Tattenham Corner Line

The Tattenham Corner Line is a railway line in Southern England that runs between Purley in South London and Tattenham Corner in Surrey.

History
The line was opened in two parts. The first stage was built from Purley as far as Kingswood as the Chipstead Valley Railway. Local MP and Chairman of the South Eastern Railway at the time, Sir Cosmo Bonsor proposed the line in 1893. However, given the difficult terrain of the route which would have involved deep cuttings and tight bends, the idea was met by some opposition from his fellow directors. Despite this, construction eventually began in 1896 and on 2 November 1897 a single-track line to Kingswood (originally Kingswood and Burgh Heath ) was complete.

In 1899 Sir Cosmo Bonsor formed a private syndicate to have the line extended from Kingswood to its current terminus at Tattenham Corner in order to catch the racegoing traffic. By Derby Day on 4 June 1901, the extension to Tattenham Corner was opened, during which time the line was also upgraded from single to double track.

The Chief Engineer to the Chipstead Valley Railway was Lt Col Arthur John Barry.

The line was third rail electrified by Southern Railway at 660V DC in March 1928, and later upgraded to 750V DC by British Rail post-war. The line is now part of the Southern franchise.

In 2011 Smitham railway station was officially renamed.

Route
The line diverges eastwards from the Brighton Main Line at Purley. It immediately splits from the Caterham Line and passes below the Brighton line. It then runs close to the Brighton line as far as Coulsdon Town, after which it turns westwards and follows the Chipstead Valley, eventually climbing to the high ground at Tattenham Corner.

The line is primarily a commuter route, but the station at Tattenham Corner was built to serve the Epsom Downs Racecourse, with large numbers of extra trains on Derby day. There is also a railway terminus at Epsom Downs, about 2 km north of the racecourse, which was built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and opened on 22 May 1865.

Current
Train services on the line are operated by Southern, and run to London Bridge and London Victoria (peak and evenings). During peak hours trains combine (am) or divide (pm) at Purley, the other section being for the Caterham Line.

Services are provided by a mixture of Class 455, Class 456 and Class 377 EMUs.

Future
The London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy released in July 2011 lays out a provisional timetable for the Thameslink Programme. Services 'assumed to operate through the Thameslink core in 2018' feature an 8-car Tattenham Corner to Welwyn Garden City service. Should this timetable come to fruition, the Tattenham Corner Line would form part of the Thameslink network.