Elephant & Castle railway station

Elephant & Castle railway station serves the area of Elephant & Castle in London, England. The station is managed by First Capital Connect, with services operated by both First Capital Connect and Southeastern. The station, along with the Underground station, is located in the London Borough of Southwark and is in both Travelcard Zone 1 and 2.

Transport links
London bus routes 1, 188, night route N1 pass the station and route 12, 35, 40, 45, 53, 63, 68, 100, 133, 148, 155, 168, 171, 172, 176, 196, 333, 343, 360, 415, 453, 468, C10, P5 and night bus route N35, N63, N68, N89, N133, N155, N171 and N343 are within 5 mins walk from the station.

Layout
The National Rail station is built on a brick viaduct and dates from 1863. It has two entrances, one on Elephant Road and one connected to the upper level of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre. There is a departures indicator in the shopping centre as well as separate platform indicators in the ticket hall. There are four platforms, two being on the island between the lines. The station is not directly connected to the London Underground station. To change from the Underground it is necessary to leave the Underground station (the Northern Line exit is nearer), pass through the ticket barrier and then walk either through or round the shopping centre. Four staircases provide the only access to the platforms, as there are no lifts or escalators.

Services
Services from the National Rail station are operated by First Capital Connect (Thameslink suburban route) and Southeastern.

The weekday off-peak service from this station from 23 March 2009 is:


 * 2 tph (trains per hour) to Kentish Town via London Blackfriars (Southeastern)
 * 2 tph to St Albans via London Blackfriars (On Sundays, this service terminates at London Blackfriars) (First Capital Connect)
 * 2 tph to Luton via London Blackfriars (First Capital Connect)
 * 2 tph to Sevenoaks via Catford (Southeastern)
 * 2 tph to Sutton via Mitcham Junction (First Capital Connect)
 * 2 tph to Sutton via Wimbledon (First Capital Connect)

At peak hours there are one or two extra Southeastern trains from or to other, more distant destinations, such as Ashford (Kent) and Rochester.

Oyster Card Pay-as-you-go can be used at this station with all services up to Elstree & Borehamwood railway station