South London line

South London line
A London Overground train at Clapham High Street
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London
Termini	London Victoria London Bridge
Stations	7
Service
Type	Commuter rail, Freight rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	London Overground Southern Southeastern
Rolling stock	Class 375 "Electrostar" Class 377 "Electrostar" Class 378 "Capitalstar" Class 465 "Networker" Class 466 "Networker"
History
Opened	13 August 1866 (1866-August-13) (partial) 1 May 1867 (1867-May-01) (full route)
Technical
Track gauge	Standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Route map Legend Stations served by London Overground are shown with to left of station name London Victoria Grosvenor Road Grosvenor Bridge over River Thames Chatham Main Line Stewarts Lane TMD Battersea Park ( Battersea Power Station Northern line ) Brighton Main Line to Brighton to Clapham Junction & West London Line South West Main Line ← to Weymouth │ to Waterloo → Clapham Junction Wandsworth Road Clapham High Street ( Clapham North Northern line ) Shepherds Lane Jn Brixton Jn Brixton East Brixton Chatham Main Line via Herne Hill Canterbury Road Jn Loughborough Junction Farringdon–Herne Hill line Cambria Jn Denmark Hill Crofton Road Jn Portsmouth line Peckham Rye Catford loop line to Sevenoaks or Dartford via Lewisham Queens Road Peckham Old Kent Road to East London line via New Bermondsey South Bermondsey Brighton Main Line via New Cross Gate South Eastern Main Line via New Cross London Bridge South Eastern Main Line to Cannon Street Farringdon–Herne Hill line ← to Farringdon│to Herne Hill→ South Eastern Main Line to Charing Cross London Overground Stations served are shown with to left of station name West London Line South West Main Line Brighton Main Line Clapham Junction Victoria Battersea Park ( 1 parliamentary train per day ) Waterloo Wandsworth Road Clapham High Street ( Clapham North Northern line ) Brixton Victoria line East Brixton Chatham Main Line via Herne Hill Loughborough Junction Farringdon–Herne Hill line Denmark Hill Sutton and Mole Valley lines via Tulse Hill Peckham Rye Catford loop line to Sevenoaks or Dartford via Lewisham Queens Road Peckham Old Kent Road South Bermondsey London Bridge for Thameslink & South Eastern Main Line New Bermondsey East London line to New Cross, Crystal Palace & West Croydon Surrey Quays Canada Water East London line to Highbury & Islington

The South London line is a railway line in inner south London, England. The initial steam passenger service on the route was established by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) on 1 May 1867 when the central London terminal stations of Victoria and London Bridge were connected to the inner south London suburbs of Battersea, Clapham, Brixton, Camberwell and Peckham. A pioneer of overhead electric traction, most of the line was built on high level viaducts and was marketed as the South London Elevated Electric Railway in the early part of the 20th century. The electric service was popular, with four trains per hour and 12 million passengers in 1920. Between Wandsworth Road and Peckham Rye the route ran parallel to another set of tracks. Prior to 1923, both lines from Wandsworth Road to East Brixton were owned by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) and the lines from East Brixton to Peckham Rye were owned by the LBSCR. The southern Atlantic lines were operated by the LBSCR and the northern Chatham lines were operated by the LCDR.

The LBSCR and LCDR were both constituent companies of the Southern Railway (SR) and consequently the whole line came into SR ownership in 1923. Overhead traction was replaced with third rail in 1928. This began a long, slow period of decline that culminated in the running of only nine trains a day in each direction at peak times in 1988. The line was revived following a successful campaign by the South London Line Travellers Association. The full seven day half-hourly timetable was restored in stages from 1991 to 1997. Since December 2012, passenger services have been part of the London Overground, running a four trains an hour service between Clapham Junction and Queens Road Peckham and then via the East London line to Dalston Junction. During 2024 the East London/South London service will be merged and rebranded as the Windrush line.