New Cross Railway Station - History

History

In the early Victorian railway boom two companies constructed lines through the area. The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) built a station on the New Cross Road close to Hatcham in 1839. In 1849 the South Eastern Railway (SER) put its station about 600 metres further east along the New Cross Road in the heart of New Cross. Both stations were named "New Cross", creating a confusion which lasted until the two companies were absorbed under the 1923 grouping into the Southern Railway and the name of the older station was changed to New Cross Gate; the ex-South Eastern station remained New Cross.

The station was extensively rebuilt in the 1970s. The original station buildings on the road bridge were replaced by the present buildings at the side. Platforms on the down and fast lines were closed and demolished. A new track layout was introduced at this time.

London Underground used to serve this station as the southern terminus to their East London Line. This closed on 22 December 2007 for major engineering work to convert the East London Line to standard 750v third rail electrification. The line reopened on 27 April 2010 with services now operated by London Overground using new Class 378 Capitalstar units.