Kent House railway station

Kent House railway station is on the Chatham Main Line in England, serving part of the Penge and Beckenham areas in the London Borough of Bromley, south London. It is 7 miles 66 chains (12.6 km) down the line from London Victoria and is situated between Penge East and Beckenham Junction. It takes its name from the nearby Kent House farm, the first house in the historic county of Kent after crossing the Surrey border.

Kent House
Kent House railway station
Kent House Location of Kent House in Greater London
Location	Beckenham
Local authority	London Borough of Bromley
Managed by	Southeastern
Station code	KTH
DfT category	D
Number of platforms	4
Fare zone	4
OSI	Clock House Beckenham Road [1]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16	1.022 million[2]
2016–17	1.077 million[2]
2017–18	1.140 million[2]
2018–19	1.136 million[2]
– interchange	334[2]
2019–20	1.110 million[2]
– interchange	228[2]
Key dates
1 July 1863	Line opens
1 October 1884[3]	Station opens
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51.4123°N 0.0453°W
London transport portal

The station and most trains that call are operated by Southeastern, as part of the Bromley South Metro service, while a limited number of Thameslink services also call. Kent House is in Travelcard Zone 4.

History

The line was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) on 1 July 1863, but the station was not opened until 1 October 1884 and was originally named Kent House (Beckenham). It lies above street level, where the booking office is situated; there is a subway and stairs to the platforms.

On 3 February 1993, an IRA bomb was detonated on a train at the station that was travelling from Victoria to Ramsgate. A warning had been given and everybody was safely evacuated before the explosion but the damage to the carriage was considerable.[4]

Services

All trains at Kent House are operated by Southeastern. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: [5]

• 4 tph to London Victoria
• 4 tph to Bromley South of which 2 continue to Orpington

During the morning peak, there are 5 trains to London Blackfriars via Elephant & Castle, and during the evening peak there are 5 trains from Blackfriars that terminate at Beckenham Junction.

Platform 2 is signalled with a turnback facility in the London direction, though currently no services start or terminate at this station.

Connections

London Buses routes 194, 227 and 358 and night route N3 serve the station.

Clock House station on the Hayes Line (formerly the Mid-Kent Line) is a short walk from this station, and has trains between London Charing Cross/Cannon Street and Hayes, which are also operated by Southeastern.

Beckenham Road tram stop is 5 minutes walking distance.

References

1. "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
2. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
3. "The Railways of Beckenham", Andrew Hajducki, 2011
4. "IRA bombs train and Tube station: Two explosions bring disruption to". The Independent. 4 February 1993. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
5. "Timetable 7: London to Bromley South and Orpington via Herne Hill" (PDF). Southeastern, December 2019.

External links

• Train times and station information for Kent House railway station from National Rail
• Beckenham History

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Brighton Main Line and Chatham Main Line in South London.