Wandsworth Common railway station is in the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in southwest London; it forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main named areas are Battersea, Balham, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth, Wandsworth ...

in south

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is down the line from . The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern, and it is in

Travelcard Zone 3 Fare zone 3 is an inner 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 and, since 2007, on National Rail Nationa ...

History

The

West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway The West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WELCPR) was an early railway company in south London between Crystal Palace station and Wandsworth, which was opened in 1856. The line was extended in 1858 to a station at Battersea Wharf near t ...

(WELCR) opened the first station as Wandsworth slightly to the north of the present station on 1 December 1856. From the outset the line was worked by the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

(LB&SCR), and then only ran to and from

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. There were plans to extend it to join with the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

(L&SWR) main line nearby, thereby providing access to

London Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a London station group, central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo, London, Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connecte ...

, but these were rejected by that railway. It was renamed Wandsworth Common on 1 January 1858 before closing later that year on 1 June 1858.Chronology of London Railways by H.V.Borley It was replaced by a station named New Wandsworth which had opened on 29 March 1858 when the (WELCR) extended its line to

Pimlico Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...

, and it was purchased by the LB&SCR. The station at New Wandsworth was closed when the present Wandsworth Common was opened at its current location by the LB&SCR on 1 November 1869 as part of works to widen the line, and improve the route between

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of t ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Further remodelling of the line was undertaken in 1890 to increase capacity. The lines through the station to Crystal Palace were

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

on 12 May 1911, by means of the LB&SCR 'Elevated Electric' overhead system. Work on electrifying the remaining services through the station had begun in 1913 but was interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and not completed until 1925. By this time the LB&SCR was absorbed into the Southern Railway following the 1921 Railways Act. In 1925 the Southern Railway decided to adopt a

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...

electrification system and the lines through the station were converted between June 1928 and September 1929. When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the national rail lines were served by

Network SouthEast Network SouthEast (NSE) was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE mainly operated commuter rail trains within Greater London and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, although the netwo ...

until the privatisation of the British Railways. Upon privatisation in the 1990s, the national rail lines came under the

Connex South Central Connex South Central was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Connex that operated the South Central franchise from 26 May 1996 until 25 August 2001. History On 26 May 1996, Connex commenced operating the Network SouthCent ...

franchise, which was replaced by the current operator in 2000. On 10 March 1992 a

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

bomb by the station damaged trackside equipment.

Services

All services at Wandsworth Common are operated by Southern using

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: * 4 tph to * 2 tph to via * 2 tph to via During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly service between London Victoria and .

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

routes 319 and G1 serve the station.

References

External links

Wandsworth Common and the Surrounding Area
{{TSGN and SE Stations, Caterham=y, West London=y, Outer South=y, Mole Valley=y, FCC None=y, SE None=y Railway stations in the London Borough of Wandsworth Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1856 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1858 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1869 Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway 1869 establishments in England

History

Services

Connections

See also

References

External links