Balham station 3.13

Balham is an interchange station consisting of adjacent London Underground and National Rail stations in Balham in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London, England. The station is at the junction of Balham High Road (A24), Chestnut Grove and Balham Station Road. It is in Travelcard Zone 3. The two stations are connected, though owned and operated separately with separate ticket-issuing facilities and gatelines.National Rail stationThe National Rail station is on the Brighton Main Line, four stops from London Victoria. Although on a north-south route, the tracks pass through Balham on an approximately east-west axis, with Victoria towards the west. The station is managed by Southern. The platforms are on an embankment between bridges over Balham High Road and Bedford Hill. Access to the platforms is via an underpass beneath them. There are four tracks and four platforms, although platforms 3 and 4 are used only in emergencies. The station is between and either, or.HistoryThe West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened a station named Balham Hill on 1 December 1856, at which time the line ran between Crystal Palace and Wandsworth Common. From the outset the line was worked by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, which purchased the line in 1859 after it had been extended to Pimlico.