1.
Tramlink
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Tramlink is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in London since 1952 and it is owned by London Trams, an arm of Transport for London, and operated by FirstGroup. The Tramlink is the fourth-busiest light rail network in the UK behind Manchester Metrolink, Tyne and Wear Metro, in 1990 Croydon Council with London Regional Transport put the project to Parliament and the Croydon Tramlink Act 1994 resulted, which gave LRT the power to build and run Tramlink. In 1996 Tramtrack Croydon Limited won a 99-year Private Finance Initiative contract to design, build, operate, TCL was a partnership comprising FirstGroup, Bombardier Transportation, Sir Robert McAlpine and Amey, and Royal Bank of Scotland and 3i. TCL kept the revenue generated by Tramlink and LRT had to pay compensation to TCL for any changes to the fares, TCL subcontracted operations to CentreWest Buses. One of the leading to its creation was that the London Borough of Croydon has no London Underground service. There are four routes, Route 1 – Elmers End to Croydon, Route 2 – Beckenham Junction to Croydon, Route 3 – New Addington to Wimbledon, and Route 4 – Therapia Lane to Elmers End. Route 2 runs parallel to the Crystal Palace to Beckenham Junction line of the Southern network between Birkbeck and Beckenham Junction – the National Rail track had been singled some years earlier. At Woodside the old station buildings stand disused, and the platforms have been replaced by accessible low platforms. From Woodside to near Sandilands and from near Sandilands almost to Lloyd Park, Tramlink follows the former Woodside and South Croydon Railway, including the Park Hill tunnels. The section of Route 3 between Wimbledon and West Croydon mostly follows the single-track British Rail route, closed on 31 May 1997 so that it could be converted for Tramlink, a partial obstruction near this point has necessitated the use of interlaced track. A Victorian footbridge beside Waddon New Road was dismantled to make way for the flyover over the West Croydon to Sutton railway line, the footbridge has been re-erected at Corfe Castle station on the Swanage Railway. In March 2008, TfL announced that it had reached agreement to buy TCL for £98m, the purchase was finalised on 28 June 2008. The background to this purchase relates to the requirement that TfL compensates TCL for the consequences of any changes to the fares, in 2007 that payment was £4m, with an annual increase in rate. In October 2008 TfL introduced a new livery, using the blue, white and green of the routes on TfL maps, the colour of the cars was changed to green, and the brand name was changed from Croydon Tramlink to simply Tramlink. These refurbishments were completed in early 2009, the tram stops have low platforms,35 cm above rail level. They are unstaffed and have automated ticket machines, in general, access between the platforms involves crossing the tracks by pedestrian level crossing. There are 39 stops, most being 32.2 m long and they are virtually level with the doors and are all wider than 2 m
2.
National Rail
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The name and the accompanying double arrow symbol are the intellectual property of the Secretary of State for Transport. The National Rail logo was introduced by ATOC in 1999, and was used on the Great Britain public timetable for the first time in the edition valid from 26 September in that year. Rules for its use are set out in the Corporate Identity Style Guidelines published by the Rail Delivery Group, the NR title is sometimes described as a brand. As it was used by British Rail, the operator before franchising, its use also maintains continuity and public familiarity. National Rail should not be confused with Network Rail, the two networks are generally coincident where passenger services are run. Most major Network Rail lines carry traffic and some lines are freight only. About twenty privately owned operating companies, each franchised for a defined term by government. The Rail Delivery Group is the association representing the TOCs and provides core services. It also runs Rail Settlement Plan, which allocates ticket revenue to the various TOCs, and Rail Staff Travel and it does not compile the national timetable, which is the joint responsibility of the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail. Since the privatisation of British Rail there is no longer a single approach to design on railways in Great Britain, the look and feel of signage, liveries and marketing material is largely the preserve of the individual TOCs. However, National Rail continues to use BRs famous double-arrow symbol and it has been incorporated in the National Rail logotype and is displayed on tickets, the National Rail website and other publicity. The trademark rights to the arrow symbol remain state-owned, being vested in the Secretary of State for Transport. The double arrow was already prescribed for indicating a railway station, the lettering used in the National Rail logotype is a modified form of the typeface Sassoon Bold. It is a misconception that Rail Alphabet was also used for printed material. The British Rail typefaces of choice from 1965 were Helvetica and Univers, TOCs may use what they like, examples include Futura, Helvetica, Frutiger, Bliss, and a modified version of Precious by London Midland. Several conurbations have their own metro or tram systems, most of which are not part of National Rail, LO now also possesses some infrastructure in its own right, following the reopening of the former East London line of London Underground as the East London Railway of LO. Heathrow Express and Eurostar are also not part of the National Rail network despite sharing of stations, northern Ireland Railways were never part of British Rail, which was always confined to Great Britain, and therefore are not part of the National Rail network. National Rail services have a common ticketing structure inherited from British Rail, through tickets are available between any pair of stations on the network, and can be bought from any station ticket office
3.
