East Croydon station

On 12 July 1841, the London & Brighton Railway (L&BR) began passenger services through Croydon station (now East Croydon) on the Brighton Line from London Bridge to Haywards Heath.[10] The station was designed by the architect David Mocatta, the second station in the town since the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) had opened its Croydon station (now West Croydon) in June 1839.[9][11]

The station became jointly administered by the L&BR and the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1842, who shared the Brighton main line as far as Redhill. Fares from Croydon to London were common to two railways.[12] In 1846, the L&BR and the L&CR amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and the two stations were shortly renamed East Croydon and West Croydon to avoid confusion.[9]

With the completion of the line to Victoria between 1860 and 1862, extra platforms were needed to provide a terminal for LB&SCR suburban services to and from the West End of London whilst London Bridge trains continued to use the existing lines. The new platforms adjoined East Croydon but 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 device enabled the railway to avoid breaking an agreement with the SER, whilst offering cheaper fares than the SER from the original station.[13]

The terminal platforms at New Croydon proved difficult to operate, as there was limited space for locomotives to run around their trains. As a result, in 1863 the LB&SCR obtained Parliamentary authority to build a one-mile (1.6 km) extension to a new terminus at South Croydon, which provided the additional operating room.[14]

In 1864, the LB&SCR obtained authorisation to construct a 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long branch line into the town centre near Katharine Street, where Central Croydon station was built. The line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the council before finally closing in 1890. It was demolished and replaced by the town hall.[15]

East Croydon station in 1967

By the late 1880s the station was 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 rebuilt and the tracks remodelled during 1894/5. At the same time the suburban lines were extended from South Croydon to Coulsdon North, where they joined the new Quarry line.[16] In 1897–98, East Croydon and New Croydon were merged into a single station with the three island platforms that remain. The two stations kept separate booking accounts until the formation of the Southern Railway.[17]

On 4 July 1958, a passenger fell onto the running lines after attempting to leave his train on the wrong side. Station foreman Thomas Ashby saw that he was reaching for the live rail as he attempted to stand, and that an express train was approaching, and so jumped down onto the track and held the man down, safely, as the express passed. For his actions, Ashby was awarded the Order of Industrial Heroism, which was presented to him in the S.R.A. Club Hall at the station, on 7 October the same year.[18][19]

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 predecessor.

Four steel ladder masts anchor the glass box and the whole gives the impression of a suspension bridge that stretches into the distance. External canopies cover the entrances, a café's open-air seating area and the approaches to the tram stop. 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.

East Croydon station footbridge, installed 2013

It was announced in 2010 that Network Rail had proposed a £20m project to revamp the station with an additional entrance and a shortcut into the town centre.[20] In September 2010, Croydon Council pledged £6m towards the revamp, ensuring that a bridge was included in the plans.[20] The new bridge was officially opened in December 2013, providing pedestrian transfer between platforms as well as a new entrance at the northern end of the platforms and a more direct link to the town centre.[21] The new walkway may be accessed from the town centre on the west via Lansdowne Walk, but access from the Cherry Orchard Road on the east has not been built.[22]

The station has frequent services on the Brighton Main Line from London to Gatwick Airport and Brighton, the Thameslink Route from Brighton to Bedford via London Bridge, and the Oxted Line to East Grinstead and Uckfield.[23] East Croydon serves destinations mainly in East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and Brighton & Hove, including Gatwick Airport, Horsham, Caterham, Tattenham Corner, Brighton, Reigate, Hastings, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Portsmouth, Tonbridge and many suburban stations in South London and Hertfordshire via the West London Route to Milton Keynes Central.[24]

Trains include Thameslink services to Brighton, Redhill, 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 International, Farringdon, City Thameslink and London Blackfriars.

Southeastern to London Charing Cross and Tunbridge Wells occasionally call at the station during periods of engineering work.

Northbound Platforms

Platform 1 serves northbound trains to Victoria. Fast services to Bedford use platform 2. Fast and stopping services to London Bridge and some to Victoria use platform 4 (platform 2 for Thameslink). Platform 5 serves both directions, with trains to Milton Keynes and services north to London Bridge mainly from Uckfield (most use Platform 4).

Southbound Platforms

Platforms 2 and 3 are used for the 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, East Grinstead and Uckfield. (Gatwick Express services pass through platforms 2 and 3 going southwards).

Services from London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells via Redhill were operated by Southeastern until December 2008, when they were transferred to Southern and curtailed at Tonbridge.[25]

CrossCountry services stopped at East Croydon on the route to Brighton and Newcastle, until they were withdrawn in December 2008 (after the franchise passed from Virgin to Arriva)[26]

Southern services to London Charing Cross were withdrawn in December 2009.

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

• 10 tph to London Victoria (semi-fast)
• 7 tph to London Bridge (3 of these run non-stop, 2 run via Peckham Rye and 2 run via Forest Hill)
• 1 tph to Milton Keynes Central
• 2 tph to Brighton
• 2 tph to Caterham
• 2 tph to Caterham and Tattenham Corner, dividing at Purley
• 2 tph to Coulsdon Town
• 2 tph to East Grinstead via Oxted
• 1 tph to Uckfield via Oxted
• 2 tph to Reigate via Redhill
• 1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour and Bognor Regis, dividing at Horsham
• 1 tph to Southampton Central and Bognor Regis, dividing at Horsham
• 2 tph to Littlehampton via Worthing
• 2 tph to Eastbourne of which 1 continues to Ore

Southern services at East Croydon are operated using Class 377 and Class 455 EMUs and Class 171 DMUs.

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

• 4 tph to Bedford via London Bridge
• 2 tph to Cambridge
• 2 tph to Peterborough
• 4 tph to Brighton
• 2 tph to Gatwick Airport via Redhill
• 2 tph to Horsham via Redhill

Thameslink services at East Croydon are operated using Class 700 EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trams per hour is:

• 12tph to Wimbledon
• 8tph to West Croydon
• 6tph to Beckenham Junction
• 6tph to Elmers End
• 8tph to New Addington

Tramlink services at East Croydon are operated using Bombardier CR4000 and Stadler Variobahn Trams.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Bridge		Thameslink Brighton Main Line Fast Services		Gatwick Airport
Norwood Junction		Thameslink Brighton Main Line Stopping Services		Purley
London Bridge				Coulsdon South
				South Croydon Peak Hours Only
Clapham Junction		Southern Brighton Main Line		Gatwick Airport
		Southern Mainline East Mainline West
		Southern London to Reigate		Purley
Selhurst		Southern Caterham Line
London Bridge				South Croydon
		Southern Tattenham Corner Line
Norwood Junction
Selhurst		Southern West London Line		Terminus
Clapham Junction		Southern Oxted Line		Sanderstead
				South Croydon Peak Hours Only
London Bridge				Oxted
		Southeastern Engineering Works		Tonbridge
Tramlink
Wellesley Road One-way operation		Tramlink Wimbledon to Beckenham Junction		Lebanon Road towards Beckenham Junction
George Street towards Wimbledon
Wellesley Road One-way operation		Tramlink Wimbledon to Elmers End		Lebanon Road towards Elmers End
George Street towards Wimbledon
Wellesley Road One-way operation		Tramlink New Addington to Croydon town centre		Lebanon Road towards New Addington
George Street towards West Croydon

All three tracks of the trams in use at the East Croydon stop

A tram having just left East Croydon

Tramlink service in December 2008

Several plans for station expansion have been put forward; none of which were confirmed to be happening by January 2015.

As part of the Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme, East Croydon is expected 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.[32] Arrowcroft had proposed a £24 million expansion of the station with a new 'airport style' concourse above the tracks to the north of the 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 planned contribution of £1.1 million for station capacity improvements that could be quickly implemented and integrated into their planned 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 Make with the client Menta, engineer Knight Frank and 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 for approximately 93,000 sq m (1 million sq ft) of accommodation in a series of crystalline towers. Some 70% of the area is planned to be residential accommodation, with the remaining 30% mixed commercial use, including offices and retail. Critical to all proposals are improvements to transport interchange. No project has yet delivered the necessary funds for significant enhancements.

In 2020, Network Rail revealed a proposal to move the station 100m north as part of a redevelopment of the nearby Selhurst Triangle junction, with the aim of increasing capacity and improving reliability. The rebuilt station would have two more platforms than today's station. The project is currently unfunded but if it goes ahead it is hoped that the redeveloped station and junction would be complete by 2033.[33]

In late 2014 plans were made to rename the station "Croydon Central".[34]

East Croydon station is currently located in Travelcard Zone 5, but there is an ongoing campaign for East Croydon and the smaller West Croydon station (also located in Zone 5) to be rezoned to Travelcard Zone 4. It has been argued that the stations should be in Zone 4 because some stations currently in Zone 4 are further away from Central London, and that rezoning the stations will save commuters living in Croydon large amounts of money, attract investment to Croydon, create jobs in the town and make living in the area more attractive. It is expected that those commuting to Croydon would be largely unaffected by such a change.[35][36] The issue has been debated in the House of Commons, but current train operator Southern has not formally submitted a proposal for such a change to Transport for London, which is required for a station to be rezoned.[37]

The Thameslink Programme (formerly Thameslink 2000) is a £5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[38] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock.