14.739 | railexits0506 15.398 | railexits0607 19.517 | railexits0708 22.534 | railexits0809 20.581 | railint0809 6.371 | railint0203 | railint0304 | railint0405 | railint0506 | railint0607 | railint0708 | tubeexits03 | tubeexits04 | tubeexits05 | tubeexits06 | tubeexits07 | tubeexits08 | access yes | access_note lt;/ref>lt;/ref> }} East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon 10.35 miles (16.56 km) south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 It is one of three railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon with Croydon in their name, the others being West Croydon station and South Croydon railway station Along with Kensington Olympia railway station East Croydon was until 13 December 2008 one of two stations in the London area to be served by CrossCountry

History

The population of Croydon increased 14-fold (from 16,700 to 233,000) between the opening of the station and 1921. As a result the station has been enlarged and rebuilt on several occasions.

Opening

Image:East Croydon Station.jpg The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) opened the first West Croydon railway station in June 1839. On 12 July 1841 the London & Brighton Railway (L&BR) began its passenger services from is own Croydon station on what became the Brighton Main Line from London Bridge railway station as far as Haywards Heath railway station lt;/ref> The new station was designed by the architect David Mocatta After 1842, the station was jointly administered by the L&BR and the South Eastern Railway (UK) (SER), which shared the main line as far as Redhill railway station Fares to London from Croydon were common to the stations joint users.lt;/ref> In 1846 The L&BR and the L&CR amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and the station was renamed "East Croydon" to avoid confusion.

New Croydon

With the completion of the lines to London Victoria station between 1860 and 1862, extra platforms were needed to provide the terminal for the company’s services to and from London: London Bridge trains continued to use the existing lines. The new platforms were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station, named "New Croydon", with its own ticket office, and which ran exclusively LBSCR services. This enabled the railway to avoid breaking an agreement with the SER, and offer cheaper fares than the SER from the original station.p. 240-1 The original terminal platforms at New Croydon proved difficult to operate as there was limited space for locomotives to run round their trains. As a result, in 1863 the LB&SCR obtained Parliamentary authority to built a one-mile (1.6 km) extension of their suburban lines to a new station at South Croydon railway station which provided the additional operating space necessary .Turner (1978) p. 242

Central Croydon

In 1864, the LB&SCR obtained authorisation to construct a ½-mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street, where Croydon Central railway station was built. The new line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the new Croydon Clocktower Treby, E., op. cit. p. 106

1894/95 rebuilding

By the late 1880s the station was once again congested due to the growth of traffic on the main lines, the expansion of the suburban network in South London and the new line from Croydon to Oxted As a result the station was entirely rebuilt and the tracks remodelled during 1894/5. During this time the extension of the suburban lines was continued from South Croydon to Coulsdon where they joined the new “Quarry line .p.94 In 1897-98, East Croydon and New Croydon stations were merged into a single station with the three island platform that remain. The two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.White, H.P., op. cit. p. 79

1992 rebuilding

The present station building opened on 19 August 1992. It consists of a large steel and glass frame suspended from a lightweight steel structure that straddles the track and platforms to a much greater extent than was possible with its Victorian era predecessor. Four steel Mast radiator anchor the glass box and the whole gives the impression of a suspension bridge that stretches into the distance. External canopy (building) cover the entrances, a cafes open-air seating area and the approaches to the tram station. 440 m² of glass were used in the roof and 800 m² for the wall glazing. The architects were Alan Brookes Associates and the structural engineers YRM Anthony Hunt Associates.

Services

Destinations

The station has frequent services on the London - Gatwick Airport - Brighton Main Line line, the First Capital Connect route from Gatwick via London Bridge railway station and St Pancras railway station to Bedford, Bedfordshire and the London Bridge - Uckfield branch, recently re-equipped with new British Rail Class 171 It has electronic information displays showing next departures to some 80 stations. All services except those to and from Uckfield are operated by 750 V DC third rail Electric multiple unit East Croydon serves destinations mainly in East Sussex West Sussex Surrey and Brighton & Hove including London Gatwick Airport Horsham Caterham Tattenham Corner Brighton Hastings Eastbourne Bognor Regis Portsmouth Tonbridge and many suburban stations in South London and Hertfordshire It is one of the busiest commuter stations in Greater London. Trains include First Capital Connect Thameslink services to Brighton Redhill, Surrey Bedford Luton and London Luton Airport which means that the station has direct services to two airports. They also serve stations in or near the City of London including St Pancras railway station Farringdon station City Thameslink railway station and Blackfriars station

Former services

Services from London Bridge railway station to Tunbridge Wells railway station via Redhill railway station were operated by Southeastern (train operating company) until December 2008, when they were transferred to Southern (train operating company) CrossCountry services stopped at East Croydon on the route to Brighton railway station which was withdrawn in December 2008. There also used to be a half-hourly service to London Charing Cross railway station operated by Southern (train operating company) however, this was withdrawn after December 2009 when there were changes to the Southeastern (train operating company) timetables, meaning that these trains could not be fitted in any more.

