 Main entrance and Tramlink stop |
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  East Croydon
Location of East Croydon in Greater London |
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| Location | Croydon |
|---|---|
| Local authority | London Borough of Croydon |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Station code | ECR |
| Platforms in use | 9 (3 of which are Tramlink) |
| Accessible |  [1][2] |
| Fare zone | 5 |
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| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2004/5 | ▲ 14.739 million[3] |
| 2005/6 | ▲ 15.398 million[3] |
| 2006/7 | ▲ 19.517 million[3] |
| 2007/8 | ▲ 22.534 million[3] |
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| 12 July 1841 | Opened as "Croydon" |
| February 1850 | Renamed "Croydon East" |
| 1 May 1862 | Renamed "East Croydon" |
| 1 June 1909 | Renamed "East Croydon Main" |
| July 1924 | Amalgamated with "East Croydon Local" to form "East Croydon"[4] |
| 19 August 1992 | New station building opened |
| 14 May 2000 | Tramlink stop opened |
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| List of stations | Underground · National Rail |
| External links | Departures • Layout |
| Facilities • Buses | |
Coordinates: 51°22′31″N 0°05′32″W / 51.3752°N 0.0923°W
East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 8.3 miles (15 km) south of Charing Cross in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1. It is one of three railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon with Croydon in their name, the others being West Croydon and South Croydon. Along with Kensington Olympia, East Croydon was until 13 December 2008 one of two stations in the London area to be served by CrossCountry.
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The population of Croydon increased 14-fold (from 16,700 to 233,000) between the opening of the station and 1921. As a result the station has been enlarged and rebuilt on several occasions.
The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) opened the first Croydon station, in June 1839. On 12 July 1841 the London & Brighton Railway (L&BR) began its passenger services from is own Croydon station on what became the Brighton Line from London Bridge as far as Haywards Heath.[5] The new station was designed by the architect David Mocatta.
After 1842, the station was jointly administered by the L&BR and the South Eastern Railway (SER), which shared the main line as far as Redhill. Fares to London from Croydon were common to the station's joint users.[6] In 1846 The L&BR and the L&CR amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and the station was renamed East Croydon to avoid confusion.
With the completion of the lines to Victoria station between 1860 and 1862, extra platforms were needed to provide the terminal for the company’s services to and from London: London Bridge trains continued to use the existing lines. The new platforms 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 enabled the railway to avoid breaking an agreement with the SER, and offer cheaper fares than the SER from the original station.[7]
The original terminal platforms at New Croydon proved difficult to operate as there was limited space for locomotives to run round their trains. As a result, in 1863 the LB&SCR obtained Parliamentary authority to built a one-mile extension of their suburban lines to a new station at South Croydon, which provided the additional operating space necessary .[8]
In 1864, the LB&SCR obtained authorisation to construct a ½-mile long branch line into the heart of the town centre near Katharine Street, where Croydon Central station was built. The new line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Town Council before finally closing in 1890. The station was subsequently demolished and replaced by the new Town Hall.[9]
By the late 1880s the station was once 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 entirely rebuilt and the tracks remodelled during 1894/5. During this time the extension of the suburban lines was continued from South Croydon to Coulsdon, where they joined the new “Quarry line”.[10] In 1897-98, East Croydon and New Croydon stations were merged into a single station with the three island platforms that remain. The two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.[11]
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 cafe's open-air seating area and the approaches to the tram station. 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.
The station has frequent services on the London - Gatwick Airport - Brighton line, the First Capital Connect route from Gatwick via London Bridge and St Pancras International to Bedford, and the London Bridge - Uckfield branch, recently re-equipped with new Class 171 DMUs. It has electronic information displays showing next departures to some 80 stations. All services except those to and from Uckfield are operated by 750 V DC third rail EMUs. East Croydon serves destinations mainly in East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and Brighton & Hove, including Gatwick Airport, Horsham, Caterham, Tattenham Corner, Brighton, Hastings, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Portsmouth, Tonbridge and many suburban stations in South London and Hertfordshire. It is one of the busiest commuter stations in Greater London.
Trains include First Capital Connect 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. Charing Cross is served by a few trains from Reigate.
Almost all trains are operated by Southern. Interestingly, East Croydon and South Croydon stations are the only two stations on the Southern network where all current rolling stock can be seen.
Services from London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells via Redhill were operated by Southeastern until December 2008, when they were transferred to Southern.
CrossCountry services stopped at East Croydon on the route to Brighton which was withdrawn in December 2008.
