Norwood Junction
Station entrance
Norwood Junction Location of Norwood Junction in Greater London
Location	South Norwood
Local authority	London Borough of Croydon
Managed by	London Overground
Owner	Network Rail
Station code	NWD
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	6 (Formerly 7)
Accessible	Yes (Platform 1 Northbound only)[1]
Fare zone	4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2020–21	1.490 million[2]
– interchange	0.282 million[2]
2021–22	3.017 million[2]
– interchange	0.605 million[2]
2022–23	3.806 million[2]
– interchange	1.159 million[2]
2023–24	4.325 million[2]
– interchange	0.907 million[2]
2024–25	4.627 million[2]
– interchange	0.910 million[2]
Railway companies
Original company	London & Croydon Railway
Key dates
5 June 1839	Opened as Jolly Sailor
October 1846	Renamed Norwood
1 June 1859	Resited
1865	LBSCR Goods Shed built[3]
1 October 1910	Renamed Norwood Junction and South Norwood for Woodside
13 June 1955	Renamed Norwood Junction[4]
Other information
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51°23′50″N0°4′30″W / 51.39722°N 0.07500°W /51.39722; -0.07500
London transport portal

Norwood Junction is aninterchange station between theWindrush line of theLondon Overground andNational Rail services operated bySouthern andThameslink, located inSouth Norwood in theLondon Borough of Croydon. Situated inLondon fare zone 4,^[5] it is 8 miles 55 chains (8.69 miles, 13.98 km) down the line fromLondon Bridge.

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Legend
Station National Rail Liberty line Accessible station Thameslink Lioness line Interchange station Elizabeth line Mildmay line Accessible interchange Docklands Light Railway Suffragette line Internal interchange London Underground Weaver line Out-of-station interchange London Trams Windrush line (   ) Nearby interchange London River Services

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The station has occupied two sites under three names.

In 1839 theLondon and Croydon Railway opened Jolly-sailor station — "Jolly-sailor near Beulah Spa" on fares lists and timetables — at the north end of the High Street, adjacent to the Portland Roadlevel crossing. From 1841 the lines through Norwood were used by theLondon and Brighton Railway and from 1842 theSouth Eastern Railway, but neither of these companies used the station. (The Jolly Sailor is a pub — originally the Jolly Sailor Inn — on the corner of Portland Road and High Street. The original pub was rebuilt around the late 1860s.^[7])

In 1844 the L&CR was given parliamentary authority to test an experimentalatmospheric railway system on the railway. A pumping station was built on Portland Road to create avacuum in a continuous pipe located centrally between the rails. A piston extended downwards from the trains into a slit in the pipe, with trains blown towards the pumping station by atmospheric pressure. The pumping station was in aGothic style, with a very tall ornate tower that served both as achimney and as an exhaust vent for air pumped from the propulsion tube.

As part of the works for the atmospheric system, the world's first railwayflyover was constructed beyond the south end of the station to carry the atmospheric line over the conventional London & Brighton Railway steam line. At the same time the level crossing at Portland Road was replaced by a low bridge across the road.^[8]

In July 1846 the L&CR merged with theL&BR to form theLondon Brighton and South Coast Railway,^[9] and the station was renamed Norwood in the same year - it became Norwood Junction by 1856. The LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric propulsion in 1847.

Following construction of lines toCrystal Palace the station closed on 1 June 1859 and was replaced by the current station located at the end of a short approach road off the south side of theA213 road. The original station building was used as a private house until the 1960s, when it was demolished.

The Norwood Junction railway crash occurred on 1 May 1891, when the cast-iron bridge over Portland Road fractured under an express train from Brighton to London.

