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Forest Hill railway station

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Forest Hill London Overground National Rail
A northbound London Overground train arrives at the station
Map Interactive map of Forest Hill
General information
LocationForest Hill
Local authorityLondon Borough of Lewisham
Managed byLondon Overground
Owner
Station codeFOH
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms2
Tracks4
AccessibleYes
Fare zone3
National Rail annual entry and exit
2020–21Decrease 1.322 million[1]
2021–22Increase 2.947 million[1]
2022–23Increase 3.757 million[1]
2023–24Increase 4.231 million[1]
2024–25Decrease 4.229 million[1]
Key dates
5 June 1839Opened as Dartmouth Arms
1845Renamed Forest Hill
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°26′20″N 0°03′11″W / 51.439°N 0.053°W / 51.439; -0.053

Forest Hill is an interchange station between the Windrush line of the London Overground and National Rail services operated by Southern, located in Forest Hill in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is 5 miles 50 chains (5.63 miles, 9.05 km) down the line from London Bridge,[2] between Honor Oak Park and Sydenham, in London fare zone 3.

History

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A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Brighton Main Line between South Croydon and Selhurst/Forest Hill, as well as surrounding lines

The station was opened by the original London & Croydon Railway (L&CR) on 5 June 1839, as Dartmouth Arms (the name of the local inn).[3]

In 1844, the station was chosen by the L&CR as the northern terminus for Phase 1 of an experimental atmospheric railway to West Croydon. A pumping station was also constructed at the station.[4] The L&CR and the L&BR merged to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in July 1846; the following year "atmospheric" working was abandoned. Between 1877/78 and 1942/43, the station became Forest Hill for Lordship Lane.[3]

The LB&SCR moved the Down platform during the early 1850s when the line was quadrupled, and extended the island platform, serving the now-through lines, around 1864.[5] This was removed some time around the 1960s.[6]

Facilities

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There are two entrances, the main one being on platform 1 at the bottom of the South Circular Road, and a side entrance on platform 2 on Perry Vale. The ticket office is placed in the main entrance, although there are ticket machines outside both entrances.[7] There is a small car park, taxi rank, cycle spaces, a coffee kiosk on platform 1, and live departure screens.[7]

Passenger volume

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Passenger Volume at Forest Hill[8]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Entries and exits 2,125,791 2,033,105 2,006,798 3,014,902 3,127,730 3,022,766 2,945,358 3,643,002 4,183,512 4,487,196 4,665,736 4,661,252 5,264,368 5,422,654 5,222,206 5,291,880 4,999,990 1,322,472 2,946,890 3,757,282

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

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The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[9][10]

The station is also served by a single early morning and late evening service to East Croydon via Norwood Junction, with the early morning service continuing to Tattenham Corner and Caterham.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Southern
Stopping Services
Preceding station London Overground Following station
Honor Oak Park
towards Highbury & Islington
 Windrush line
East London line
 Sydenham
towards Crystal Palace or West Croydon

Connections

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London Buses routes 122, 176, 185, 197 and 356 serve the station.[11][12]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ↑ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. pp. .page. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  3. 1 2 Quick 2023, p. 197.
  4. ↑ Turner, John Howard (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and Formation. Batsford. pp. 249–250. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X.
  5. ↑ Howard Turner, John (1978). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 2 Establishment and Growth. Batsford. pp. 43, 245. ISBN 0-7134-1198-8.
  6. ↑ "The Atmospheric Road : Forest Hill". Columbia University. Retrieved 15 April 2026. The "wide" space between the center tracks is the site of the island platform that was closed sometime in the 1960s and removed before 1972.
  7. 1 2 "Forest Hill (FOH); Station information". Southern Railway. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Estimates of station usage". ORR Data Portal. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Table 171, 177, 178 National Rail timetable, May 2022
  10. ↑ "London Overground Timetable: Highbury & Islington to New Cross, Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace and West Croydon" (PDF). London Overground. Retrieved 4 August 2022.[permanent dead link]
  11. ↑ Forest Hill station/Dartmouth Road
  12. ↑ Forest Hill Station/London Road – Bus

Bibliography

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