Sutton (London) railway station

Infobox London station
name = Sutton (London)


manager = Southern
zone = 5
locale = Sutton
borough = London Borough of Sutton
start = 10 May 1847
platforms = 4
railexits0405 = 4.716
railexits0506 = 4.750
railexits0607 = 6.042
railcode = SUO

Sutton railway station is the main station for Sutton in South London. The station is served by First Capital Connect and Southern trains. It is in Travelcard Zone 5.

There are currently four platforms at Sutton station, numbered 1 to 4 from north to south. Platforms 1 and 2 are on the lines to Wimbledon, Epsom, Dorking, and Horsham. Platforms 3 and 4 are on the Epsom Downs Line which becomes single track about half a mile south of the station. Platforms 1 and 3 are used by services from outer termini to London. Trains from London use platforms 2 and 4. Trains terminating at Sutton and returning to London generally use platform 4.

Platforms 1 and 2 are very long and can accommodate 12 coach trains. These platforms were long enough for the Bognor/Portsmouth express trains that used to call here before they were diverted to serve Gatwick Airport in the early 1980s. Nowadays, apart from the occasional diverted express train, only trains formed of eight or fewer coaches call at Sutton. However, in the next ten years, with introduction of the Thameslink Programme, some of Sutton's rail services will be complimented again with 12 coach formations.

Remains can be seen at the London end of platform 1 of a fifth platform. This was a bay for local services via Mitcham Junction. A waiting room has now been built on part of the site.

History

Sutton station was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) on 10 May 1847 when the railway opened its line from West Croydon to Epsom. A branch to Epsom Downs was opened on 22 May 1865 followed by a line to Mitcham Junction on 1 October 1868. The final change to the station came when the branch to Wimbledon opened on 5 January 1930. Up until the early 1980s, it was possible to catch a direct express train to the coast from here to Bognor Regis, Chichester and Portsmouth. Today these services are routed via East Croydon to serve Gatwick Airport and passengers for the south coast now have to change at Horsham or travel to West Croydon and walk to East Croydon.

Proposed Wimbledon branch

Parliamentary approval to construct a railway line from Wimbledon to Sutton through what were then undeveloped rural areas had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) in 1910. The main supporters of the scheme were the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) and the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR, now London Underground's District Line). All held shares in the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built.

World War I prevented any work taking place and by the early 1920s continuing financial support from the MDR meant that it had effectively taken control of the company. Through its ownership of the MDR, the London Electric Railway (LER, precursor of London Underground) was able to obtain approval to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, now the Northern Line) from Clapham Common through Morden to Sutton. The route would have seen Underground Northern Line trains running on surface tracks from Morden past the nearby Underground depot and on to the Network Rail alignment close to Morden South.

The Southern Railway (SR, successor of the L&SWR and the LB&SCR after the 1923 Grouping of railways) objected to this encroachment into its area of operation and the loss of its passenger traffic to a more direct route. The two companies reached an agreement that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route. The SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. It opened on 5 January 1930.

Gallery

Services

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

*8tph (trains per hour) to London Victoria, of which 2 run fast to Clapham Junction, 2 call at all stations via Hackbridge and 4 call at all stations via West Croydon and Norbury
*2tph to London Bridge via West Croydon and Forest Hill
*2tph to St Albans via Hackbridge, Herne Hill and London Blackfriars
*5tph to Epsom
*1tph to Epsom Downs
*2tph to Wimbledon via the Thameslink loop
*2tph to Dorking
*1tph to Horsham

External links

* [http://www.semgonline.com/location/sutton_01.html Southern E-Group - Sutton Station]