Denmark Hill railway station is a station on the Inner South London Line, an 8.5 mile route stretching from Victoria to London Bridge in a horse shoe shape, and looping a little further south than either through stations such as Denmark Hill. It is located in the tree-lined Champion Park area of Denmark Hill and sits very close to Ruskin Park. The London Borough is Southwark although the station itself sits almost on top of the border between Southwark and Lambeth.
Two of the most important destinations in Denmark Hill are the two important hostpitals, King’s College Hospital and Maudsley Hospital, which each serve thousands of people daily. It is just a five minute walk away from each of these hospitals. Also nearby is Camberwell which takes fifteen minutes to reach from the station by foot, although Denmark Hill remains one of the nearest stations in the Camberwell area it distance to other stations is not that much further. So underserved is Camberwell that for over a hundred years plans have been made to extend a tube line here, but none has got past the planning stage. The station itself is primarily served by trains from London Bridge, London Victoria and Blackfriars and so most of the people using its services will be making relatively local journeys.
The station was first opened in 1865 and is known for its attractive facade in the Italianate style. After a fire in the 1980’s the station was refurbished and redesigned slightly, making room for a pub called The Phoenix which is housed within the same building. The platforms are accessed by means of tunnels as they are located underground. This, unfortunately, is part of the reason why there is no wheelchair access to the station with steps being the only way of accessing the platforms. This has a particularly big impact on those visiting the nearby hospitals and so there are plans to install lifts whilst the station undergoes an upgrade.
It is also worth bearing in mind that there is no car park at this station and so using this station as part of a journey that will involve a car is not advised. This station is far more accessible via bus. Buses that serve the station include the 40, 176, 185, 484 although within three minutes walk are also the 42, 68, 468 and N68.
In October 2012 the train is expected to become part of the newly extended East London Line as part of the London Overground network.
Outside of rush hour the train typically receives per hour: two trains going non-stop to Victoria, two going to Victoria but calling at all stations via Clapham High Street, two to Blackfriars and Kentish Town, two trains to Sevenoaks via Bromley South and two to Dartford via Lewisham and Bexleyheath. Some of these services are Monday to Saturday but most are seven days a week.
In summary, the Denmark Hill station is not usable if you are a wheelchair user but this is hopefully about to change. For all other people, this station renders parts of Southwark and Lambeth more accessible from central and the rest of London and serves a part of London where tube services are generally absent. It is well connected to buses and is one of four viable ways of getting to Camberwell.