Mitcham
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Mitcham is a district in south west London, located within the London Borough of Merton. It is centred 7.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross, a suburban area, Mitcham is located on the border of Inner London and Outer London, and was historically in the county of Surrey. It is both residentially and financially developed and served by train, bus and tram routes, localities within Mitcham include Mitcham Town Centre and Mitcham Common. Amenities include Mitcham Library and Mitcham Cricket Green, nearby districts include Wimbledon, Streatham, Croydon, Tooting, Morden and Sutton. Mitcham is close to Wimbledon, Croydon, Streatham and Tooting, the River Wandle bounds the town to the southwest. The original village lies in the west, although expansion has pushed the boundary the furthest. Mitcham Common takes up the part of the boundary and area to the south. The toponym Mitcham is Old English in origin and means big settlement, before the Romans and Saxons were present, there was a Celtic settlement in the area, with evidence of a hill fort in the Pollards Hill area. The discovery of Roman-era graves and a well on the site of the Mitcham gas works evince Roman settlement. The Saxon graveyard, located on the North bank of the Wandle is the largest discovered to date, scholars such as Myres have suggested that Mitcham and other Thames Valley settlements were some of the first populated by the Anglo-Saxons. The area is a location for the Battle of Merton,871. The Church of England parish church of St Peter and St Paul dates from the Saxon era, although it was mostly rebuilt in 1819–21, the current building retains the original Saxon tower. The area lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Wallington hundred, the Domesday Book records Mitcham as Michelham. It was held partly by the Canons of Bayeux, partly by William, son of Ansculf and its domesday assets were,8 hides and 1 virgate. It had ½ mill worth £1, 3½ ploughs,56 acres of meadow, during her reign Queen Elizabeth I made at least five visits to the area. John Donne and Sir Walter Raleigh also had residences here in this era and it was at this time that Mitcham became gentrified, as due to the abundance of lavender fields Mitcham became renowned for its soothing air. The air also led people to settle in the area during times of plague, when industrialisation occurred, Mitcham quickly grew to become a town and most of the farms were swallowed up in the expansion. There were many fields in Mitcham, and peppermint and lavender oils were also distilled
4.
London Borough of Merton
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The London Borough of Merton /ˈmɜːrtən/ is a borough in south-west London, England. The main commercial centres in Merton are Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon, other smaller centres include Raynes Park, Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Wimbledon Park and Pollards Hill. The borough is the host of the Wimbledon tournament, one of tenniss Grand Slam competitions, the borough derives its name from the historic parish of Merton which was centred on the area now known as South Wimbledon. Merton was chosen as a compromise, following a dispute between Wimbledon and Mitcham over the new boroughs name. The local authority is Merton London Borough Council, Colliers Wood Lower Morden Merton Park Mitcham Mitcham Common Morden Morden Park Motspur Park New Malden Norbury Pollards Hill Raynes Park St. This followed four years as a minority administration, at the same time, it elects a deputy mayor to serve alongside the mayor. Since 1978, each Mayor must also be an elected councillor, a lot of filming for former ITV police drama The Bill took place in Merton, particularly in the districts of Mitcham and Colliers Wood. The set of Sun Hill police station was located in the Borough. The main local newspaper in Merton is the Wimbledon Guardian with two editions, Wimbledon along with Mitcham and Morden, the main difference between the papers is the front page. The Wimbledon Post is another newspaper published weekly. Both newspapers are available free, though there is a charge if bought from a newsagent, Square Enix Europe has its head office in Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon. Eidos Interactive, a subsidiary of Square Enix, also shares the same head office, Merton is served by a wide range of National Rail stations across the borough, as well as the southern tip of London Undergrounds Northern line and the District line on the Wimbledon branch. The borough is served by several London Tramlink stops from Wimbledon. In 2001, the census recorded that 25% of the population of the borough was from an ethnic minority, the highest ethnic populations were recorded in wards in the east of the borough. The percentage of population from ethnic minorities is predicted to rise across the borough within the next decade, the most affluent wards were in the north and west of the borough. Comparative crime rates appear to be unrelated to the ranking of wards. Merton currently operates a Police Cadet scheme under the Metropolitan Police Service, the borough gained a football team in 1889 when Wimbledon Old Centrals were founded, and were soon a member of the local football leagues. The club later adopted the title Wimbledon FC and moved into a new stadium at Plough Lane in 1912, as the 20th century wore on, the club enjoyed considerable success in non league football
5.
