Battersea Park is a suburban railway station in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is at the junction of the South London Line and the Brighton Main Line (although the physical connection between the lines has been removed), measured from .
It is close to Battersea Park, and not far from Battersea Power Station. It is also a short walking distance from Queenstown Road (Battersea) station.
The station now has an out of station interchange (OSI) with the new Battersea Power Station tube station on the newly opened Northern line extension to Battersea, part of the London Underground.
Description
The station has a polychrome brick Venetian Gothic facade. It is a Grade 2 listed building designed by Charles Henry Driver.
Access to the five platforms is via steep wooden staircases. Most services at the station call at Platforms 3 and 4, on the slow lines into Victoria. Platform 1 (the former down South London line platform) is made completely from wood and ceased to be used from December 2012. Platform 1 has had its tracks removed. Platform 2 (the former up South London line platform) is used by the limited London Overground services that serve the station; it is now a terminal platform since the adjacent Platform 3 was extended over the former junction between the South London and main lines in 2014. Platform 5, on the down fast line from Victoria, is rarely used, usually during engineering works or congestion problems in London Victoria with services passing towards Clapham Junction. London Overground has a daily service to Dalston Junction.
The station is within short walking distance of Battersea Power Station Underground station, an extension of the Northern line to Battersea Power Station which opened in September 2021. The two stations serves as an out of station interchange.
History
The first station to carry the name "Battersea Park" was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) as "Battersea" on 1 October 1860 and was located at the southern end of what is now Grosvenor Bridge. It was named "Battersea Park" on 1 July 1862 but was sometimes called "Battersea Park and Steamboat Pier". It closed on 1 November 1870 concurrently with the opening of Grosvenor Road station situated at the north end of Grosvenor Bridge. The LB&SCR opened a high-level line between Pouparts Junction and Battersea Pier Junction on 1 May 1867 as a means of reducing congestion at Stewarts Lane. York Road (Battersea) station opened at this time. The station was renamed Battersea Park and York Road 1 January 1877 and Battersea Park on 1 June 1885.
The South London line through the station to London Bridge was electrified on 1 December 1909 'Elevated Electric' overhead system. and to Crystal Palace on 12 May 1911, on the LB&SCR 'Elevated Electric' overhead system.
At the end of August 2009, electronic ticket gates were installed. There was some staffing provision but the station has been fully staffed from first to last train as part of the Southern franchise from September 2009.
With the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station into "The Power Station London", the station is due a complete refurbishment.
Services
Most services at Battersea Park are operated by Southern using EMUs, with a very limited service operated by London Overground using EMUs.
The typical off peak service in trains per hour is: 6 tph to 2 tph to via 2 tph to via 2 tph to via
During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly service between London Victoria and .
The station is also served by a very limited London Overground service of two trains per day to and one train per day from via .
Accidents
1881 crash
On 24 December 1881, a train hauled by LBSC Terrier No.70 Poplar collided with the rear of the 11:35pm from London Bridge owing to a fogman's error.
1937 crash
On 2 April 1937, two electric passenger trains collided just south of the station; ten people were killed and 17 seriously injured. The signalman at Battersea Park, believing there to be a fault with his equipment, overrode the electrical interlocking and allowed the second train into the occupied section.