Coulsdon South railway station

Coulsdon South railway station serves Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon, and is in Travelcard Zone 6, on the Brighton Main Line. It is 17 miles 3 chains (27.42 km) measured from London Charing Cross.[2] The station is served by Southern and by ThamesLink.

Coulsdon South
Coulsdon South Location of Coulsdon South in Greater London
Location	Coulsdon
Local authority	London Borough of Croydon
Managed by	Southern
Station code	CDS
DfT category	D
Number of platforms	2
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	6
National Rail annual entry and exit
2015–16	1.617 million[1]
2016–17	1.271 million[1]
2017–18	1.420 million[1]
2018–19	1.681 million[1]
2019–20	1.850 million[1]
Railway companies
Original company	South Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
1 October 1889	Opened
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
WGS84	51.3157°N 0.138°W
London transport portal

History

A 1905 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Coulsdon South railway station

Coulsdon is on a stretch of line between Croydon and Redhill which the UK Parliament insisted should be shared by the London and Brighton Railway (L&BR) route to Brighton, and the South Eastern Railway (SER) route to Dover. As a result, there have been a number of railway stations at Coulsdon.

Coulsdon South

Coulsdon South in 1971 with a Class 423 at platform 2

This station was opened by the South Eastern Railway (SER) on 1 October 1889. The line is on a steep gradient climbing towards Merstham Tunnel. It is 17 miles 3 chains (27.4 km) from Charing Cross, and has two platforms each long enough for a 12-coach train.[3] It was originally called Coulsdon and Cane Hill, referring to the nearby psychiatric hospital: a covered way connected the station to the hospital. By the 1960s, the covered way had been removed.

Ticketing

The station remains staffed for most of the operational day, with a booking office located on the up (west) side of the station. At the entrance to the ticket office from the station approach road, there are two self-service ticket machines, one of which, most unusually, is wall-mounted.

A PERTIS self-service 'Permit to Travel' ticket machine was previously provided here but has been removed. Automatic Ticket Barriers were installed at the station in spring 2011

Other stations in Coulsdon

• Stoats Nest for Coulsdon and Cane Hill (later Coulsdon North) was opened on 8 November 1899, by the LB&SCR on their Quarry Line which bypassed Redhill. It closed 3 October 1983.
• Smitham (later Coulsdon Town) was opened in 1904 by the SER on their Tattenham Corner Line and is named after another nearby settlement. This station was renamed from Smitham in 2011 as part of Southern Railway's new franchise agreement. This change was made as a result of a local consultation carried out by Croydon Council and it intended to better reflect the location of the station near Coulsdon town centre.

Recent history

In May 2019, work began to install a new accessible footbridge with lifts and tactile paving. The work was completed in August 2020 having been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.[4]

Services

The typical off-peak train service per hour is:[5]

• 2tph to London Victoria (Southern)
• 2tph to Peterborough via London Bridge (Thameslink)
• 2tph to Reigate (Southern)
• 2tph to Horsham via Gatwick Airport (Thameslink)

A Sunday service operates as follows:

• 1tph to Peterborough via London Bridge
• 2tph to London Victoria
• 1tph to Horsham
• 1tph to Portsmouth Harbour and Bognor Regis
• 1tph to Reigate

There are also a few trains to further destinations such as Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Ore, Southampton Central and Portsmouth Harbour on early mornings, weekdays and weekends.

Connections

London Buses routes 60, 404, 405, 463 and night route N68 serve the station.

Notes and references

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 15A. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
3. Yonge, John (November 2008) [1994]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL (3rd ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 14C. ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
4. insidecroydon (17 August 2020). "Access all areas at Coulsdon South as £3m bridge is finished". Inside Croydon. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
5. https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/timetabling/electronic-national-rail-timetable/ (Timetable No. 183 May 2018)

External links

• Train times and station information for Coulsdon South railway station from National Rail
• Stoats Nest for Coulsdon and Cane Hill - with photograph of that name and other names used by Coulsdon North
• Coulsdon and Cane Hill - with photograph of the name