Epsom Downs railway station

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Epsom Downs

Location

Place

Local authority

Reigate and Banstead

Operations

Managed by

Southern

Platforms in use

Annual entry/exit

0.044 million *

Transport for London

Zone

History

Key dates

Opened 1865

Transport for London
List of London stations: Underground | National Rail

* based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at this station. Disclaimer (PDF)

BR Portal

Epsom Downs railway station is a railway station located on the boundary of the Reigate and Banstead and Epsom and Ewell boroughs of Surrey with the railway to the north forming a continuation of the boundary.

The station, and all trains serving it, is operated by Southern, and is part of the Sutton & Mole Valley Line services.

The typical off-peak service from the station is one train per hour to London Victoria via Sutton, West Croydon and Norbury.

[edit] History

With high levels of passengers travelling to Epsom for horse races, it became clear that a station near the course was needed. Attempts to build one immediately next to it were heavily opposed by the Epsom Grandstand Association and eventually land was purchased half a mile from the course. The station was opened on May 22, 1865 on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's extension from Sutton. The line had double track and a nine-platform station with a large building.

With the opening of Tattenham Corner railway station much closer to the racecourse on June 4, 1901 (Derby Day) traffic declined, helped in particular by the Royal Train changing its destination to Tattenham Corner in the 1920s. Services were cut back repeatedly over subsequent decades. In 1972 Epsom Downs cut the number of working platforms to just four, and following the destruction by fire of the Epsom Downs signal box in November 1981 almost the entire branch was reduced to single track operation in October 1982.

In the mid-1980s the station was replaced by a new site several hundred metres up the line, with the old station and platforms demolished and the land in between given over to a major housing development.