West Croydon station

For the Australian station, see West Croydon railway station, Adelaide.

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
Number of platforms	3 (formerly 4)
Accessible
Fare zone	5
National Rail annual entry and exit
2004–05	0.717 million
2005–06	0.651 million
2006–07	2.911 million
2007–08	2.572 million
5 June 1839	Opened
Lists of stations	DLR · Underground · National Rail · Tramlink
External links	Departures • Layout
	Facilities • Buses

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

A picture of a Croydon Tram, in Croydon, London during the year 2000.

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

West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5. The East London line, part of London Overground, has been extended to the station, with services in operation from 23 May 2010.

Facilities

The entrance to West Croydon railway station is on London Road, a short distance from the town's main shopping area. There are ticket barriers protecting the platforms. 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.

As of December 2009, station remodelling work and track laying has been completed as part of the southern extension of the East London Line, for which West Croydon is the terminus. The space occupied by former bay platform 2 (out of use since the Wimbledon service was withdrawn in 1997 and largely supplanted by Tramlink since 2000) has been utilised to extend platform 3, the through London-bound platform. Bay platform 1 has been retained.

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 5 June 1839. In 1845 the L&C inaugurated down 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.

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 after the last trains 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 little section at the western end as now most of it is filled in to extend platform 3 to allow trains to stop closer to the stairs that lead down the platforms 1,2 and 3.

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

During the 1930s the station undertook major alterations and reconstruction. A new ticket office was built fronting on to London Road. The original station buildings, ticket office and entrance in Station Road were closed and are still standing today 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 (but is not limited to) 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, Dalston Junction and Canonbury, change at Norwood Junction for London Bridge via New Cross Gate.

• 4 to Sutton (Surrey) via Waddon, Wallington and Carshalton Beeches, taking 18 minutes.

• 1 to Epsom Downs via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton (Surrey), Belmont and Banstead, taking 37 minutes.

• 1 to Epsom via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton (Surrey), Cheam and Ewell East, taking 33 minutes.

• At peak times there are trains from London Bridge that go via Sydenham and Sutton to go on to either Dorking or Guildford

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Selhurst		Southern Sutton & Mole Valley Line		Waddon
Norwood Junction		Southern London Victoria to Sutton via Crystal Palace
Selhurst		Southern London Bridge to West Croydon		Terminus
Preceding station		London Overground		Following station
Norwood Junction towards Highbury & Islington		East London Line		Terminus
Preceding tram stop		Tramlink		Following tram stop
Centrale One-way operation		Route 1		Wellesley Road towards Elmers End
		Route 2		Wellesley Road towards Beckenham Junction
		Route 3		Wellesley Road towards New Addington
		Disused railways
Waddon Marsh		Network SouthEast West Croydon to Wimbledon Line		Terminus

Transport links

London bus routes 60, 64, 109, 154, 157, 166, 194, 198, 250, 264, 289, 367, 403, 405, 407, 410, 412, 455, T33, or St. Michael's Road for bus routes 50, 75, 468, X26 (Express services), 917 (Mobility services) and night routes N64 ,N68 And N109.

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