Rotherhithe is a station on the

Windrush line The Windrush line is the service operated by London Overground on the East London line and South London line, running north to south through the East and South areas of London. The East London line was previously a line of the London Undergrou ...

of the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

, located on the southern bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

within the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

. The station is between and stations, and is in fare zone 2. The station re-opened for a preview service on 27 April 2010 to and , and 23 May 2010 for full service to West Croydon and . On 9 December 2012, the line was extended to serve Clapham Junction via

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...

History

The station was originally opened on 7 December 1869, when the first section of the

East London Railway The East London line is a railway line running north to south through the East London, East, London Docklands, Docklands and South London, South areas of London. It is used by London Overground services. It was previously a line of the London ...

was opened. On 1 October 1884, the

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

and

District Railway The Metropolitan District Railway, also known as the District Railway, was a passenger railway that served London, England, from 1868 to 1933. Established in 1864 to complete an " inner circle" of lines connecting railway termini in London, the ...

s began running services along the East London Railway, which called at Rotherhithe. It was served by electric passenger trains from 31 March 1913, when the line was electrified. Goods trains from station continued to pass through until April 1966. The original station entrance was located in Albion Street, which meant that access to platforms was at the opposite end of the platforms from the present access. Decorative vitreous enamel panels were added to the platforms. The station was then closed between 1995 and 1998 due to repair work on the

Thames Tunnel The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures wide by high and is long, running at a depth of below the river surface measured at high tide. It is the first tunnel known t ...

and from 22 December 2007 to 27 April 2010 for the extension of the

East London line The East London line is a railway line running north to south through the East, Docklands and South areas of London. It is used by London Overground services. It was previously a line of the London Underground. Built in 1869 by the East Lond ...

. The present surface building is located a short distance to the south of the original entrance shaft to the Thames Tunnel. It was extensively remodelled between March 1995 and March 1998, in conjunction with the renovation of the East London line. The building was heavily refurbished for the re-opening of the ELL, with the entrance being enlarged by replacing two of the windows with arches.

London Overground

The station's future was in doubt for a while after the announcement of the

East London line extension The East London line extension (ELLX) project was a British railway engineering project in London, managed by Transport for London. The project involved extending the East London Line (formerly part of the London Underground network) and makin ...

, as Rotherhithe's platforms can only take four-car trains and cannot be lengthened. Thus it was initially thought that Rotherhithe station might have to close when the line was extended. However, on 16 August 2004 the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...

, announced that the station would remain open.

Layout

Rotherhithe station has two platforms (northbound and southbound) and is accessed by two escalators (one up, one down) and a flight of stairs to a landing, then stairs only to platform level. There are ticket barriers in the ticket office controlling access to the platforms. The station platforms are situated close to the southern end of the 1843

built by the

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

s, and some of the tunnel's original brickwork can be seen from the north end of the platforms. A better view of the Thames Tunnel portals can be seen from the platforms at Wapping railway station on the opposite side of the river. Even Further Inside Rotherhithe Tube Station

Even Further Inside Rotherhithe Tube Station

At the southern end of the Rotherhithe station platforms, the approach ramp for the 1908

Rotherhithe Tunnel The Rotherhithe Tunnel, designated the A101, is a road tunnel under the River Thames in East London, connecting Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the ...

passes above the railway on a low and angled road bridge which is highly unusual for being located below water level. The bridge structure is easily visible (pictured, left) and is currently painted blue. The Rotherhithe Tunnel portal is also visible when looking up from the southern end of the northbound platform.

Services

All times below are correct as of the December 2015 timetables.

London Overground

Windrush line

Rotherhithe is served by the

of the

. On Mondays to Saturdays there is a service every 3–4 minutes throughout the day, while on Sundays before 13:00 there is a service every 5–9 minutes, changing to every 7–8 minutes until the end of service after that. Current off peak frequency is: *16 tph to , of which 8 continue to Highbury & Islington *4 tph to West Croydon *4 tph to *4 tph to *4 tph to via (very limited weekdays-only service to/from )

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes

381 __NOTOC__ Year 381 ( CCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Syagrius and Eucherius (or, less frequently, year 1134 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

, C10 and night route N381 serve the station.

References

{{Closed London Underground stations Railway stations in the London Borough of Southwark Former East London Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869 Railway stations served by London Overground Railway stations with vitreous enamel panels Rotherhithe 1869 establishments in England Railway stations located underground in the United Kingdom London Overground Night Overground stations Windrush line stations