Just six years after they spent £6 million on improvements, more upgrades are needed at Denmark Hill station to cope with surging demand.
The station had a grand entrance building when it first opened in 1866, with narrow staircases up to the ticket hall.
The ticket hall fell into disrepair and was nearly demolished in the 1980s, only to be saved, and a pub took over most of the ticket hall, with passengers relegated to a side room.
In 2013 a major revamp of the station saw another bank of staircases and lifts added, and a new dedicated ticket sales “shed” built on the side of the station. Somehow, they managed to build an entrance that even at the time seemed too small for the number of passengers using the station.
(c) Network Rail
Network Rail now says that it has secured Department for Transport funding to continue with design work which are likely to see a new station entrance built on the opposite side of the station.
The proposals should reduce congestion at the hopelessly undersized entrance by giving people an alternative route out of the station.
Passenger numbers at Denmark Hill station have increased by more than 5.4m in the last 15 years, with another 33% increase expected over the next 20 years. The station is now one of the busiest stations in south London and ranks busier than several major national hubs such as Milton Keynes Central, Leicester, Birmingham Moor Street, Southampton Central, and Bath Spa.
The proposals also include investment in rearranging the furniture on platforms 2 and 3 to create more space, extending the canopy cover and adding more information screens to encourage passengers to spread out and use more of the platforms.
Why’s Denmark Hill seeing such a large increase in usage?
There are actually quite a few factors as to the increased usage at Denmark Hill (some mentioned in the comments already)
The first and most significant I’d say is the introduction of 4tph London Overground services. This would then bring us to the opportunity sorted by KCH and KCL as mentioned by @Kate. For a lot of people KCH/KCL are well located in Zone 2 (not the expensive zone 1 like St Thomas Hosp or the far flung like St George’s Hosp). The next factor would be housing built in the Bexleyheath and the Thames Estuary/Dartford, causing an extension from 4 to 8 cars of the crowded colloquially named “Victoria Line”. The downfall in reliability of Southern during its industrial action period (circa. 2017) encouraged more bus passengers to stay on until Denmark Hill. Most recently the improvement and uplift in Thameslink service would of helped add to the pressure.
To summarise new/enhanced and reliable services from all the operators has caused an increase in usage.
Most likely due to King’s College Hospital and King’s College London expansions. KCL has introduced more undergraduate work on this campus.
Most of the undergrad lectures actually happen at the Guys and St. Thomas campus at London Bridge rather than DH
I think it’s more to do with the much better connection from the station in last 7 years – thameslink, overground more to victoria etc. People travel from much further now (east dulwich etc) to access this station. In 2012 there was a half hour service to Victoria or London Bridge and that was about it..
The ticket “shed” is also a ridiculous design. The entrance leads to the enter/exit gates, but to the left is the display board where people might stop to look, which immediately causes a block. I remember when it opened knowing it would not work.
Meanwhile the Southeastern Network Map still shows Denmark Hill (and Blackfriars) as not having step free access…
Years ago there was the South London Line Travellers Association, without which Victoria London Bridge may have vanished. Then positive thinking intervened.
Maybe one day Peckham Rye may be improved as well, after 40 years of failure to do so.
Peckham Rye station is being upgraded – the plans have been under development for the past couple of years.
https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2020/07/01/peckham-rye-railway-station-upgrade-moves-closer/