Coulsdon Town railway station

Coulsdon Town railway station serves the northern part of Coulsdon, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is on the Tattenham Corner line 16 miles 46 chains (26.7 km) from Charing Cross and opened on 1 January 1904. Until 22 May 2011 it was called Smitham.[3]

Coulsdon Town
Coulsdon Town
Location of Coulsdon Town in Greater London
LocationCoulsdon
Local authorityLondon Borough of Croydon
Managed bySouthern
Station codeCDN
DfT categoryE
Number of platforms2
Fare zone6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16 0.266 million[1]
2016–17 0.282 million[1]
2017–18 0.246 million[1]
2018–19 0.252 million[1]
2019–20 0.213 million[1]
Railway companies
Original companySouth Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingSouth Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
1 January 1904Opened as Smitham
1 January 1917Temporarily closed
1 January 1919Reopened
22 May 2011Renamed Coulsdon Town[2]
Other information
External links
WGS8451.3219°N 0.134°W / 51.3219; -0.134
 London transport portal

History

The station building in 2008, before reconstruction and renaming.

The station was opened as Smitham on 1 January 1904, and was briefly closed (between 1 January 1917 and 1 January 1919) during the First World War.[4] It lies on a sharp curve, where the line swings away westwards from the Brighton main line. It is immediately adjacent to the closed Coulsdon North station on the main line, whose passenger traffic was diverted here when the latter closed on 3 October 1983. Some Tattenham Corner line trains terminated at Smitham before returning to London, but nowadays the usual off-peak service is two trains per hour in each direction between London Bridge and Tattenham Corner. An hourly shuttle service used to be in operation during weekday off-peak hours between Purley and Tattenham Corner, but this was withdrawn in February 2015. Services to London Victoria only run during the weekday business peaks and Mon-Fri evenings, though connections are available at East Croydon or Norwood Junction at other times.[5]

The Coulsdon relief road, opened 18 December 2006 as part of the A23, passes underneath the station and meant that some rearrangement and refurbishment of the platform access routes was required. No direct access to the London-bound platform now exists; access is via the down platform and a new footbridge or a lift.

A new modular station building on the down side of the line and a standard-pattern accessible footbridge were constructed by Network Rail and opened in 2010. There is no PERTIS self-service 'Permit to Travel' ticket machine.

As part of the retender of Southern's franchise in 2009, the Department for Transport requested that in response to lobbying by Croydon Council the new company look into a better name for the station, as "Smitham" is no longer used as the name of the local area.[6] Coulsdon Town was chosen after a public vote.[7] The change took place on Sunday 22 May 2011.[2][8] Evening services to the station were improved in December 2010.[9]

Services

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[10]

During the peak hours, there are also services to London Victoria.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Southern
Terminus

It was initially proposed that from 2018, when the Thameslink Programme is completed, services on this line would be operated with larger 12 car trains offering all day direct services to Cambridge via London Blackfriars.[11] However, in September 2016, these proposals were dropped; instead, services on the Tattenham Corner line are to "remain as Southern South London Metro services with increased capacity as compared to today".[12]

References

  1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. "Station renamed after community campaign". Croydon Guardian. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  3. "Smitham station becomes Coulsdon Town station". Southern website. Govia. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  4. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 213. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  5. GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 181 (Network Rail)
  6. "End of the line for 'Smitham' station?". Croydon Council. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  7. "Refurbished Smitham Station to be renamed Coulsdon Town". Croydon Guardian. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  8. "So-long Smitham!". Southern Electric Group. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  9. "Extensions to rail services from Smitham station announced". Croydon Advertiser. 5 November 2010.
  10. "Timetable 31 - London to Coulsdon and Tattenham Corner" (PDF). Southern, December 2019.
  11. Proposed Thameslink services from 2018
  12. Timetable consultation : Thameslink and Great Northern
  • Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (January 1994). Caterham and Tattenham Corner. London Suburban Railways. Midhurst: Middleton Press. figures 60–65. ISBN 1-873793-25-1.
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