England's railway boom of the 1830s led to two competing companies driving lines through the area. The first, the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) established a station on the New Cross Road close to Hatcham in 1839. The second railway line in the area, the South Eastern Railway (SER) established a station near Amersham Way in the heart of New Cross in 1849. Both companies called their stations "New Cross", but the earlier station became "New Cross Gate" when they both came under the common ownership of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923.