Southern (train operating company)
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Southern is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Southern routes of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. In July 2015, the franchisee was subsumed into GTR, but the existing Southern and Gatwick Express brand identities were retained alongside those of Thameslink and it also provides services between Milton Keynes and Croydon via the West London Line. It also operates services from Brighton to Ashford, Brighton to Seaford, Brighton to Southampton, following the end of British Rail, Connex South Central was awarded the Network SouthCentral franchise by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising. Operations began on 26 May 1996, in March 2000, the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced its intention to relet the franchise from May 2003 with Connex and Govia the shortlisted bidders. In October 2000 the SSRA announced that Govia had been awarded the franchise, Govia negotiated a deal with Connex to buy out the remainder of its franchise, this was completed in August 2001. Govia trading as SouthCentral took over operations on 26 August 2001, in May 2004 the franchise was rebranded as Southern in a recall of the pre-nationalisation Southern Railway, using a green roundel logo with Southern in yellow in a green bar. In April 2007 the Department for Transport announced that the Gatwick Express franchise was to be incorporated into the main South Central franchise. This was part of a plan to increase capacity on the Brighton Main Line, involving the extension of services from Gatwick to Brighton. This doubled the number of London to Brighton express trains during those periods, in December 2008, Southern took over the services on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line from Southeastern. However, such a transfer never took place and the DfT put out the franchise for tender. In August 2008 the DfT shortlisted Govia, National Express, NedRail, in June 2009 the DfT announced that Govia had retained the franchise, to start on 20 September 2009. In March 2012 the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, FirstGroup, Govia, MTR and Stagecoach had been shortlisted for the new Thameslink, Southern, the Invitation to Tender was to be issued in October 2012, with the successful bidder announced in spring 2013. However, in the wake of the collapse of the InterCity West Coast refranchising process, in December 2012, Southerns London Victoria to London Bridge via Denmark Hill service ceased, being partially replaced by London Overgrounds new Clapham Junction to Dalston Junction service. However the Southern brand was retained, Southern was criticised for major changes to its timetables in December 2007 and December 2008. In December 2007, Southern changed the arrangement for the splitting of services to and from London Victoria on the Arun Valley Line, in December 2008 further timetable changes included the introduction of the extended Gatwick Express services. However, reliability and timekeeping on some of the new services were considered poor, on 22 January 2009, Southern responded to some of these criticisms. During 2009 these services have recorded improved timekeeping and criticisms have since subsided, the new timetable also led to unhappiness due to the difference in speed and frequency of service between East Coastway services and those on the Brighton Main Line. Further changes to the timetable were made in December 2010, the first timetable change to many of the requirements of the new franchise
6.
List of Docklands Light Railway stations
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Construction of the DLR was a key component in the regeneration of large parts of the London Docklands from disused industrial land into valuable commercial and residential districts. The first part opened in 1987 serving 15 stations, using redundant railway infrastructure, the network has been extended and the capacity of its trains expanded so that now nearly 70 million journeys made every year. Stations are in the City of London and the boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, out of the 45 stations, five of them are underground. For over 200 years Londons docks and wharves thrived on imperial commerce, the expansion of the docks culminated with the King George V Dock, opened by the King in 1921. The government started to look at the implications and consequences of possible closures, in 1962, the Rochdale Report was published, concerned with the London Docks and St Katherine Dock. It recognised that whilst activities at the docks were useful, the traffic could be developed elsewhere in the port or at the Port of Tilbury, the docks could be filled in and used for storage, and warehouses could be used by private enterprise. Other docks were under threat, between 1966 and 1976 the PLA workforce in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Southwark, Lewisham. The objective of the closures was to concentrate resources at Tilbury downstream for containerisation, a five-year phased project was set up in 1970 by the PLA to close more upper docks and berths. Competition from air traffic and European ports also contributed to the decline of trade within the London Docklands until only the Royal Docks remained in operation, the Royal Docks closed in 1981. A report published in 1973 by the London Docklands Study Team saw future demand for transport in the Isle of Dogs. An early suggestion was a line, but it was thought that there was insufficient demand. The idea was revived in 1976, but put on hold by Norman Fowler in 1979 in favour of lower-cost alternatives, throughout the 1970s light rail options were proposed. A later recommendation was a light rail option from Aldgate East to the Isle of Dogs. The London Docklands Development Corporation, formed in 1981 with responsibility to regenerate the whole area, helped to speed up the process. In June 1982, a report published by the GLC, LDDC, funding for the Docklands Light Railway was promised within three months. Later, £77 million was approved to be spent by 1987 and this provided better transport connections and the line could use a disused platform at Stratford station. The routes from Tower Gateway and Stratford to Island Gardens opened on 31 August 1987, the tracks used a combination of redundant and new viaducts and underused routes. The station at Canary Wharf did not open until 1991, as the first sections of the Canary Wharf development were still under construction, sites for stations at Carmen Street and Pudding Mill Lane were safeguarded, the latter to be on a passing loop on the Stratford branch
7.
