West Croydon station

West Croydon
West Croydon Location of West Croydon in Greater London
Location	Croydon
Local authority	London Borough of Croydon
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	WCY
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	3 (formerly 4)
Accessible	Yes [1]
Fare zone	5
Tramlink annual boardings and alightings
2009–10	1.312 million[2]
2010–11	1.502 million[3]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2010–11	3.323 million[4]
2011–12	3.870 million[4]
2012–13	4.301 million[4]
2013–14	4.281 million[4]
2014–15	4.488 million[4]
– interchange	0.472 million[4]
Railway companies
Original company	London and Croydon Railway
Pre-grouping	London Brighton and South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
5 June 1839	Opened as Croydon
April 1851.[5][6]	Renamed West Croydon
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51°22′42″N 0°06′09″W / 51.3783°N 0.1025°WCoordinates: 51°22′42″N 0°06′09″W / 51.3783°N 0.1025°W
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

West Croydon is a National Rail station, a Tramlink stop and a London Buses hub, serving as a transport interchange between the three systems. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5. The East London line, part of London Overground, was extended to the station on 23 May 2010.

Facilities

Railway station

West Croydon (2008 image) with Southern branding.

The main entrance is on London Road, a short distance from the main shopping area. There are ticket barriers protecting the platforms. Trains run to London Victoria, London Bridge, Highbury & Islington, and Sutton and from there to west Surrey and West Sussex.

By December 2009 station remodelling and tracklaying were completed for the southern extension of the East London Line, of which West Croydon is a terminus. The space occupied by former bay platform 2, out of use since the Wimbledon service was withdrawn in 1997 and replaced by Tramlink in 2000, has been utilised to extend platform 3, the London-bound platform. Bay platform 1 has been retained.

In April 2012 a new entrance was constructed in Station Road, allowing direct access to the railway station from the adjacent bus and tram stops.^[7]

Bus station and tram stop

The tram and bus interchange at West Croydon. The white building in the distance is the original station entrance.

West Croydon Bus Station (this building has since been demolished)

A Croydon tram in 2000

A short distance from the main entrance is Station Road, where West Croydon bus station and tram stop are located. The tram stop is next to, but was for a long time physically separate from, the rail platforms, until the construction of the new entrance. All Tramlink routes use West Croydon, which is a single platform stop on the unidirectional loop around central Croydon.

The bus station is a hub for London Buses, with 19 routes terminating or passing through.

History

A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of lines around the Brighton Main Line between South Croydon and Selhurst/Forest Hill, and surrounding lines.

From 1809 to 1836 the site 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 5 June 1839.^[5] In 1845 the L&C inaugurated the atmospheric system of propulsion; it worked for about a year but was not successful. The station was originally named Croydon; in April 1851 it became West Croydon.^[5]

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 on 31 May 1997, to be replaced by Tramlink. Platform 2, the terminal bay for the Wimbledon line, was trackless until 2008. Very little remains of this platform apart from a little section at the western end, as most of it was filled in to extend platform 3 to allow trains to stop closer to the stairs.

In 1912 the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912), who was a resident of Croydon, collapsed whilst on the station. This was due to overwork and pneumonia. He died at home a few days later.

During the 1930s the station saw major alterations and reconstruction. A new ticket office was built on London Road. The original station buildings, ticket office and entrance in Station Road were closed and are still standing, converted to a shop.

Services

Trains are provided by Southern and London Overground. 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 the following trains per hour:

• 6 to London Victoria:
  • 4 via Selhurst, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham Common, Balham, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Junction and Battersea Park, taking 22 minutes.
  • 2 via Norwood Junction, Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill, West Norwood, Streatham Hill, Balham, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Junction and Battersea Park, taking 31 minutes.
• 2 to London Bridge via Selhurst, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham Common, Streatham, Tulse Hill, North Dulwich, East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, Queens Road Peckham and South Bermondsey, taking 40 minutes, Monday to Friday only.
• 4 to Highbury & Islington via Norwood Junction, Anerley, Penge West, Sydenham, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Brockley, New Cross Gate, Surrey Quays, Canada Water, Rotherhithe, Wapping, Shadwell, Whitechapel, Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Haggerston and Dalston Junction, connecting at Norwood Junction for London Bridge via New Cross Gate.
• 4 to Sutton via Waddon, Wallington and Carshalton Beeches, taking 12 minutes.
• 1 to Epsom Downs via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton, Belmont and Banstead, taking 25 minutes.
• 1 to Epsom via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton, Cheam and Ewell East, taking 29 minutes.

At peak hours, there are trains between London Bridge and Guildford or Dorking via West Croydon. Between West Croydon and London Bridge, these trains call only at Norwood Junction.

References

1. "Network Map". Southern. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
2. "Tram Stop Usage 2009-10 (FOI)" (XLS). Tramlink annual passenger performance 2009-2010. Transport for London. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
3. "Tramlink numbers 2010-2011" (PDF). Tramlink annual passenger performance 2010-2011. Transport for London. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
4. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
5. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 73, 245. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
6. Forgotten Stations of Greater London by J.E.Connor and B.Halford
7. "New entrance to West Croydon station provides better access for all". Transport for London. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.

External links

• West Croydon tram stop on The Trams website
• Transport for London information on the East London line extension

• Train times and station information for West Croydon station from National Rail