Oxted

Oxted

Oxted is a commuter town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs, north of East Grinstead and south-east of Croydon.- History :The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....

 railway station is a relatively busy interchange station and terminus located in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, in the South East region of England. At present, all train services are provided by Southern

Southern (train operating company)

Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...

. The station is the busiest suburban station on the Oxted Line and is a terminus for some services on the Uckfield

Uckfield

-Development:The local Tesco has proposed the redevelopment of the central town area as has the town council. The Hub has recently been completed, having been acquired for an unknown figure, presumed to be about half a million pounds...

 branch of the Oxted Line

Oxted Line

The Oxted Line is a railway line in southern England. It was originally operated jointly by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the South Eastern Railway. It is now part of the Southern franchise....

. Trains depart to London Victoria

Victoria station (London)

Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It is named after nearby Victoria Street and not Queen Victoria. It is the second busiest railway terminus in London after Waterloo, and includes an air terminal for passengers...

 via Clapham Junction

Clapham Junction railway station

Clapham Junction railway station is near St John's Hill in the south-west of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Although it is in Battersea, the area around the station is commonly identified as Clapham Junction....

, London Bridge

London Bridge station

London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...

 via East Croydon Station

East Croydon station

East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...

, East Grinstead

East Grinstead railway station

East Grinstead railway station serves the town of East Grinstead in West Sussex. The station was formerly divided into two levels: the higher level platforms serving the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line, whilst the lower level platforms received services from the Oxted Line 49 km ...

 and Uckfield

Uckfield railway station

Uckfield railway station serves Uckfield in East Sussex, England. Train services from the station are provided by Southern, and the station is the terminus for the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line.- History :...

 in East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

 via Hurst Green

Hurst Green railway station

Hurst Green railway station serves Hurst Green in Surrey, in England. Train services from the station are provided by Southern, and the station is on the Oxted Line....

.

History

Oxted was built as a joint London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, and a large part of Surrey...

/South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway (UK)

The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...

 station when the South Croydon

South Croydon railway station

South Croydon railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, in Travelcard Zone 5. It is on the Brighton Line at its junction with the Oxted Line. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Southern.-History:...

 to East Grinstead line opened on 10 March 1884. The three platforms are connected by a subway which runs under the track. In addition, a lift is provided for entry to Platforms 2/3. There are tunnels at each end of the station:

• Oxted Tunnel 1 mile 23 chains (2.07 km) at the London end
• Limpsfield Tunnel 551 yard (501 m) at the country end

In 1951 the station had a train every thirteen minutes of the day, services running to Victoria and London Bridge in the up direction and to Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne and Brighton in the down. Locomotives using the station on an average weekday would be of the following classes: BR4 2-6-4T's (14), C2X 0-6-0 (2), H 0-4-4T (12), L 4-4-0 (1), LM2 2-6-2T (5), LM4 2-6-4T (38), N 2-6-0 (2), Q 0-6-0 (8), U 2-6-0 (1) and U1 2-6-0 (2). In addition, diesel 10800 was a regular visitor to the station four times a day between 1952 and 1954.

The station was the scene of a bomb attempt by suffragette

Suffragette

"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...

s in 1913. A similar device (containing some pieces of metal and a watch in addition to the explosive charge) was planted at the Bank of England

Bank of England

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 on 13 April 1913, which was successfully defused.

Facilities

On the London-bound platform is a manned ticket office (staffed daily till late) and two standard quick-pay self-service passenger-operated ticket machine in Southern branding is located outside the station on the London-bound side and at the entrance to the underpass on Platforms 2 and 3 side (Uckfield/East Grinstead bound.) The station is and has remained as the biggest served solely by Southern on the line and staffed 17 hours a day. The Station accommodates a cafe, refurbished toilets, two waiting rooms and a line control centre in a large concourse.

All of the platforms are linked by a subway which also links the two main streets in Oxted together as well as the local supermarket and the town's leisure complex.

There is an underground car park located under both the station and the supermarket.

Line Terminus

The station acts as a terminus for the Uckfield Branch of the Oxted Line and trains use the siding on platform three on a regular basis after termination for both train maintenance and cleaning. The station also houses the line signal control box which was erected in 2000 replacing the previous ancient operative wooden structure, the New Signal Box around when the Cowden Rail Collision of October 1994 occurred.

The Station was also the first station and terminus on the Southern Network to receive 2 fully DDA compliant ticket windows which just at the press of a button, will move down to accommodate easy use by wheelchair users. The Station is also linked to the Southern Control Center in Croydon, by two help points (one on each platform) where Passengers can receive help 24 hours a day externally.

Improvements

Recently, the station has been refurbished a new lift installed. The station should shortly receive both a deep clean and internal rezoning as part of network-wide improvements.

As of May 2010, Platform 1 and 2 are being lengthened by Balfour Beatty

Balfour Beatty

Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...

 to take 12 car trains scheduled to start running from December 2011.

During January 2011, Southern installed a number of ticket gates on the Main Concourse as well as the exit and indoor area located in between platforms two and three. Gateline staff operate at the station whenever services are in operation.

Services

the typical off-peak service is:

• 2 trains per hour (tph) to London Victoria from East Grinstead
  East Grinstead
  East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
  
  
• 1 tph to London Bridge from Uckfield
• 2 tph to East Grinstead from London Victoria
• 1 tph to Uckfield from London Bridge

Sunday and some peak-hour services to Uckfield start from this station. All services are currently operated by Southern.

Bus services

Local bus services are provided by Southdown PSV

Southdown PSV

Link title Southdown PSV Limited is a medium sized country bus operator with 22 various routes across East Surrey and West Kent. Most of their routes are operated on behalf of Surrey County Council or Kent County Council, other work includes Railway replacement services for emergencies and planned...

, Metrobus and occasionally London General

London General

London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses...

 on the behalf of Surrey County Council. The nearest bus stops are adjacent to the London Bound Platforms and near to the subway

Subway (underpass)

In England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and some Commonwealth countries , the term subway normally refers to a specially constructed underpass for pedestrians and/or cyclists beneath a road or railway, allowing them to reach the other side in safety.The term is also used in the...

 on Station Road East. Rail Replacement Services operated by MetroBus stop directly outside the Main Concourse.

Destinations include: Westerham

Westerham

Westerham is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, in South East England with 5,000 people. The parish is south of the North Downs, ten miles west of Sevenoaks. It covers 5800 acres . It is recorded as early as the 9th century, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book in a...

, Redhill

Redhill, Surrey

Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...

, East Grinstead

East Grinstead

East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...

 and Caterham

Caterham

Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...

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External links