Up (northbound)

Platform 1 serves fast up (northbound) trains, to London Victoria railway station Fast services to Bedford railway station use platform 2. Fast and Stopping services to London Bridge railway station and some toLondon Victoria railway station use platform 4. Platform 5 both directions, has trains terminating from Milton Keynes Central railway station and services north to London Bridge mainly from Uckfield railway station (most use Platform 4). *9 fast to London Victoria Station calling at Clapham Junction railway station only *2 stopping to London Victoria Station via Thornton Heath railway station *7 to London Bridge station **1 fast **4 semi-fast, calling at Norwood Junction railway station only **2 calling at all stations via Sydenham railway station (London) *1 to Milton Keynes Central railway station via Kensington Olympia railway station and Watford Junction railway station Operated by First Capital Connect *4 to Bedford railway station

Down (southbound)

Platform 2 and platform 3 is used for the fast down (southbound) services, to Brighton and the Sussex Coast. Stopping services use platform 5 (both directions, normally used off-peak for trains terminating). Platform 6 is served by stopping services to Caterham and Tattenham Corner, and by services to Oxted railway station East Grinstead railway station and Uckfield railway station (Gatwick Express services pass through platforms 2 and 3 going southwards). There are 27 train departures per hour off-peak during the week. Operated by Southern (train operating company) Image:East Croydon Railway Station - England - View of Platforms - Evening - 270404.jpg *2 to Brighton railway station (non-stop) *1 to Brighton railway station (stopping) *4 to Caterham railway station *2 to Tattenham Corner railway station *2 to East Grinstead railway station via Oxted railway station *1 to Uckfield railway station via Oxted railway station *2 to Bognor Regis railway station via Crawley, portion for Portsmouth Harbour railway station or Southampton Central railway station detached at Horsham *1 to Portsmouth Harbour railway station via Crawley *1 to Southampton Central railway station via Crawley *2 to Littlehampton railway station via Worthing, portion for Eastbourne railway station or Hastings railway station detached at Haywards Heath *1 to Eastbourne railway station *1 to Hastings railway station via Eastbourne *2 to Horsham railway station *1 to Tonbridge railway station *1 to Reigate railway station Operated by First Capital Connect *2 to Brighton railway station (semi-fast) *2 to Brighton railway station (stopping)

Facilities

Image:East Croydon Railway Station - England - Electronic Information Board in the Concourse - 270404.jpg The main entrance is from George Street, to the concourse.http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/pdf/eastcroydon-10273.pdf Transport for London map of local bus stops in East Croydon] published by TfL, 2007 There are several shops here, such as WHSmith Costa Coffee Burger King and Upper Crust Another entrance is next to the taxi rank on Billinton Hill just off Cherry Orchard Road on the east side. The ticket office usually becomes busy during peak hours as well as the ticket machines. Disabled-accessible slopes to all platforms are provided and there is a subway connecting all platforms. There are three waiting rooms on the platforms under a roof with plenty of standard metal seats. There are refreshment stalls and vending machines in the seating areas on the platforms. Trolleys are also available along with step-free access to all buffets.lt;/ref> East Croydon is one of the few stations to provide comfortable leather sofas for passengers, in the waiting room on platforms 3 and 4. They are often used by passengers from London Gatwick Airport between 2am and 4am who change at East Croydon to access Clapham Junction railway station but are required to wait for approximately 40 minutes for a connecting service from platform 4, if they miss the hourly direct service. There are three automated teller machine opposite the west entrance.