List of London Underground stations
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The London Underground is a metro system in the United Kingdom that serves Greater London and the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. The system comprises eleven lines – Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and it is operated by Transport for London. Most of the system is north of the River Thames, with six London boroughs in the south of the city not served by the Underground, the London Borough of Hackney, to the north, has two stations on its border. It has been shown as two stations at different times in the past. TfL plans to six new stations between 2017 and 2020 as a result of extensions to the Metropolitan and Northern lines. One Metropolitan line station, Watford, will close due to its branch being diverted onto a new route, two of the planned Metropolitan line stations, Watford High Street and Watford Junction, are currently served by London Overground. Transport for London is currently planning extensions to the Metropolitan and Northern lines that will add six new stations to the network, four in Watford and two in Wandsworth. One current station, Watford on the Metropolitan line, will close as the branch that it is on will be diverted on to a new route. In some cases stations were first served by one line but later transferred to another. B12345678 First served by Metropolitan line – Circle line services separately identified in 1949, C12345 First served by Metropolitan line – District line service added in stages, Circle line services separately identified in 1949. D123 First served by Metropolitan line – Hammersmith & City line services separately identified in 1990, E123456789 First served by Metropolitan line – service transferred to Bakerloo line in 1939 and then to the Jubilee line in 1979. F12 First served by Metropolitan line – Bakerloo line service added in 1939 which was transferred to the Jubilee line in 1979, G12 First served by Bakerloo line – service transferred to Jubilee line in 1979. H12345 First served by District line – service transferred to Piccadilly line in 1933, I123456789101112 First served by District line – Circle line services separately identified in 1949. J12345678910 First served by District line – Metropolitan line service added in stages which was transferred to Hammersmith & City line in 1990. K1234567 First served by Metropolitan line – District line service added in 1910 which was transferred to Piccadilly line in 1933, L1234567 First served by District line – service transferred to Piccadilly line in 1964. M1234567 First served by Metropolitan line – Hammersmith & City line services separately identified in 1990, N12 First served by Bakerloo line – service withdrawn in 1982. † ^ Some stations are assigned to multiple zones, people travelling through these stations may treat the station as in whatever zone makes their fare the least expensive. Connor, J. E. Londons Disused Underground Stations, the Bakerloo line, a Brief History
8.
List of London railway stations
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This is a list of the 366 heavy rail passenger stations in and around London, England that are accessible using Transport for London tickets and passes. United Kingdom railway stations are grouped into one of a number of categories, many of the principal central London stations are managed by Network Rail and together form a London station group. Most other stations are managed by the operating company that provides the majority of services at the station. The London Underground is the manager of some stations that are served by heavy rail services. The list includes National Rail and Heathrow Airport stations and it does not include stations exclusively served by the London Underground, Tramlink and Docklands Light Railway
9.
