The station was originally opened on 7 December 1869, when the first section of the
East London Railway was opened. On 1 October 1884, the
Metropolitan and
District Railways began running services along the East London Railway, which called at Rotherhithe. It was served by electric passenger trains from 31 March 1913, when the line was electrified. Goods trains from station continued to pass through until April 1966. The original station entrance was located in Albion Street, which meant that access to platforms was at the opposite end of the platforms from the present access. Decorative vitreous enamel panels were added to the platforms. The station was then closed between 1995 and 1998 due to repair work on the
Thames Tunnel and from 22 December 2007 to 27 April 2010 for the extension of the
East London line. The present surface building is located a short distance to the south of the original entrance shaft to the Thames Tunnel. It was extensively remodelled between March 1995 and March 1998, in conjunction with the renovation of the East London line. The building was heavily refurbished for the re-opening of the ELL, with the entrance being enlarged by replacing two of the windows with arches.
London Overground The station's future was in doubt for a while after the announcement of the
East London line extension, as Rotherhithe's platforms can only take four-car trains and cannot be lengthened. Thus it was initially thought that Rotherhithe station might have to close when the line was extended. However, on 16 August 2004 the
Mayor of London,
Ken Livingstone, announced that the station would remain open. ==Layout==