West Croydon station

Infobox London station
name = West Croydon


manager = Southern
zone = 5
locale = Croydon
borough = London Borough of Croydon
start = 5 June 1839
platforms = 3
railexits0405 = 0.717
railexits0506 = 0.651
railexits0607 = 2.911
railcode = WCY

West Croydon station is a key 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 is being extended to the station, currently due to open in June 2010.

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.

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 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-Wimbledon line, which followed much of the route of the SIR. This line closed in 1997, to be replaced by 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.

Services

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:

*6 to London Victoria:
**4 via Selhurst, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham Common, Balham, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Junction and Battersea Park, taking 29 minutes.
**2 via Norwood Junction, Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hill, West Norwood, Streatham Hill, Balham, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Junction and Battersea Park, taking 36 minutes.

*4 to London Bridge:
**2 via Norwood Junction, Anerley, Penge West, Sydenham, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, Brockley and New Cross Gate, taking 29 minutes.
**2 via Selhurst, Thornton Heath, Norbury, Streatham Common, Streatham, Tulse Hill, North Dulwich, East Dulwich, Peckham Rye, Queens Road Peckham and South Bermondsey, taking 38 minutes.

*4 to Sutton (Surrey) via Waddon, Wallington and Carshalton Beeches, taking 12 minutes.

*1 to Epsom Downs via Waddon, Wallington, Carshalton Beeches, Sutton (Surrey), Belmont and Banstead, taking 23 minutes.

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

*At peak times from from London Bridge via Sydenham to Sutton go on to either Dorking or Guildford

External links

* [http://www.thetrams.co.uk/stops.php?section=croydon&stop=West+Croydon West Croydon tram stop] on The Trams website
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/eastlondonrailway/2119.aspx Transport for London] information on the East London line extension