Future

Station expansion

As part of the Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme, East Croydon is to be expanded to both the west and the east. Work has been planned on the west side for some time, to increase station capacity, made more urgent by likely additional traffic from the planned Croydon Gateway nearby. A proposal by Arrowcroft, which included the 12,500-seat Croydon Arena was rejected in August 2008.http://www.persona.uk.com/croydongateway/index.htm Public inquiry website] Persona Assoociates Arrowcroft had proposed a £24 million expansion of the station with a new airport style concourse above the tracks to the north of the current station. Arrowcroft had agreed to contribute £500,000 to the build costs to offset the impact of their proposed Arena. The source of the remaining £23.5 million was not identified, and Network Rail had not committed this expenditure in its capital plans. The alternative scheme called Ruskin Square by the owners of the site Stanhope Schroders, includes a contribution of £1.1 million for station capacity improvements that could be quickly implemented and integrated into their scheme for a new urban park, a rebuilt Warehouse Theatre a doctors surgery, housing (50% "affordable") and modern offices on the Croydon Gateway site. To the east, towards Cherry Orchard Road the proposed towers result in an extension to the station. The architect is Makewith the client Menta engineer Knight Frankand GL Hearn Originally this project was planned to start in 2009, but this has been put back to 2019 with the planned completion date in 2023. The mixed-use scheme is to total approximately 93,000 sq m (1 million sq ft) of modern accommodation in a series of crystalline towers. Of the total area, some 70% is planned to be residential accommodation, with the remaining 30% being of mixed commercial use, including offices and retail. Critical to all proposals around East Croydon station are improvements to transport interchange. No project has yet delivered the necessary funds for significant enhancements.

Oyster Card

Oyster Pay As You Go on National Rail has been valid for travel at East Croydon station since 2 January 2010.

Thameslink Programme

The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink from 51 to 172 train station lt;ref>lt;/ref> spreading northwards to Bedford Peterborough Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford Eastbourne Horsham Hove to Littlehampton East Grinstead Ashford and Dartford The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock. When implemented, First Capital Connect services would call more often at the station and other stations in the Croydon area, including Purley and Norwood Junction.

Selhurst Depot

There is a large railway depot for Southern (train operating company) and First Capital Connect trains to the north at Selhurst railway station#Selhurst Railway Depot

Transport Connections

Image:Tramlink East Croydon.jpg tram interchange outside the station|thumb|right|250px]] East Croydon is well served by both tram and bus, with a tram station outside and a bus station close by. From the bus station London Bus services reach Central London Purley Way Bromley Lewisham and places to the south. London Buses route X26 the longest London bus route, runs to Heathrow Airport via Sutton and Kingston. Immediately outside the front of the station is the Tramlink stop, with services to Elmers End Beckenham Junction station New Addington and Wimbledon station A major interchange on Tramlink, East Croydon has three tram platforms, two on an island, the other backing on to the main-line station concourse. Following problems with the points in this area, in August 2006 the points were fixed to route all eastbound trams into Platform 1, the concourse-side platform. The island platform can only be used by westbound trams and by trams terminating from the east.

Crime

In January 2006 the London Assembly issued statistics of crime in main-line railway stations outside Zone 1. East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Walthamstow Central were the worst in terms of total number of crimes, as would be expected for the busiest stations. (A figure comparing crimes per 1000 passengers would be more meaningful).http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4661136.stm Crime statistics East Croydon, Clapham Junction, Walthamstow] BBC News

Gallery

Image:Unit 460008 at East Croydon.JPG|Gatwick Express train passes fast southbound Image:East Croydon Station - England - Thameslink train exits south - Evening - 270404.jpg|A Thameslink train exits the station, heading south Image:East Croydon Railway Station - England - Station Frontage - Evening - 270404.jpg|The front of the station Image:Croydon, Norwood & Woodside RJD 53.jpg|A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of the Brighton Main Line between South Croydon and Selhurst/Forest Hill, and surrounding lines

References

Transport links

London bus routes 64, 119, 194, 197, 198, 250, 312, 367, 410, 466, T33 and night route N64, N68 and N109 pass the station and route 75, 154, 166, 403, 407, 412 and other route 917 7mins walk to the station.

External links

* *http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1765604.stm BBC News article on Croydons trams] *http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6927406.stm BBC News article on East Croydons position in the top 10 stations] *http://www.thetrams.co.uk/stops.php?sectioncroydon&stopEast+Croydon East Croydon tram stop] on Tramlink website Category:Tramlink stops Category:Railway stations in Croydon Category:Railway stations opened in 1841 Category:Croydon 2020 Category:1992 architecture Category:Railway stations served by First Capital Connect Category:Railway stations served by Southern Category:British Transport Police stations nl:Station East Croydon