Hither Green station upgrade now underway
Work to rebuild parts of Hither Green station and improve accessibility are now underway.
Plans were approved in March 2023 which creates a new bridge across the station site plus a new entrance.
Funding for the project was announced in 2019 under the Access for All project.
Hither Green sees two lines converge with six platforms. One two-track line heads towards Sidcup and Dartford while four other tracks head to Grove Park, Orpington and beyond.

As a link between two lines it’s also a popular interchange point negating the need to head into central London. A new bridge linking all platforms replaces existing structures and includes lifts.
A new southern entrance structure on Springbank Road is substantially different to the current entrance which is a quite dingy and non-descript space.
Another new entrance on Fernbrook Road will be constructed further along the road.
Springbank road will close from 17 February until July 2025 to enable construction work to proceed.
In the recent past trees have been removed as part of preparatory work. A number of weekend rail closures will be required during construction with project completion set for autumn 2027 – a full eight years after funding first announced.
I was on a 273 a couple of days’ ago and as the bus passed Hither Green station, I remembered about the redevelopment. Both entrances are dingy and it’s not a station I would want to use outside of the rush hour at night. I hope the rebuild brings significant improvements, not least for all the people with pushchairs that have to carry them up and down stairs.
Yes the station in its current form is horrendous for anybody with mobility impairments, or travelling with prams/luggage etc. SE Rail ran a community drop-in event in Hither Green the other week about the development, and the current timeline has the works finishing in Autumn 2027 – so still quite a while to wait. Fingers crossed it all proceeds as planned.
What the mock-up above doesn’t show is that they’ve cut down a dozen or more mature trees to make access for this – in what was supposedly a wildlife sanctuary! The station definitely needs a lift, but yet again, it’s been done in a way that destroys huge amount of nature just to make the construction marginally easier.