Coulsdon South railway station serves Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon, and is in London fare zone 6, on the Brighton Main Line. It is measured from . The station is served by Southern and by Thameslink. It is the most southerly mainline station in London.

History

thumb|left|upright|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

thumb|left|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 from , and has two platforms each long enough for a 12-coach train. 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. Automatic Ticket Barriers were installed at the station in 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.

Miscellaneous

On 16 January 1985, David Bowie's schizophrenic half-brother, Terry, died by suicide when he walked in front of a train at Coulsdon South railway station.

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 COVID-19 pandemic.

Services

Services at Coulsdon South are operated by Southern and Thameslink using and EMUs.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:

  • 2 tph to
  • 2 tph to via
  • 2 tph to
  • 2 tph to via

On Sundays, the service between London and Reigate reduces to hourly. In addition, the Peterborough to Horsham service doesn’t run, instead the Bedford to Three Bridges service operates through the station (with some extending to Horsham)

Connections

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

Notes and references

  • 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