South Croydon railway station

South Croydon railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, in Travelcard Zone 5. It is on the Brighton Line at its junction with the Oxted Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern.

History
Originally South Croydon was a terminus, next to the Brighton Line but without any platforms on it. It was at the end of a one-mile extension of the local lines from London to New Croydon station, opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway 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 line from South Croydon to Coulsdon, where it connected with the new Quarry line. The station was rebuilt as a through station with platform faces to all the lines prior to the opening of the line in November 1899.

In 1947 a train crash about 500 metres 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 200 yards north of the station. This blocked the main lines for 24 hours.



Platforms
South Croydon has five platforms connected by a narrow subway.

The tracks through platforms 1 and 2 are used by services that do not call, for example fast Southern services from London Victoria to Brighton, First Capital Connect services and Gatwick Express. Platform 3 is used by up trains to London Bridge and London Victoria. Platform 4 is used by both up and down trains. Platform 5 is used by down trains to Caterham and other destinations.

Ticket gates became operational in April 2009.

Services
The typical off-peak service in trains 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
 * 1 to Milton Keynes Central via Clapham Junction and Shepherd's Bush

At peak times services operate to other destinations, including East Grinstead and Uckfield via Oxted.