Are trains from Bromley South to London really packed in the morning?

[BR2Househunter]

Hello! We are looking for a house in Bromley area (within walking distance of Bromley South station). As we are only able to travel to the area on the weekends, we found the trains very quick and reliable, however we were wondering what the commute is like in the mornings during the weekdays, particularly on the Bromley South to Blackfriars line. If you take a train outside of the rush hour (say, before 8am or just after 9am) - is there any chance of getting a seat? Or if you have to stand - can you stand comfortably? Many thanks in advance!

I sometimes get a Blackfriars train from Petts Wood which goes through Bromley South it is one of the least crowded trains as it stops at every lamppost and takes an age so people tend to prefer the faster option to Cannon St (from Orpington and PW but not Bromley South). The fast ones to Blackfriars that go through St Mary Cray and stop at Bromley South are usually more crowded and have less seats - none usually by Bromley South partly as they are often only 8 carriages. My experience of the fast ones however is limited so hopefully someone else will come along with better information. Good luck with the house move.

We are five minutes from Bromley south and my husband commutes into London daily and has always said its fine. However he walks to shortlands station as its a different zone so costs a bit less

PettsWoodMum, PinotAndPlaydough - thank you so much. This is very helpful.

That depends on what you define as crowded.
We moved from Forest Hill where I had to let trains go as I couldn't get in.
It's nothing like that.
The slow trains ir the ones that go by Shortlands or Bickley have plenty of seats.
You may have to stand up - depends what train you take- but it's about 20min into Victoria. The ones into the City take a bit longer.
I tend to find more space in the mornings but not in the evening. But if I just waited 10min for the next train or take the slow one I could have a seat.
Saying that, there are so many new flats being built! I can only think this will have a huge impact on trains. Specially seeing as our great councillors rejected the bakerloo extension and pushed for a DLR extension we will never get. But then isn't that the story of most places in London? I think more and more flats are being built everywhere and very few places are getting the updated rail infrastructure they need.