Horley railway station explained

Symbol:rail
Horley
Manager:Southern
Locale:Horley
Borough:Reigate and Banstead
Railcode:HOR
Dft Category:D
Fare Zone:D
Railexits0405:0.844
Railexits0506: 0.833
Railexits0607: 0.839
Railexits0708: 1.022
Railexits0809: 1.099
Railexits0910: 0.900
Railexits1011: 0.884
Railexits1112: 0.934
Railexits1213: 0.952
Railexits1314: 0.955
Railexits1415: 0.985
Railexits1516: 1.076
Railexits1617: 0.924
Railexits1718: 0.972 -->
Railexits1819: 0.970
Railexits1920: 1.010
Railexits2021: 0.278
Railexits2122: 0.800
Railexits2223: 1.034
Platforms:4
Years1:1841
Events1:first station opened
Years2:31 December 1905
Events2:resited
Gridref:TQ286426
Map Type:Surrey
Coordinates:51.169°N -0.161°W
Access:Yes
Access Note:[1]

Horley railway station serves the town of Horley in Surrey, England. It is on the Brighton Main Line, 25chain60chain down the line from via, and train services are provided by Thameslink and Southern.

There are 4 platforms, all 247m (810feet) long, capable of accepting 12-car-long trains.[2]

History

The present Horley station is in fact the second in the town. The original station, constructed by the London and Brighton Railway, opened on 12 July 1841, was located 301yd north of the present site, where the Factory Shop is.[3] The first station was designed by David Mocatta and was on a larger scale than other intermediate stations on the line. Horley was situated almost midway between London and Brighton, and was chosen for the erection of the London and Brighton Railway carriage sheds and repair workshops. These were later moved to Brighton railway works. The station was enlarged in 1862 by addition of a second storey to the building. A canopy and footbridge were added in 1884.[4]

The current Horley station opened 31 December 1905, to coincide with the quadrupling of the railway line by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. The original station then became the Station Master's house and survived until the 1960s.[5]

In the 1870s William Stroudley considered moving the locomotive works to Horley but was persuaded to keep them in Brighton. Nevertheless, the sidings at Horley were used for storing withdrawn locomotives and those awaiting repair until the First World War.

The Thameslink Programme turned over some of the Southern services over to the expanded Thameslink network currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway. This project saw most services that previously terminated at London Bridge continuing through the Thameslink core in Central London and northwards via the Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line to destinations such as and .[6] [7]

Facilities

Services

Off-peak, all services at Horley are operated by Thameslink using EMUs.

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

During the peak hours, the station is served by an additional half-hourly Southern between and . In addition, faster peak hour services towards Littlehampton now stop at the station.

During the night, the station is served by an hourly Thameslink service between Three Bridges and Bedford (not calling at London Bridge). This service runs on Sunday-Friday nights with an hourly Southern service to London Victoria on Saturday nights.

Although the station is outside Greater London, Oyster Pay as you go and contactless payment cards are valid. However, the station is outside the London Fare Zone area and as a result, special fares apply.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Horley (HOR) . National Rail Enquiries . 23 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170823164004/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/HOR/details.html . 23 August 2017 . live.
  2. Web site: Rules Of The Plan. Network Rail. 2007. 2007-06-12.
  3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford,, p. 123.
  4. Minnis, John (1999). The London Brighton and South Coast railway, Tempus,, pp.19-20.
  5. Howard Turner, J.T. (1979), The London Brighton and South Coast Railway. 3. Completion and Maturity, Batsford, London,, p. 152.
  6. Web site: Thameslink Programme (Thameslink 2000). Transport for London. 2007. 2007-06-12.
  7. Web site: Thameslink Programme. Network Rail. 2007. 2007-06-12.