West Croydon station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

West Croydon
Location
Place Croydon
Local authority London Borough of Croydon
Operations
Station code WCY
Managed by Southern
Platforms in use 3 (1, 3 and 4)
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Passenger Usage
2004/05 * 0.717 million
2005/06 * 0.651 million
Transport for London
Zone 5
History
Key dates Opened 5 June 1839
Transport for London
List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at West Croydon from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
Portal:West Croydon station
UK Railways Portal


West Croydon Station is a key transport interchange for National Rail, Tramlink and London Buses in south London. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5. The East London line is planned to be extended to the station.

Contents

[edit] Facilities

The entrance to West Croydon railway station is on London Road, a short distance from the town's main shopping area. Trains run to London Victoria, London Bridge and Sutton, and from there to west Surrey and parts of West Sussex.

A short distance from the railway station entrance is Station Road, where West Croydon bus station and tram stop are located. The tram stop is next to but inaccessible from the rail platforms and there are long-term plans as part of an overall development to have better connections between the two. All three Tramlink routes use West Croydon, which is on the unidirectional loop around central Croydon.

The bus station is a hub for London Buses services, including the X26 bus to Heathrow Airport and services to Surrey.

Some of the rail capacity is expected to be given over to the southern extension of the East London Line, via Norwood Junction, with West Croydon as the terminus.

[edit] History

From 1809 to 1836 the site of the station was the terminal basin of the Croydon Canal. The canal was drained and became part of the route of the London & Croydon Railway, opening on June 5, 1839. In 1845 the L&C inaugurated down the atmospheric system of propulsion; it worked for about a year but was not successful.

The canal basin was served by a short private branch from the terminus of the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) at Pitlake. From 1855 the station was the terminus of the West Croydon to Wimbledon line, which followed much of the route of the SIR. This line closed in 1997 to be replaced by Croydon Tramlink. Platform 2, the terminal bay for the Wimbledon line, is now trackless.

A sad event occurred here in 1912 when the brilliant black composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), resident of Croydon, collapsed from overwork and pneumonia, dying a few days later.

[edit] Services

The tram and bus interchange at West Croydon
The tram and bus interchange at West Croydon

All trains are provided by Southern. West Croydon is Croydon's second station, used mainly by suburban trains: the main station is East Croydon, served by express trains to London and the South Coast and suburban trains.

The Monday-Saturday off-peak service includes (but is not limited to) the following trains per hour:

  • 1 to Epsom via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton (Surrey), Cheam and Ewell East, taking 23 minutes.


  Preceding station     National Rail     Following station  
Selhurst   Southern
Sutton & Mole Valley Line
  Waddon
Norwood Junction   Southern
Brighton Main Line
 
Norwood Junction   London Overground
East London Railway
under construction
  Terminus
    Tramlink    
One-way operation
Route 1
towards Elmers End
Route 2
Route 3
    Disused railways    
Waddon Marsh   Network SouthEast
Wimbledon-West Croydon
  Terminus

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 51°22′41.74″N, 00°06′09.16″W