WGS84
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The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation including GPS. It comprises a standard system for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface for raw altitude data. The latest revision is WGS84, established in 1984 and last revised in 2004, earlier schemes included WGS72, WGS66, and WGS60. WGS84 is the coordinate system used by the Global Positioning System. The coordinate origin of WGS84 is meant to be located at the Earths center of mass, the error is believed to be less than 2 cm. The WGS84 meridian of longitude is the IERS Reference Meridian,5.31 arc seconds or 102.5 metres east of the Greenwich meridian at the latitude of the Royal Observatory. The WGS84 datum surface is a spheroid with major radius a =6378137 m at the equator. The polar semi-minor axis b then equals a times, or 6356752.3142 m, currently, WGS84 uses the EGM96 geoid, revised in 2004. This geoid defines the sea level surface by means of a spherical harmonics series of degree 360. The deviations of the EGM96 geoid from the WGS84 reference ellipsoid range from about −105 m to about +85 m, EGM96 differs from the original WGS84 geoid, referred to as EGM84. Efforts to supplement the national surveying systems began in the 19th century with F. R. Helmerts famous book Mathematische und Physikalische Theorien der Physikalischen Geodäsie. Austria and Germany founded the Zentralbüro für die Internationale Erdmessung, a unified geodetic system for the whole world became essential in the 1950s for several reasons, International space science and the beginning of astronautics. The lack of inter-continental geodetic information, efforts of the U. S. Army, Navy and Air Force were combined leading to the DoD World Geodetic System 1960. Heritage surveying methods found elevation differences from a local horizontal determined by the level, plumb line. As a result, the elevations in the data are referenced to the geoid, the latter observational method is more suitable for global mapping. The sole contribution of data to the development of WGS60 was a value for the ellipsoid flattening which was obtained from the nodal motion of a satellite. Prior to WGS60, the U. S. Army, the Army performed an adjustment to minimize the difference between astro-geodetic and gravimetric geoids. By matching the relative astro-geodetic geoids of the selected datums with an earth-centered gravimetric geoid, since the Army and Air Force systems agreed remarkably well for the NAD, ED and TD areas, they were consolidated and became WGS60
10.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
11.
Thameslink and Great Northern
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Thameslink and Great Northern services were merged into one franchise in 2006 due to the Thameslink Programme. In 2012, it was announced that services of First Capital Connect, Southern, the Invitation to Tender was to have been issued in October 2012, with the successful bidder announced in Spring 2013 and TSGN originally due to start in September 2013. However, due to the collapse of the InterCity West Coast re-franchising process, in September 2013 a revised invitation to tender was issued. Govia Thameslink Railway was awarded the franchise on 23 May 2014, on 14 September 2014, Thameslink and Great Northern took over from First Capital Connect, serving 122 stations and operating a fleet of 226 trains. In December 2014, full control was taken of the Sevenoaks Thameslink service, on 21 January 2016 Transport for London announced that it intends to take over the London suburban parts of the franchise in 2021, to form a new suburban metro service. 1, ^ The Northern City Line between Moorgate and Drayton Park is also electrified at 750V DC using third rail, in 2011 the consortium Cross London Trains Ltd. This was a controversial decision as the competing bidder Bombardier Transportation had a train factory in the UK. Both the procurement process and final close of contract were significantly delayed, the trains are known as Class 700s and the £1.6 billion contract to manufacture and provide service depots for the trains was finalised in mid 2013. A fleet of 115 8- and 12-car trains are expected to service between 2016 and 2018. Associated rolling stock depots are being built at Hornsey and Three Bridges, because of the delay in procuring the Class 700 trains,29 Class 387 trains were ordered for the Thameslink route, facilitating the release of existing Class 319 trains to newly electrified routes. Delivery was completed in 2014 and the trains entered service later that year, the order includes provision for an extra 140 vehicles. It was originally planned that once the Class 700s begin entering service, however a change of plans saw GWR order an entirely new fleet of Class 387s with the ex-Thameslink examples expected to be cascaded to the Great Northern routes upon delivery of the Class 700s. This will allow Great Northern to operate fast services at up to 110 mph, something which the old fleet was incapable of. › London Moorgate, in December 2015 it was announced that Siemens would be providing these new trains as a follow-on to the Class 700 order. Former units operated by Thameslink and Great Northern include, This franchise is different from other franchises let since privatisation in 1996, now the operator, in this case Govia, gives all revenue to the government, rather than paying set premiums. The Department for Transport will pay Govia, totalling around £8. 9bn over the period of seven years. With this Govia expects to make a 3% profit, and the risks on costs will be Govias, Govia plans to invest £50m in all 239 stations it will manage. It plans to, Enhance all 239 stations including improving access, replace electronic information screens and working with authorities on the redevelopment of St Albans. Increase staffing hours at many stations, with the 100 busiest stations staffed from first to last train, extension of the key smartcard which Southern has been introducing
12.
West Croydon to Wimbledon Line
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The West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was a railway line in south London. It was built by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway over part of the trackbed of the Surrey Iron Railway and it opened on 22 October 1855 connecting the South West Main Line of the London and South Western Railway to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. National Rail services ceased and the line shut down in 1997 for it to be changed over into a new route for the Tramlink network which eventually rolled into passenger service in May 2000. Initially it was operated under contract by its engineer George Parker Bidder but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR, after construction of the branch from Merton Park to Tooting in 1868 the section from Wimbledon to Merton Park became joint LSWR/LB&SCR. On 1 January 1923 under the 1921 grouping it became part of the Southern Railway, the line was electrified using the third rail direct current system from 6 July 1930. The last train ran on 31 May 1997 and the line closed on 2 June 1997 for most of it to be re-used in the Tramlink network
13.
London Borough of Sutton
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The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South West London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of 43 km2 and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population and it is one of the southernmost boroughs of London. It is south of the London Borough of Merton, west of the London Borough of Croydon, the local authority is Sutton London Borough Council. Its principal town is the eponymous Sutton, the Borough has some of the schools with the best results in the country. A Trust for London and New Policy Institute report noted that Sutton had the highest rate in London of pupils achieving 5 A* – C GCSEs, in December 2014 Sutton was described by a senior Government official as the most normal place in Britain. In connection with this, the leader of Sutton Council described the borough as quietly brilliant, low levels of recorded crime are a feature of the borough, being among the lowest in London. An Ipsos MORI poll in 2014 found that 97% of residents felt safe in the borough during the day, and 71% felt safe at night, a higher figure than in 2011. The 2014 Family Hotspots Report, on the best places in England and Wales for families to live, the areas were identified as postcodes SM1, SM2 and SM3. A Rightmove study in 2015 found that Sutton was the fourth happiest borough in which to live out of 33 in London and it achieved the same placing in the 2016 survey. In 2014, a survey by eMoov found Sutton to be the easiest place in the country in which to sell a property, the London Borough of Sutton was one of the four vanguard areas selected in 2010 for the Big Society initiative. The borough includes the areas, The London Borough of Sutton was once made up of rural villages, the village feel persists, and places in the borough such as Carshalton, Cheam and Belmont continue to be referred to as villages. The historic development of the borough is reflected in the number of areas designated as conservation areas and as areas of special local character. Descriptions of a selection of the cultural institutions and attractions are set out below. There were frequent productions at The Charles Cryer Studio Theatre, which is situated on the High Street in Carshalton Village and it was opened by His Royal Highness Prince Edward in 1991. As well as drama and musicals, productions included comedy and dance, with material ranging from Shakespeare to Chekov to panto and childrens favourites, the theatres aim was to balance popularity with quality. The theatre also served as a venue for local bands. The theatre is named after the man who led the campaign to open the Secombe Theatre, Sutton, in August 2016 Sutton Theatres Trust, which owned the theatre, went into administration and it closed permanently. The Secombe Theatre is in Cheam Road, adjacent to the Holiday Inn Hotel, the theatre was opened by Sir Harry, who lived in Sutton for over 30 years of his life
14.
London Victoria station
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Victoria station is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster. It is near to Victoria Street, which along with the area and it is in Travelcard Zone 1. From the main lines, trains can connect to the Catford Loop Line, Dartford Loop Line, Southern operates the majority of commuter and regional services to south London, Sussex and parts of east Surrey, while Southeastern operates trains to south east London and Kent. Gatwick Express trains run direct from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, the Underground station is on the Circle and District lines between Sloane Square and St. Jamess Park, and the Victoria line between Pimlico and Green Park. With over 81 million passenger entries and exits in 2015/16, Victoria is the second-busiest station in London after Waterloo, combined with the Underground Station and interchanges in the national rail station, London Victoria handled about 170 million passengers in the 2015/2016 period. It is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail, the area around the station is an important interchange for other forms of transport, a local bus station is in the forecourt and Victoria Coach Station is nearby. Victoria Station came about in a fashion to help address this problem for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. It consisted of two adjacent main line railway stations which, from the viewpoint of passengers, were unconnected, the London and Brighton Railway terminus at London Bridge provided reasonable access to the City of London but was most inconvenient for travellers to and from Westminster. As early as 1842 John Urpeth Rastrick had proposed that the railway should build a branch to serve the West End, but his proposal came to nothing. During the summer of 1857 a scheme for an independent Grosvenor Basin Terminus in the West End of London, the station was originally referred to as the Grosvenor Terminus but later renamed Victoria as it was sited at the end of Victoria Street. Three other railway companies were seeking a terminus in Westminster, the Great Western, the London & North Western. The first two already had access to Battersea through their joint ownership of the West London Line with the LB&SCR. The new line followed part of the route of the Grosvenor Canal with Victoria station on the canal basin. It required the construction of a new bridge over the Thames, originally known as Victoria Bridge and it was of mixed gauge to cater for GWR trains. The LB&SCR had hoped to amalgamate with the VS&PR, and introduced a Parliamentary Bill to allow it to do so in 1860 and this was opposed by the GWR and LC&DR and rejected. By way of compromise the LB&SCR was permitted to lease Victoria station from the VS&PR, Victoria station proved to be unexpectedly popular for both the main companies, and by 1862 there were frequent delays due to congestion at Stewarts Lane Junction. In March 1863 the LB&SCR and the LC&DR jointly funded a new route into Victoria, avoiding Stewarts Lane. The work was completed during 1867/8, the LB&SCR side of Victoria station opened on 1 October 1860, the temporary terminus in Battersea having closed the day before
15.
