Redhill railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Redhill | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Redhill, Surrey |
| Local authority | Reigate and Banstead |
| Operations | |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Platforms in use | 3 |
| Annual entry/exit 04/05 | 2.965 million ** |
| History | |
| Key dates | Opened 1844 |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| ** based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at Redhill. Disclaimer (PDF) | |
Redhill railway station serves the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. It is a major interchange point on the Brighton Main Line. It is managed by Southern, which operates most of the trains serving Redhill.
Contents |
[edit] History
Redhill station began its days in conflict. The two main-line railways leaving London in a southwards direction - the London and Brighton Railway (and its successor, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR)) and the South Eastern Railway (SER) - had, by parliamentary decree, to travel on the same route from London to Redhill. The inevitable conflict led eventually to building by the LB&SCR of a line avoiding Redhill station altogether, known as the Quarry Line, still in use by fast trains today. Consequently, there are few trains on the Brighton Main Line calling here today.
There were originally two stations at separate sites, inconvenient for passengers changing trains; both, were named Reigate (that place being the main town in the vicinity at the time), as was the new station north of the junction opened on 15 April 1844. The station was rebuilt in 1858, when the present buildings on the southbound side were constructed.
[edit] Description
Redhill station is located at the junction of the Brighton Main Line (which runs north to London and south to Brighton) with the North Downs Line (which runs west to Guildford) and the Redhill to Tonbridge Line (to the east).
The station has three platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are an island on the northbound side and 3 is on the southbound side. There are two through tracks between the platform 2 and 3 tracks. All platforms are subdivided into 'a' (north end) and 'b' (south end). All platforms are of 12 car lengths. All platforms have access to all routes, although there is no access from either through track to or from the North Downs Line. Consequently, all traffic (including freight trains) from this direction must pass through one of the platforms.
Platforms are linked by a subway (and an out-of use parcels/staff bridge). There are lifts from the platforms to the subway and a level entrance from the Platform 3 exit, but no level entrance at the main entrance, which is at street level. The main entrance faces the town centre, and is opposite Redhill bus station.
The ticket office has four windows and two Shere FASTticket self-service ticket machines, and there are four automatic ticket barriers. There is a newsagent in the ticket office area and a Puccino's coffee shop on platforms 1/2. Toilets are located on all platforms. There is an additional Shere FASTticket machine at the Platform 3 exit.
[edit] Services
Redhill is served by a number of train operating companies. Southern operate most of the services, while the other operators are Southeastern, First Great Western and Virgin Trains.
General off-peak pattern:
- 2tph (trains per hour) from London Victoria to Chichester/Portsmouth Harbour, via Horsham, which run non-stop between East Croydon and Redhill. These are operated by Southern.
- 2tph to/from London Bridge, which call at local stations from Purley to Merstham. One of these runs to/from Tonbridge, another to/from Horsham, calling at all stations. A Tonbridge - Horsham hourly service also runs, reversing at Redhill, which, combined with the London trains, provides a half-hourly service from Redhill to both Tonbridge and Horsham. The London-Horsham services are operated by Southern, while the London-Tonbridge and Tonbridge-Horsham trains are operated by Southeastern.
- 1tph in each direction on the Reading to Gatwick Airport via Guildford (the North Downs Line) service; this train reverses at Redhill, as both lines leave southwards from the south end of the station. This service is operated by First Great Western.
- A two-hourly stopping service, to and from Reading, which starts at Redhill. This is also operated by First Great Western.
The service pattern changes significantly at weekends, and is totally different during peak hours.
Additionally, Redhill is served by occasional Virgin Trains services, as part of their Cross-Country network. These trains run between Brighton and Birmingham New Street, and on to Manchester Piccadilly.
[edit] External links
- Southern Railway station information page
- Train times and station information for Redhill railway station from National Rail
- Street map and aerial photo of Redhill railway station from Multimap.com
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merstham | Southern Brighton Main Line |
Earlswood | ||
| Merstham | Southern Peak periods only |
Reigate | ||
| Merstham | Southeastern London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells (via Redhill and East Croydon) |
Nutfield | ||
| Nutfield | Southeastern Horsham to Tunbridge Wells (via Gatwick and Redhill) |
Earlswood | ||
| East Croydon | First Capital Connect Thameslink |
Gatwick Airport | ||
| Reigate | First Great Western North Downs Line |
|||
| Guildford | Virgin Trains | Gatwick Airport | ||