Platform 1 serves fast up (northbound) trains, to London Victoria. Fast and Stopping services to London Bridge and Bedford use platform 4. Platform 5 both directions, has trains terminating from Milton Keynes and services north to London Bridge mainly from Uckfield (most use Platform 4).
Operated by First Capital Connect:
Platform 2 and platform 3 is used for the fast down (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).
There are 27 train departures per hour off-peak during the week.
Operated by Southern:
Operated by First Capital Connect:
The main entrance is from George Street, to the concourse.[12] There are several shops here, such as WHSmith, Costa Coffee, Burger King and Upper Crust. Another entrance is next to the taxi rank on Billinton Hill just off Cherry Orchard Road, on the east side.
The ticket office usually becomes busy during peak hours as well as the ticket machines. Disabled-accessible slopes to all platforms are provided and there is a subway connecting all platforms. There are three waiting rooms on the platforms under a roof with plenty of standard metal seats. There are refreshment stalls and vending machines in the seating areas on the platforms. Trolleys are also available along with step-free access to all buffets.[13]
East Croydon is one of the few stations to provide comfortable leather sofas for passengers, in the waiting room on platforms 3 and 4. They are often used by passengers from London Gatwick Airport between 2am and 4am who change at East Croydon to access Clapham Junction railway station but are required to wait for approximately 40 minutes for a connecting service from platform 4, if they miss the hourly direct service.
There are three cash machines/ATMs opposite the west entrance.
As part of the Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme, East Croydon is to 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.[14] Arrowcroft had proposed a £24 million expansion of the station with a new 'airport style' concourse above the tracks to the north of the current 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 contribution of £1.1 million for station capacity improvements that could be quickly implemented and integrated into their 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 to total approximately 93,000 sq m (1 million sq ft) of modern accommodation in a series of crystalline towers. Of the total area, some 70% is planned to be residential accommodation, with the remaining 30% being of mixed commercial use, including offices and retail. Critical to all proposals around East Croydon station are improvements to transport interchange. No project has yet delivered the necessary funds for significant enhancements.
Oyster Pay as you go (PAYG) has been valid for travel at East Croydon station since 2 January 2010.
The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[15] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford and Dartford. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock. When implemented, First Capital Connect services would call more often at the station and other stations in the Croydon area, including Purley and Norwood Junction.
There is a large railway depot for Southern and First Capital Connect trains to the north at Selhurst.
East Croydon is well served by both tram and bus, with a tram station outside and a bus station close by. From the bus station London Bus services reach Central London, Purley Way, Bromley, Lewisham and places to the south. Route X26, the longest London bus route, runs to Heathrow Airport via Sutton and Kingston.
Immediately outside the front of the station is the Tramlink stop, with services to Elmers End, Beckenham Junction, New Addington and Wimbledon. A major interchange on Tramlink, East Croydon has three tram platforms, two on an island, the other backing on to the main-line station concourse. Following problems with the points in this area, in August 2006 the points were fixed to route all eastbound trams into Platform 1, the concourse-side platform. The island platform can only be used by westbound trams and by trams terminating from the east.
In January 2006 the London Assembly issued statistics of crime in main-line railway stations outside Zone 1. East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Walthamstow Central were the worst in terms of total number of crimes, as would be expected for the busiest stations. (A figure comparing crimes per 1000 passengers would be more meaningful).[16]
 Gatwick Express train passes fast southbound |
 A Thameslink train exits the station, heading south |
 The front of the station |
 A 1908 Railway Clearing House map of the Brighton Line between South Croydon and Selhurst/Forest Hill, and surrounding lines |
London bus routes 64, 119, 194, 197, 198, 250, 312, 367, 410, 466, T33 and night route N68 and N159 pass the station and route 75, 154, 166, 403, 407, 412 and other route 917 7mins walk to the station.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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| London Bridge | First Capital Connect Thameslink |
Redhill Gatwick Airport on Saturdays and Sundays |
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| Norwood Junction | Southern London Bridge to Tunbridge Wells (via Redhill) |
Purley | ||
| Selhurst | Southern West London Line to Milton Keynes Central |
Terminus | ||
| Clapham Junction or London Victoria |
Southern Brighton Main Line (Brighton Fast and Semi Fast) |
Gatwick Airport | ||
| Norwood Junction | Southern Brighton Main Line |
South Croydon | ||
| Selhurst | Southern Brighton Main Line |
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 Tramlink |
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One-way operation
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Route 1 |
towards Elmers End
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towards Wellesley Road
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One-way operation
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Route 2 |
towards Beckenham Junction
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towards Wellesley Road
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One-way operation
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Route 3 |
towards New Addington
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towards Wimbledon
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