Blackfriars station
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Blackfriars, also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station located in the City of London. Its platforms span the River Thames, occupying the length of Blackfriars Railway Bridge and it is the only London station to span the Thames, with entrances on both banks. The main line station was opened by the London, Chatham, the Underground station opened in 1870 with the arrival of the Metropolitan District Railway. The station was renamed Blackfriars in 1937, national Rail services are now provided by Southeastern and Thameslink while the Underground station is now served by both the District line and, since 1949, the Circle line. The Underground station was closed for work for nearly three years between 2009 and 2012. The station falls within fare zone 1, St. Pauls railway station was opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway on 10 May 1886 when the company opened the St. Pauls Railway Bridge across the River Thames. The station has since been demolished but the entrance driveway remains, further down Blackfriars Road is the entrance to an earlier station called Blackfriars Road station which operated from 1864 to 1868 as part of the competing South Eastern Railway. The bricked-up entrance and preserved engraved station name can be seen under the carrying the railway between London Bridge and Waterloo East over Blackfriars Road. At track level the space occupied by the platforms can be seen and it suffered significant bomb damage during the Second World War but was repaired. After the creation of British Railways following the war, the station was managed by British Railways, gradually, the structure of the original Blackfriars Railway Bridge deteriorated until it was unsound. The bridge deck was removed in 1985 and only the piers in the river, the station was rebuilt along with the Underground station between 1973 and 1977 and was formally reopened on 30 November 1977. A part of the elevation from the 1886 LC&DR station has been preserved at platform level in the main line station indicating many destinations in the south-east of England. St. Pauls Bridge is now known as Blackfriars Railway Bridge, Blackfriars Underground station is served by the Circle and District lines and is between Temple and Mansion House stations. The station was opened on 30 May 1870 by the Metropolitan District Railway as the new eastern terminus when the line was extended from Westminster. The construction of the new section of the MDR was planned in conjunction with the building of the Victoria Embankment and was achieved by the cut, on 3 July 1871 the MDR was extended eastwards to a new terminus at Mansion House. It was closed on 2 March 2009 for major renovation work, Blackfriars station was significantly renovated between 2009 and 2012, with the terminal platforms at the station being closed from 20 March 2009. The office building above was demolished and replaced as part of the Thameslink programme, the Underground station also received major enhancements, with a new roof of glazed north lights and partial-height glazed side panels installed along the entire length of the bridge. On the south bank of the river a new entrance was built at Bankside
16.
