This article was written by Carolineld, and originally featured on her blog here. She has kindly granted us permission to reprint it here on London Reconnections..JPG)
A journey can be as interesting as the destination, especially when it involves passing through somewhere unexpected like Battersea Park Station. As I hadn't been here before, stepping off the platform into the station building was quite a surprise: despite the best efforts of the rail operators to distract passengers with an overlay of garish plastic, the ticket office area is defiantly Victorian. Recent plans to redevelop the station involve restoration of this ticket hall, which is Grade II listed.
The station was built in the mid-1860s for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, who have also left their mark on the railway bridge just outside. The roundels represent (clockwise from top) London, the Cinque Ports, Brighton and Portsmouth. However, they are something of a misrepresentation here since Battersea Park serves only the South London Line between Victoria and London Bridge. Forced to compete with trams, the railway became electrified in 1909 - with power supplied by Deptford power station.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Battersea Park - in particular the booking hall thereof - is indeed a somewhat overlooked gem.
ReplyDeleteIt is however quite wrong to say the station is only served by the half-hourly South London Line service (aka the SLL, i.e. Victoria to London Bridge via Peckham Rye) - it is also served by numerous 'South London Metro' services from West Croydon, Caterham and Sutton to Victoria - see the station's Live Departure Board page here.
Indeed, if the mooted platform extensions ever happen then the 'mainline' platforms will be extended northwards in a way that will sever the junction with the SLL. But the SLL service is doomed anyway, what with it getting booted out of London Bridge and the coming of ELLX phase 2.
By the by, wily folk heading into Sloane Square or Knightsbridge and thereabouts can make use of Battersea Park and then the 137 0r 452 bus (or even, shock horror, walk), and thus avoid paying the pricey zone 1 fare.
Mizter T, my fault - I should have said 'served' (though the general point that you wouldn't have caught/ won't catch a train direct from here to Portsmouth, Brighton, etc stands).
ReplyDeleteI was going to note when I saw this on your blog - the "recent plans" are from 2006 and were by the previous owners of Battersea Power Station. They're long since cancelled.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've since found info on the current plans (the 2006 ones were cancelled last summer) - which involve an extension to the northern line, but it's not clear whether that would be to the existing station. Perhaps someone here knows?
ReplyDeleteThe northern line extension plan is part of the Battersea Powerstation redevelopmetn proposal and would invlove a new underground station. No existing track or station would be used. The developers do want to upgrade the existing station, but it's quite seperate from the proposed northern line station.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Battersea Park used to be the terminus, before the extension through Pimlico to Victoria was built? That would explain the sumptuous decoration and the Cinque Ports ensignia
ReplyDelete