South Croydon railway station is 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; ...

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 ...

, in

Travelcard Zone 5 Fare zone 5 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 and, since 2007, on National Rail services. The ...

. It is on the Brighton Line at its junction with the

Oxted Line The Oxted line is a railway in southern England and part of the Southern franchise. The railway splits into two branches towards the south and has direct trains throughout to London termini. It was opened jointly by the London, Brighton and ...

, measured from . The station is managed by Southern, and the station is served by both 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 ...

services.

History

Originally South Croydon was a terminus next to the through lines of the Brighton Line but without any platforms on them, the end of a extension of the local lines from New Croydon, opened 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 ...

on 1 September 1865. The aim was to provide more space for reversing local trains than could be afforded at busy New Croydon. The rapid growth of the town in this area may also have been a factor. In 1894 the railway obtained authority to extend the local lines to

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 ...

, where they connected with the new

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 ...

. The station was rebuilt as a through station with platform faces on all lines prior to the opening of the line in November 1899. In 1947 a

train crash A train wreck, train collision, train accident or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an acci ...

about south of the station killed 32 people, the worst accident in the history of the Southern Railway. On 1 August 2011, a landslide caused by a burst water main occurred approximately north of the station, blocking the railway for 24 hours. South Croydon Station, off St

Platforms

South Croydon has five platforms connected by a narrow subway. Platforms 1 and 2 are rarely used as fast Southern services from

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

services and

Gatwick Express Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, ...

, and these services do not call. Platform 3 is used by up trains to

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

and

in the peak hours Platform 4 is used by services that do not call, heading southbound, and some Thameslink services in both directions. Platform 5 is used by down trains to

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

Tattenham Corner Tattenham Corner is in north Surrey, UK, the name is principally associated with Epsom Racecourse. The railway station of the same name is in the Tattenhams ward of Reigate and Banstead Borough. Location Tattenham Corner refers to the sharp ...

and Three Bridges Ticket gates became operational in April 2009.

Services

Off-peak, services at South Croydon 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 ...

, and

using Class 700 EMUs. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:Timetable O (Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport, Tonbridge, Reigate and Redhill to Croydon and London)
/ref> * 2 tph to (non-stop from ) * 2 tph to and , dividing and attaching at * 2 tph to

via

, * 2 tph to Three Bridges via Redhill During the peak hours, additional services between

and (which usually pass through South Croydon) also call at the station. Additional

services between and East Grinstead also call during the peak hours. On Sundays, there is a half-hourly service between London Bridge and Caterham only. Passengers for Tattenham Corner have to change at Purley. In December 2022, Thameslink off peak services commenced at South Croydon, with a half hourly service to Three Bridges and

Connections

London Buses route 455 serves the station.

References

External links

{{TSGN and SE Stations, Caterham=y, Oxted=y, West London=y, FCC None=y, SE None=y Railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865 Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway