Selhurst railway station explained

Selhurst
Manager:GTR Southern
Fare Zone:4
Locale:Selhurst
Borough:London Borough of Croydon
Events1:Opened[1]
Years1:1 May 1865
Symbol:rail
Platforms:4
Railexits0405:0.740
Railexits0506: 0.763
Railexits0607: 1.123
Railexits0809: 1.178
Railexits0910: 1.168
Railexits1011: 1.243
Railexits1112: 1.351
Railexits1213: 1.402
Railexits1314: 1.493
Railexits1415: 1.627
Railexits1516: 1.714
Railexits1617: 1.535
Railexits1718: 1.556
Raillowint1718: 750 -->
Railexits1819: 1.533
Raillowint1819: 2,956
Railexits1920: 1.415
Raillowint1920: 2,482
Railexits2021: 0.455
Raillowint2021: 1,235
Railexits2122: 0.943
Raillowint2122: 2,067
Railexits2223: 0.988
Raillowint2223: 2,736
Railcode:SRS
Dft Category:D
Coordinates:51.3921°N -0.0883°W

Selhurst railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, 9chlk31chlk along the line from .[2] [3] It is operated by Southern, which also provides all the train services. The station is in Travelcard Zone 4.

History

The Balham Hill and East Croydon line was constructed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) as a short-cut on the Brighton Main Line to London Victoria, avoiding Crystal Palace and Norwood Junction. It was opened on 1 December 1862.[4] However, Selhurst station was not opened until 1 May 1865.[5]

The lines were quadrupled in 1903.[6] In 1912, the lines were electrified via Norwood Junction to provide access for the carriage sheds and repair depot for the LB&SCR railway electrification scheme.[7] In 1925, the lines from Victoria via Norbury were electrified.

Services

All services at Selhurst are operated by Southern 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 service between London Victoria and .

At very early morning and late at night, trains will start/terminate here from Selhurst Depot.

Some additional fast services from London Victoria and East Croydon occasionally stop at platforms 3 & 4 during events at Selhurst Park, or engineering works.

Electronic ticket barriers were installed at the station in spring 2010.

Connections

London Buses routes 75 and 157 serve the station.

Selhurst Railway Depot

See main article: Selhurst Train and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot. Selhurst Depot[8] [9] is located to the east of Selhurst station, and occupies a triangle of land bordered on one side by the Victoria lines and on another by the London Bridge lines. It was built on the site of the former Croydon Common Athletic Ground, where Crystal Palace F.C. played Football League matches between 1920 and 1924.

The depot is operated by the Southern train operating company, and units serviced there include classes 171, 377, 387 plus numerous departmental units and a Class 09 shunter.

Within the main office building is located Selhurst traincrew depot, where many drivers and conductors are based. The depot has extensive stabling sidings, the three main groups of which are known as: Chalk, AC (which were so named because that was where the trains of the former AC system were stabled) and North. There is a large maintenance shed, an AC test rig (for dual voltage units equipped with pantographs), a train wash plant, and a cleaning shed. At the north-east corner of the site, near Norwood Junction station, is the smaller Norwood drivers' depot, and beside it the diesel fuelling point. Selhurst is unusual in that the maximum speed within the depot is 15 mph rather than the usual 5 mph, and signalled train movements are permissive.

Platforms

Platform 1 is used for Southbound trains towards East Croydon, Caterham, West Croydon, Sutton and Epsom Downs as well as terminating trains. It is long enough for 10 coaches.

Platform 2 is used for Northbound trains towards London Victoria, London Bridge, and Hemel Hempstead. This platform is also used for trains coming out of the depot going towards the mentioned stations. It is long enough for 10 coaches.

Platform 3 is used for non-stopping Brighton Main Line trains to pass through. It is separated from Platform 2 by fences in the middle, and is opened whenever a train occasionally does stop here. This usually occurs at 5am when 2 trains are timetabled to stop, as well as special events happening at Crystal Palace Football Ground 10 minutes away. It is long enough for 8 coaches.

Platform 4 is used for non-stopping Brighton Main Line trains bound for London Victoria to pass through. It is blocked off by a barricade in the subway that connects Platform 1 and 2 and is opened once again when there are special events or when a train is timetabled to stop. It is long enough for 8 coaches.

Notes and References

  1. Croydon's Transport
  2. Book: Body, Geoffrey . PSL field guide to the railways of Southern Region . Patrick Stephens Ltd. . Wellingborough, UK . 1989 . 171 . 1-85260-297-X.
  3. Book: Yonge, John . Jacobs . Gerald . Railway Track Diagrams 5: Southern & TfL . 3rd . November 2008 . 1994 . Trackmaps . Bradford on Avon, UK . 978-0-9549866-4-3 . map 14C .
  4. Book: Turner, John Howard . The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway . 2: Establishment and Growth . . 1978 . 0-7134-1198-8. p. 126-128.
  5. Turner, J.T. Howard (1978) p. 250.
  6. Book: Turner, John Howard . The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway . 3: Completion and Maturity . Batsford . 1979 . 0-7134-1389-1. p. 144-148.
  7. Turner, J.T. Howard (1979) p. 177-178.
  8. Book: Network Rail . Network Rail . Kent Sussex Wessex Sectional Appendix LOR SO510 Seq 007. Module KSW1 . 2016-09-03 . 206.
  9. Book: Quail Maps . Map#5 – Southern & TFL . [page 14c] Feb 1998 (Retrieved 2017-09-23).