Shortlands railway station is in Shortlands, in the London Borough of Bromley in south London. It serves the southwest part of Bromley, and is 10 mi down the line from London Victoria. The station is located on the A222 road. Shortlands Junction, just west of the station, is where the Catford Loop Line joins the Chatham Main Line: the two lines are split into slow and fast pairs through the station, which consists of two island platforms on an embankment. The station is in London Travelcard Zone 4, and the station is managed by Southeastern and trains are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink.

History

It was originally opened by the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway on 3 May 1858. The station was enlarged and rebuilt to its present form in 1892–94. Shortlands Junction was remodelled in the 1950s to allow line speeds to be increased, and was remodelled again with the construction of Ravensbourne chord (a dive-under pair of lines) in 2002 to increase the capacity of the junction, as part of the work to enhance the existing network in conjunction with the opening of the first section of High Speed 1, the high-speed link to the Channel Tunnel.

Services

Services at Shortlands are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink using, and EMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: An additional half-hourly service between London Victoria and Orpington, and services to Kentish Town and Luton call at the station during the peak hours. In addition, the service to London Blackfriars is extended to and from Welwyn Garden City via Finsbury Park. From the December 2024 timetable change the off-peak service between London Victoria and Orpington will double to 4tph on Mondays to Fridays.

Connections

London Buses routes 227, 358 and 367 serve the station.