Clapham Junction opened on 2 March 1863, a joint venture of the L&SWR, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the West London Extension Railway (WLER) as an interchange station for their lines.

[n 1] A 'Heathrow Airtrack' to reduce the 95-minute journey by tube and Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport and unite the Great Western Main Line with Heathrow, Gatwick and the South West Main Line was cancelled in 2011 following improvements to the 2005-built Heathrow Connect track from Hayes and Harlington and practical impediments, such as pressure for continued high-frequency services on the three deemed-'entrenched' semi-fast and slow services between Clapham Junction and Staines.

[12] On the morning of 12 December 1988, two collisions involving three commuter trains occurred slightly south-west of the station due to a defective signal.

[13][14] On the morning of 16 December 1991, a bomb ripped through tracks on one of the station's platforms, causing major disruption to the rail network.

Using this rather than the wide, elegant flying concourse for interchange, a visitors' eyes assessment of fabric and environment listed Clapham Junction in the most needy 10% of Department for Transport category B stations.

[28] All South Western Railway services from Waterloo pass through the station, as do Southern and Gatwick Express trains from Victoria.

[30] The Northern line extension to Battersea Power Station was criticised for not extending to Clapham Junction.

[32] However, provision has been made for a future extension of the line to the station, with a reserved course underneath Battersea Park.

[33][34][35] Government and Network Rail funding for[clarification needed] in the early 2010s of £50 million of improvements was granted.

[37] In a Network Rail study in 2015, it was proposed that platform 0 could reopen for 8-car operations of the West London Line.