontal.

Facilities and exits

There are two exits from Hither Green Station: Fernbrook Road and Springbank Road. The Fernbrook Road exit may be used to reach Hither Green village. There is also a passageway leading out to Maythorne Cottages, which links with Nightingale Grove. The Springbank Road exit may be used for roads to the west of the station including Hither Green Lane. The exit towards the south east end of platform 4 is an exit for authorised personnel only via Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD).

While the station has a ticket office, it is not open at all times. Ticket machines are available at all times at the Fernbrook Road exit, between platforms 4 and 5, and – for the Springbank Road exit – halfway along on platform 1. There is a coffee shop on platform 5, and a newsagent near the main ticket office, but again these are not open at all times. The station has toilets (open only when the station is staffed).

Planning permission has been granted for a new footbridge and lifts to be installed providing step-free access.

Services

Destinations

Rail services operate from Hither Green station to:

• Lewisham, St Johns, New Cross, London Bridge, Cannon Street, Waterloo East and Charing Cross
• Grove Park (for Sundridge Park and Bromley North), Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst, Petts Wood, Orpington, Chelsfield, Knockholt, Dunton Green, and Sevenoaks
• Lee, Mottingham, New Eltham, Sidcup, Albany Park, Bexley, Crayford, Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe (for Bluewater), Swanscombe, Northfleet and Gravesend.
• Slade Green, Erith, Belvedere, Abbey Wood, Plumstead, Woolwich Arsenal, Woolwich Dockyard, Charlton, Westcombe Park, Maze Hill, Greenwich, and Deptford.

Frequency

v t e Railways around Lewisham and Hither Green
Legend
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 Bakerloo line (proposed) to Elephant & Castle Docklands Light Railway to Bank–Monument or Stratford via New Cross Gate   Elverson Road Lewisham Bakerloo line (proposed) provision for extension to Hayes Blackheath Parks Bridge Junction North Kent Line to Gravesend Ladywell Bexleyheath line to Dartford via Bexleyheath 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)

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

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

• 6 tph to London Charing Cross (2 of these run non-stop to London Bridge and 2 call at Lewisham)
• 2 tph to London Cannon Street (all stations except Lewisham)
• 4 tph to Dartford via Sidcup of which 2 continue to Gravesend
• 4 tph to Orpington via Grove Park of which 2 continue to Sevenoaks

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly circular service to and from London Cannon Street via Lewisham in the clockwise direction and Sidcup, Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich in the anticlockwise direction.

The station is also served by a single early morning service to London Blackfriars.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lewisham or London Bridge		Southeastern Dartford Loop Line		Lee
		Southeastern Grove Park Line		Grove Park

Freight yards and motive power depot

The nearby freight yard is an important strategic location for cross-London freight trains. A former motive power depot opened by the Southern Railway in 1933 was closed in 1961 and converted to the Hither Green Traction Maintenance Depot.

Connections

London Buses route 273, London Buses route 225 and London Buses route N171 serve the station.

References

1. ^ "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 37. ISBN 0-906899-01-X.
3. "Step-free upgrade for Hither Green station gets planning approval". ianVisits. 21 March 2023.
4. Table 199, 200, 204 National Rail timetable, May 2023

External links

• Train times and station information for Hither Green railway station from National Rail

• Southeastern trains
• Street Map

• Rail transport stations in London fare zone 3
• DfT Category C2 stations
• Hither Green
• Railway stations in the London Borough of Lewisham
• Former South Eastern Railway (UK) stations
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1895
• Railway stations served by Southeastern