The station opened on 1 June 1859 by the LB&SCR. It was renamed Norwood Junction and South Norwood on 1 October 1910 but reverted to its original name on 13 June 1955 though some tickets and publications continued to use the pre-1955 name for sometime thereafter.^[10]There are seven platforms but only five are in use. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms. The LB&SCR goods shed built in 1865 remains in place, now used as railway offices.^[3]

Platform 1 is the first platform when entering via the main entrance and is the only platform accessible without having to negotiate the subway via stairs. Its main use is for trains northwards toHighbury & Islington,London Bridge andLondon Victoria; most stop at all stations. They mainly come fromWest Croydon,Caterham,Sutton and Epsom. The platform is used forWindrush line (London Overground) and Southern trains.

Platform 2 serves the same track as Platform 1 but passengers are not able to join or alight as the doors open only on the Platform 1 side.^{[citation needed]}

Platform 3 is mainly used for northbound trains terminating atBedford via London Bridge. Many passengers use this platform to go to central London,London St Pancras International &Luton Airport Parkway. The platform serves both fast and stopping services, and is mainly used byThameslink.

Platform 4 is mainly used for southbound trains terminating atGatwick Airport. The platform serves both fast trains and stopping services, and is also mainly used byThameslink.

Platform 5 is mainly used for southbound trains terminating atWest Croydon,Epsom andSutton. Most trains stop at this platform and many travellers from London alight here. Services come fromLondon Bridge,Highbury & Islington andLondon Victoria. The platform is used by both Southern and London Overground.

Platform 6 is mainly used for southbound trains terminating atCoulsdon Town,West Croydon,Caterham andTattenham Corner; it is also used for platform alterations. Trains come fromLondon Victoria and London Bridge. Platform 6 is chiefly used by Southern.

Platform 7 is disused and the line is covered by vegetation.

Norwood Junction is located on theWindrush line of theLondon Overground. Additional services are operated bySouthern andThameslink.

Southern

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[11]

• 4 tph toLondon Bridge (non-stop)
• 2 tph toLondon Victoria viaCrystal Palace
• 2 tph toEpsom viaSutton
• 2 tph toCaterham andTattenham Corner, dividing and attaching atPurley
• 2 tph toWest Croydon

On Sundays, the services to Epsom and Tattenham Corner do not run. Passengers for Tattenham Corner have to change at Purley.

Trains to London Victoria do not run after 8pm, or at all on Sundays.

During peak hours, some trains between London Bridge and Caterham & Tattenham Corner do not stop at this station. In addition, trains to London Bridge via Forest Hill also stop here.

Southern services at Norwood Junction are operated usingClass 377EMUs.

Thameslink

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[11]

• 2 tph toBedford via London Bridge
• 2 tph toThree Bridges viaRedhill

During peak hours and football match days, some trains toPeterborough,Horsham,Cambridge,Brighton andEast Grinstead also stop at this station.

Thameslink services at Norwood Junction are operated usingClass 700EMUs.

Windrush line (London Overground)

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[11][12]

• 4 tph toHighbury & Islington viaSurrey Quays
• 4 tph to West Croydon

London Overground services at Norwood Junction are operated usingClass 378EMUs

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Bridge		Southern Brighton Main Line Stopping Services		East Croydon
Anerley Limited Service
Crystal Palace		Southern Crystal Palace Line		West Croydon
London Bridge		Southern Sutton & Mole Valley Lines
		Thameslink Brighton Main Line		East Croydon
Preceding station	London Overground			Following station
Anerley towardsHighbury & Islington		Windrush line East London line		West Croydon Terminus

TheLB&SCR constructed a largemarshalling yard to the south of the station during the 1870s, extended in the early 1880s. At their height the yards on both sides of the line each had over 30 carriage roads. Because of the narrow nature of the site they were laid in clusters of six to eight, one beyond another, with the lead to each forming an individual headshunt.^[13] With dwindling freight traffic the yard fell into disuse by the 1980s and the tracks were relaid to accommodate an enlargedSelhurst Depot.

