Coulsdon Town railway station serves the northern part of Coulsdon, in the London Borough of Croydon. It is on the Tattenham Corner line 16 miles 46 chains (26.7 km) from Charing Cross and opened on 1 January 1904. Until 22 May 2011 it was called Smitham.[3]
Coulsdon Town  | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Coulsdon Town Location of Coulsdon Town in Greater London | |
| Location | Coulsdon |
| Local authority | London Borough of Croydon |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Station code(s) | CDN |
| DfT category | E |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2019–20 |  0.213 million[1] |
| 2020–21 | 57,768[1] |
| 2021–22 |  85,876[1] |
| 2022–23 | 99,896[1] |
| 2023–24 | 93,482[1] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | South Eastern Railway |
| Pre-grouping | South Eastern and Chatham Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 1 January 1904 | Opened as Smitham |
| 1 January 1917 | Temporarily closed |
| 1 January 1919 | Reopened |
| 22 May 2011 | Renamed Coulsdon Town[2] |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°19′19″N 0°08′02″W / 51.3219°N 0.134°W |
 London transport portal | |
History
edit
The station was opened as Smitham on 1 January 1904 and was briefly closed (between 1 January 1917 and 1 January 1919) during the First World War.[4] It lies on a sharp curve, where the line swings away westwards from the Brighton Main Line. It is immediately adjacent to the closed Coulsdon North station on the main line, whose passenger traffic was diverted here when the latter closed on 3 October 1983. Some Tattenham Corner line trains terminated at Smitham before returning to London. Still, nowadays the usual off-peak service is two trains per hour in each direction between London Bridge and Tattenham Corner. An hourly shuttle service used to operate during weekday off-peak hours between Purley and Tattenham Corner, but this was withdrawn in February 2015. Services to London Victoria were withdrawn in 2021 due to the pandemic [5]
The Coulsdon relief road, opened on 18 December 2006 as part of the A23, passes underneath the station, requiring some rearrangement and refurbishment of the platform access routes. There is no direct access to the London-bound platform now; access is via the down platform and a new footbridge or lift.
Network Rail constructed a new modular station building on the downside of the line and a standard-pattern accessible footbridge, which opened in 2010. There is no PERTIS self-service 'Permit to Travel' ticket machine.
As part of the retender of Southern's franchise in 2009, the Department for Transport requested that, in response to lobbying by Croydon Council, the new company look into a better name for the station, as "Smitham" is no longer used as the name of the local area.[6] Coulsdon Town was chosen after a public vote.[7] The change took place on Sunday ,22 May 2011.[2][8] Evening services to the station were improved in December 2010.[9]
Services
editAll services at Coulsdon Town are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[10]
- 2 tph to London Bridge (non-stop from Norwood Junction)
- 2 tph to Tattenham Corner
On Sundays, the service is reduced to hourly and runs between Tattenham Corner and Purley only. Passengers for London Bridge have to change at Purley.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | ||||
It was initially proposed that from 2018, when the Thameslink Programme is completed, services on this line would be operated with larger 12 car trains offering all day direct services to Cambridge via London Blackfriars.[11] However, in September 2016, these proposals were dropped; instead, services on the Tattenham Corner line are to "remain as Southern South London Metro services with increased capacity as compared to today".[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^ a b "Station renamed after community campaign". Croydon Guardian. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Smitham station becomes Coulsdon Town station". Southern website. Govia. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 213. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ "GTR have confirmed they will not be reintroducing peak direct services" Posted August 8th 2022
- ^ "End of the line for 'Smitham' station?". Croydon Council. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ "Refurbished Smitham Station to be renamed Coulsdon Town". Croydon Guardian. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ "So-long Smitham!". Southern Electric Group. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Extensions to rail services from Smitham station announced". Croydon Advertiser. 5 November 2010.
- ^ Table 181 National Rail timetable, May 2022
- ^ Proposed Thameslink services from 2018
- ^ Timetable consultation : Thameslink and Great Northern
- Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (January 1994). Caterham and Tattenham Corner. London Suburban Railways. Midhurst: Middleton Press. figures 60–65. ISBN 1-873793-25-1.
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Coulsdon Town railway station from National Rail