On 3 June 1889, East Putney station was inaugurated as part of an extension to Wimbledon from Putney Bridge station by the District Railway (DR), which is now known as the District line. The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) constructed the extension and commenced operating their own trains over the line on 1 July 1889. This was facilitated through connecting tracks from their Waterloo to Reading line at Point Pleasant Junction, located just west of Wandsworth station (now Wandsworth Town), to East Putney.
The electrification of the District line from Putney Bridge to Wimbledon occurred on 27 August 1905, which completed the conversion from steam to electric operation.
Southern Railway, the LSWR’s successor, discontinued regular passenger services between Waterloo and Wimbledon through East Putney on 4 May 1941. Nevertheless, the line remained under the ownership of British Rail until 1 April 1994 when it was sold to London Underground for £1. Prior to the sale, the station was branded as a British Rail station. South Western Railway currently employs the Wandsworth Town to Wimbledon route, including the connection between Point Pleasant Junction and East Putney, for empty stock movements, occasional service train diversions, and three daily services that run between Waterloo and the route in the early morning hours to maintain train crews’ knowledge of the route. However, these services do not stop at East Putney. There are also rare movements of Network Rail engineering trains and light engine movements through the station.
East Putney is a proposed stop on the Chelsea-Hackney Line. It is envisaged that the station’s District Line service will be replaced by the new line.