TheSouthern Railway opened a five-roadmotive power depot with a 65 ft (19.8 metre)turntable in 1935, to serve the marshalling yard. It replaced a shed atWest Croydon. This depot was closed in 1964 and demolished in 1966.^[14]

Following the demolition of the locomotive depotBritish Rail then redeveloped the site into a traction cable depot for maintaining the railway.

Norwood Junction is well served by bus routes, with three bus stops including two bus stands close by. On thePortland Road side are two stops for routes197 (Croydon Town Centre – Norwood Junction – Peckham) and312 (South Croydon bus garage – East Croydon – Norwood Junction).^[15][16] The High Street 'Clocktower' stop serves routes75 (Croydon Town Centre – Penge – Lewisham Station),157 (Morden – West Croydon – Crystal Palace) and410 (Wallington – Croydon – Crystal Palace).^[15] The Grosvenor Road stop serves routes130 (New Addington – Addington Village – Thornton Heath, Parchmore Road) and196 (Norwood Junction – Brixton – Elephant and Castle).^[15][16]

Route 75 was formerly a 24-hour route but that facility was withdrawn in favour of a higher frequency of buses on a Sunday^[17] bySelkent when it took the service over fromStagecoach London. Metrobus won the contract from April 2009 and works the route from its Croydon garage. Nowadays the route is operated by Stagecoach London. The stop onNight Bus route N68^[18] is half a mile away on Whitehorse Lane. Other service operators areArriva London,Metrobus andTransport UK London Bus.

TheThameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), was a £3.5 billion major project to expand theThameslink network from 51 to 172stations^[19] extending northwards toBedford,Peterborough,Cambridge andKing's Lynn and southwards toGuildford,Eastbourne,Horsham,Hove toLittlehampton,East Grinstead,Ashford andDartford. The project included the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock. The new Thameslink timetable for Norwood Junction started on 20 May 2018. Timetables will continue being expanded and adjusted into 2019.^{[20][needs update]}

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Network Rail have made proposals to upgrade Norwood Junction. The scheme is a key part of Network Rail's long-term plans to unblock the railway bottleneck in the Croydon area, enabling the operation of more frequent and more reliable services on the Brighton Main Line and its branch lines.

• Modify the existing track and platform layouts
• Provide a track layout that allows more trains to run through and stop at the station
• Reconfigure the platforms to provide dedicated island platforms for northbound and southbound services
• Provide dedicated tracks away from the platforms, for fast non‑stopping trains.

• Lengthen platforms to allow full length (12-car) trains to stop and open all their doors at the station.
• Widen all platforms to provide more space for passengers.

• Provide two new footbridges, one with lifts to provide step-free access to all platforms.

• Upgrade the signalling system to give signallers the ability to recover the service more quickly when delays occur.

The proposals for Norwood Junction station would deliver regional and local benefits.

The proposals form a key part of the wider plans to unblock the Croydon bottleneck, but they would also have benefits as a standalone project, helping to improve reliability and run more frequent services.

Widening and lengthening the platforms would provide more space for passengers to wait and get on and off train services. Providing two footbridges would reduce congestion and allow passengers to move more freely through the station.

Proposals are for the station to be constructed entirely within the railway boundary, and Network Rail would seek consent for these changes through the usual planning process.

The works are not proposed to form part of the Transport and Works Act Order application for other proposed upgrade works between East Croydon station and the "Selhurst triangle", which Network Rail has been consulting on. Further consultations on the Norwood proposals were due to take place in 2020.^{[needs update]}

It is from this station that Jonas Oldacre takes his train toLondon Bridge inArthur Conan Doyle'sSherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" (1903).^[21]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNorwood Junction railway station.

• Train times andstation information for Norwood Junction railway station fromNational Rail

• Rail transport stations in London fare zone 4
• DfT Category C2 stations
• Railway stations in the London Borough of Croydon
• Former London, Brighton and South Coast Railway stations
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1839
• Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1859
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1859
• Railway stations served by London Overground
• Railway stations served by Govia Thameslink Railway
• Windrush line stations

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