Opening
The first section, between Spa Road in Bermondsey and Deptford, opened on 8 February 1836. However, previously to this, a number of demonstration trains had been running from mid-1835. These were suspended for a while after a derailment in November, but resumed the following year, with somewhat apocryphal rumours circulating that some trains had reached 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). On the Whit Monday following the official opening, the line carried around 13,000 passengers. There was a fatal accident on 7 March, when Daniel Holmes was run over, and a train collided with some carriages.
The line reached Bermondsey Street in October, and finally to London Bridge on 14 December 1836 (Spa Road was no longer used as a stop at this time). At the other end, the line reached a temporary station at Church Row in Greenwich on 24 December 1838, having been delayed by problems with the Deptford Creek lift bridge. The present Greenwich station opened on 12 April 1840.
Read more about this topic: London And Greenwich Railway
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