Battersea Park Station

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Battersea Park is a suburban railway station in the London Borough of Wandsworth, formerly York Road. It is at the junction of the South London Line and the Brighton Main Line between Victoria and. It is close to Battersea Park, and not far from Battersea Power Station.DescriptionThe station has a polychrome brick Venetian Gothic facade. It is a Grade 2 listed building designed by Charles Henry Driver. Access to the five platforms is via steep wooden staircases, which are unusable by infirm or physically disabled passengers. Platform 1 is made completely from wood and ceased to be used from December 2012. Platform 1 has had its tracks removed and its future is uncertain. Platform 5 is rarely used, usually during engineering works or congestion problems in London Victoria with services passing towards Clapham Junction.The station will be within short walking distance of Battersea Power Station tube station, an extension of the Northern line to Battersea Power Station expected to open in 2020.HistoryThe first station to carry the name Battersea Park was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway as Battersea on 1 October 1860 and was located at the southern end of what is now Grosvenor Bridge. It was named Battersea Park on 1 July 1862 but was sometimes called Battersea Park and Steamboat Pier. It closed on 1 November 1870 concurrently with the opening of Grosvenor Road station situated at the north end of Grosvenor Bridge. The London Brighton and South Coast Railway opened a high-level line between Pouparts Junction and Battersea Pier Junction on 1 May 1867 as a means of reducing congestion at Stewarts Lane. York Road (Battersea) station opened at this time. The station was renamed Battersea Park and York Road 1 January 1877 and Battersea Park on 1 June 1885.