Sydenham (London) railway station a National Rail station in the south London Borough of Lewisham and is in Travelcard Zone 3. Sydenham is served by London Overground's East London Line and Southern Metro services. The station is known as Sydenham (London) to distinguish it from Sydenham railway station, Belfast and is located on a part of the Brighton Main Line which is often known as the Sydenham Corridor.
Sydenham is located 6 route miles (9.6 km) from London Bridge, 9.7 route miles (15.6 km) from London Victoria and 10.5 route miles (16.8 km) from Highbury & Islington. Opened in June 1839 on a route which was originally the Croydon Canal, it is slightly to the north of Sydenham junction, where the Crystal Palace line branches from the main line.
Sydenham station is on the site of the former Croydon Canal which was purchased and drained by the London and Croydon Railway and re-opened as a railway on 5 June 1839. Around 1844 the 'Up' (London bound) platform was re-sited during the installation of the Atmospheric railway equipment used by the railway. The railway became a part of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in July 1846 and the following year 'Atmospheric' working was abandoned.
The 'Down' (Croydon bound) platform had to be moved to the north of the road bridge in 1852 as a result of the construction of the branch line to Crystal Palace railway station. The 'up'(London bound) platform had also to be moved north of the road bridge in the 1980s.
Before May 2010, Southern was the only TOC serving the station with 6 trains per hour during off peak periods. However, when the London Overground's East London Line opened this changed with Southern reducing its services into London Bridge to 4 trains per hour by withdrawing trains to Sutton, supplemented by an additional 8 trains operated by London Overground - giving the current total of 12 trains per hour.
Like all intermediate stations between New Cross Gate and Norwood Junction, Sydenham has two platforms, facing two (up and down slow) of the four tracks with the two fast tracks run between the two slow lines. There are three entrances - the ticket office on platform 2 from Sydenham Station Approach, entrance on platform 1 from Peak Hill Gardens and a gate on platform 2 which isn't unlocked regularly. A locally owned small cafe named On The Hoof which also has locations at other stations on the line, is located in the main station building.
Sydenham is served by 8 trains in each direction off peak, with additional Southern services at peak hours. London Overground operates 4-5 car trains while Southern operates 4-10 car trains throughout the day.
London Buses routes 122, 176, 197, 202 and 450 serve the station. While routes 75 and 194 run close by.