Coulsdon South railway station serves

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The l ...

in the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

, and is in

Travelcard Zone 6 Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, National Rail services (since 2007), and the El ...

, on the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

. It is measured from . The station is served by Southern and by ThamesLink. It is the mouth southerly mainline station in London.

History

Coulsdon is on a stretch of line between

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

and Redhill which the UK Parliament insisted should be shared by the

London and Brighton Railway The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in England which was incorporated in 1837 and survived until 1846. Its railway ran from a junction with the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) at Norwood – which gives it access fro ...

(L&BR) route to Brighton, and the South Eastern Railway (SER) route to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. As a result, there have been a number of railway stations at Coulsdon.

Coulsdon South

This station was opened by the South Eastern Railway (SER) on 1 October 1889. The line is on a steep gradient climbing towards Merstham Tunnel. It is from , and has two platforms each long enough for a 12-coach train. It was originally called Coulsdon and

Cane Hill Cane Hill Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. The site is owned by GLA Land and Property. History The hospital has its origins as the third Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, designed by Charle ...

, referring to the nearby psychiatric hospital: a covered way connected the station to the hospital. By the 1960s, the covered way had been removed.

Ticketing

The station remains staffed for most of the operational day, with a booking office located on the up (west) side of the station. At the entrance to the ticket office from the station approach road, there are two self-service ticket machines, one of which, most unusually, is wall-mounted. A

PERTIS In the ticketing system of the British rail network, a Permit to Travel provisionally allows passengers to travel on a train when they have not purchased a ticket in advance and the ticket office of the station they are travelling from is closed ...

self-service 'Permit to Travel' ticket machine was previously provided here but has been removed. Automatic Ticket Barriers were installed at the station in spring 2011

Other stations in Coulsdon

* Stoats Nest for Coulsdon and Cane Hill (later Coulsdon North) was opened on 8 November 1899, by the LB&SCR on their

Quarry Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

which bypassed Redhill. It closed 3 October 1983. *

Smitham Smitham is the small lumps of ore which free miners scavenged because they were exempt from payment of lot and cope duties. This practice was brought to an end in 1760 when the Duke of Devonshire challenged the practice in chancery on the basi ...

(later Coulsdon Town) was opened in 1904 by the SER on their Tattenham Corner Line and is named after another nearby settlement. This station was renamed from Smitham in 2011 as part of Southern Railway's new franchise agreement. This change was made as a result of a local consultation carried out by Croydon Council and it intended to better reflect the location of the station near Coulsdon town centre.

Recent history

In May 2019, work began to install a new accessible footbridge with lifts and tactile paving. The work was completed in August 2020 having been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Services

Services at Coulsdon South are operated by Southern and

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...

using and

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...

. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 2 tph to * 2 tph to via * 2 tph to * 2 tph to via On Sundays, the service between London and Reigate reduces to hourly. In addition, the Peterborough to Horsham service also reduces to hourly and northbound, runs only as far as London Bridge.

Connections

London Buses routes 60, 404, 405, 463 and night route N68 serve the station.

Trivia

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

half-brother Terry, died by suicide on 16 January 1985 when he walked in front of a train at Coulsdon South railway station.

Notes and references

External links

Stoats Nest for Coulsdon and Cane Hill
– with photograph of that name and other names used by Coulsdon North
Coulsdon and Cane Hill
– with photograph of the name {{DEFAULTSORT:Coulsdon South Railway Station Railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon Former South Eastern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1889 Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway