Purley Oaks railway station

Purley Oaks railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, on the Brighton Main Line between Croydon and Redhill. All trains serving it are operated by Southern and it is in London Travelcard Zone 6. The station comprises four platform faces, that on the west side unused (up fast line), an island platform whose western face is unused (down fast) and whose eastern face is used by up trains, and a platform on the eastern side served by down trains.

The ticket office (staffed for part of the day) is on the island platform with a self-service ticket machine in the subway beneath the station and another inside the entrance of the Brighton Road side of the station. No self-service PERTIS (permit to travel) passenger-operated coin-in-the-slot ticket machines are available for use.

The illustration to the right shows the station from the west. The staircase to the right of the entrance is unused and leads to the northbound fast line platform.

A short walk away from Purley Oaks is Sanderstead railway station, also in Zone 6, with northbound services to London Victoria station and London Bridge and southbound services to East Grinstead and Uckfield.

History
The station was opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway on 5 November 1899. It was built as part of the improvements to the main line and the opening of the Quarry Line.

Until 1983, trains to London Victoria from Coulsdon North stopped on Platform 1 (calling at South and East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Victoria), with returning trains stopping at Platform 2 (calling at Purley and Coulsdon North). Trains to London Bridge and Charing Cross from Caterham/Tattenham Corner stopped at Platform 3 (calling at South and East Croydon, New Cross Gate, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross), returning trains stopping at Platform 4 (the train divided at Purley, with the front portion stopping at all stations to Caterham, the rear portion all stations to Tattenham Corner). Coulsdon North closed in 1983, and Platform 1 at Purley Oaks was gutted by fire in 1989; Croydon Model Railway Society's clubrooms on Platform 1 were destroyed in the blaze.

Services
The typical off-peak train service per hour is:
 * 2 to London Victoria via East Croydon and Norbury
 * 2 to London Bridge via East Croydon and Forest Hill
 * 4 to Caterham