Authorized on 20 August 1883, this was a branch from the North Kent line ay Blackheath to a second junction east of Slade Green. Money was short and progress consequently slow, but with grudging approval from the South Eastern Railway the line opened on 1 May 1895. When bankruptcy loomed, the South Eastern Railway, hearing of building developments in the area, stepped in and bought the line on 10 July 1900.