Purley | |
|---|---|
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  Purley Location of Purley in Greater London | |
| Location | Purley |
| Local authority | London Borough of Croydon |
| Managed by | Southern |
| Station code(s) | PUR |
| DfT category | C2 |
| Number of platforms | 6 |
| Accessible | Yes[1] |
| Fare zone | 6 |
| Toilet facilities | Yes |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2019–20 |  2.962 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.829 million[2] |
| 2020–21 | 0.808 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.140 million[2] |
| 2021–22 |  1.864 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.331 million[2] |
| 2022–23 | 2.348 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.549 million[2] |
| 2023–24 | 2.568 million[2] |
| – interchange | 0.575 million[2] |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | London & Brighton Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London, Brighton & South Coast Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 12 July 1841 | Opened asGodstone Road |
| 1 October 1847 | Closed |
| 5 August 1856 | Reopened asCaterham Junction |
| 1 October 1888 | Renamed Purley |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| Coordinates | 51°20′16″N0°06′49″W / 51.3377°N 0.1135°W /51.3377; -0.1135 |
 London transport portal | |
Purley railway station is in theLondon Borough of Croydon on theBrighton Main Line, 13 miles 29 chains (21.50 km) measured fromLondon Bridge (15 miles 13 chains (24.40 km) fromCharing Cross),[3] inTravelcard Zone 6. It is a junction, with branches toCaterham andTattenham Corner.
Purley station has been known by three different names.
The station was opened by theLondon & Brighton Railway on 12 July 1841 asGodstone Road. Due to low passenger traffic, this was closed on 1 October 1847 by theLondon, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), which had opened the newStoat's Nest station 1 mile (1.6 km) away atCoulsdon.
In 1855 a proposal by a local company to connect the sandstone quarries at Caterham to the main line railway became embroiled in a long-running dispute between the LB&SCR and the rivalSouth Eastern Railway (SER), which resulted in the reopening of the station asCaterham Junction. The proposed line was in the territory of the SER, and was to be operated by that company. It would have to join the railway system on a section of the LB&SCR, where the SER had running powers but no stations. The new railway had to sue the LB&SCR to force it to allow the junction with its line and to reopen the station. On 5 August 1856 the station reopened with the opening of the single track Caterham branch.[4][5][6]
The station was renamed Purley on 1 October 1888, and rebuilt betweenc. 1896 and 1899 during the widening of the main line between East Croydon and the beginning of the newQuarry Line at Coulsdon North in 1899. The SER built a line from Purley toKingswood, extended toTattenham Corner between 1897 and 1901. By the latter date it had become theSouth Eastern & Chatham Railway. The main station building facade reads 1899 as the year of construction.
On 22 September 1873,John Cunliffe Pickersgill-Cunliffe, a former member of Parliament, was struck by a train at the then Caterham Junction station. He died two weeks later atGuy's Hospital.[7]
On 22 December 1894, a collision between a light engine and a passenger train injured six people.[8]
ThePurley station rail crash on 4 March 1989 occurred just to the north of the station, and left five dead and 94 injured. A memorial garden was created at the station to commemorate this.[9]
On the night of 5 July 2002 a fire occurred on the 23:15 service from Caterham to London Bridge. A rail attendant, Philip Cable, helped put out the fire, and suffered an asthma attack and collapsed. He died at Mayday Hospital in Croydon a few hours later. A charge ofmanslaughter was laid against Karl Lacey, who was aged 16 at the time of the fire, and had set fire to newspapers and cushions in the carriage. After being found guilty, he was sentenced to four years' youth custody.[10]
Platform 1 and 2 are normally used only on early mornings and when engineering works dictate. At all other times, services on theBrighton Main Line run limited stop betweenEast Croydon andBrighton: these trains, together withGatwick Express andThameslink services, pass through platforms 1 and 2. During 2008 a fence was erected to prevent access to Platform 2, for safety reasons. Gates at both end of this fence are opened by staff for the few trains that stop.
Platform 3 is used for main line services toLondon Bridge,London Victoria andThameslink services toBedford.
Platform 4 is used for main line services toHorsham andReigate,Thameslink services toThree Bridges and Sunday services toBognor Regis.
Platform 5 and 6 serve the branch lines toTattenham Corner andCaterham. Both these platforms can be used by trains in either direction, though platform 5 is primarily northbound towards London and platform 6 is usually southbound.
Services at Purley are operated bySouthern andThameslink.
The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[11]
Southern
Southern services at Purley are operated usingClass 377EMUs.
Thameslink
Thameslink also operate an hourly night service between Bedford andThree Bridges although this service does not call at London Bridge.
Thameslink services at Purley are operated usingClass 700 EMUs.
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thameslink | ||||
| Southern | ||||
| Southern | ||||
| Southern | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Purley Oaks | British Rail Southern Region | Coulsdon North | ||
SeveralLondon Buses routes serve the station.