Mitcham Cricket Green
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Mitcham Cricket Green is a cricket ground in Mitcham, south London. It is the home of Mitcham Cricket Club and is reportedly the oldest cricket ground still in use, in the 19th century, the Australian cricket team would stay at The Cricketers pub which overlooks the green and practise on the green whilst on tour. The pub also held the changing rooms for the club during the late 18th century, the present pavilion was built in 1904 and is rare in being one of only a few cricket pavilions to be separated from the ground by a road. Surrey County Cricket Club first used the ground in 1949 for a match in the Minor Counties Championship, surrey continued to use the ground for 2nd XI matches until 1973. Its first usage in the Second XI Championship was for a match in 1959, surrey has never used Mitcham for a first-class match. Ian Botham made a guest appearance with the Queens Jubilee Baton, the match was a two innings affair. The Cricket Green also lends its name to the nearby area, fresh Light on 18th Century Cricket. From Lads to Lords, The History of Cricket,1300 –1787, archived from the original on June 29,2011. CS1 maint, Unfit url Mitcham Cricket Green
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Conservation Area
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Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations involved. There are over 161,000 protected areas in the world with more added daily, by contrast, only 1. 17% of the worlds oceans is included in the worlds ~6,800 Marine Protected Areas. Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat, Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes. Generally, protected areas are understood to be those in human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited. As a result, Protected Areas can encompass a range of governance types. Indeed, governance of protected areas has emerged a critical factor in their success, subsequently, the range of natural resources that any one protected area may guard is vast. Of all global terrestrial carbon stock,15. 2% is contained within protected areas, Protected areas in South America hold 27% of the worlds carbon stock, which is the highest percentage of any country in both absolute terms and as a proportion of the total stock. Rainforests,18. 8% of the worlds forest is covered by protected areas, of the 670 ecoregions with forest cover, 54% have 10% or more of their forest cover protected under IUCN Categories I – VI. Mountain protected area coverage has increased globally by 21% since 1990, the categories provide international standards for defining protected areas and encourage conservation planning according to their management aims. Protecting places and resources is by no means a modern concept, over 2000 years ago, royal decrees in India protected certain areas. In Europe, rich and powerful people protected hunting grounds for a thousand years, moreover, the idea of protection of special places is universal, for example, it occurs among the communities in the Pacific and in parts of Africa. However, the protected areas movement doesnt begin until late nineteenth-century in North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. While the idea of protected areas spread around the world in the twentieth century, thus, in North America, protected areas were about safeguarding dramatic and sublime scenery, in Africa, the concern was with game parks, in Europe, landscape protection was more common. The spectrum of benefits and values of protected areas is recognised not only ecologically, international programmes for the protection of representative ecosystems remain relatively progressive, with less advances in marine and freshwater biomes. There is increasing pressure to take account of human needs when setting up protected areas. Such negotiations are never easy but usually stronger and longer-lasting results for both conservation and people. In some countries, protected areas can be assigned without the infrastructure and networking needed to substitute consumable resources, one of the main concerns regarding protected areas on land and sea is their effectiveness at preventing the ongoing loss of biodiversity
18.
Mitcham Common
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Mitcham Common is 182 hectares of common land situated in south London. It is predominantly in the London borough of Merton, with parts straddling the borders of Croydon and Sutton and it is designated a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. In feudal times, the poorest, least productive soil in a parish was designated as common land available for parishioners to graze animals and cut turf, members of this community with these rights were known as commoners. However, in the 19th century when material for road building became a valuable resource, Mitcham, now part of the London Borough of Merton bears the majority of the costs, with the remainder going to the London Boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. These funds support a warden and three assistants, each council is represented by four nominated members of The Board, elected every two years. The course of the Thames has gradually altered, exposing gravels that were colonised by grasses. Over time, woody species slowly overwhelmed these early colonisers, developing a loose scrubby vegetation that became denser until woodland had developed, early humans were responsible for clearing trees and suppressing their regeneration by grazing cattle and cutting turf and timber for fuel. In the late 19th Century these practices ceased and woodland was allowed to regenerate and this process allowed a succession from grassland, through a series of intermediate stages, to woodland. The river gravels are well drained and strongly acidic, leading to an environment in which plants have to withstand occasional drought. The result is a patchwork of soil types, each providing different plant, as the grassland reverts to woodland, the various stages in this process create further habitats. The Seven Islands pond is the largest of the ponds on the common, the most recent pond to be created, Bidders pond, was created in 1990 and named for George Parker Bidder. There are a few buildings on the common, the buildings comprising the Windmill Trading Estate have existed in one form or another since 1782, when the estate was established as workhouses for the poor. Companies to have utilised the buildings include Hoopers Telegraph Works, recently the Estate has been replaced by a mixed-tenure of housing apartments. The Mill House Ecology Centre and the Harvester are located near the site of an old windmill, there also exists upon the common a carved granite stone in commemoration of George Parker Bidder. List of Parks and Open Spaces in Croydon Mitcham Common Conservators homepage Friends of Mitcham Common homepage
19.
Mitcham Eastfields railway station
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Mitcham Eastfields is a railway station in London, United Kingdom, which opened on 2 June 2008. The station is located at Eastfields Road level crossing, in an area poorly served by public transport. The nearest station was Mitcham Junction, which along with Mitcham tram stop, was over 1 mile from the district, proposals for the station have apparently existed since the 1930s. Planning permission was granted by the London Borough of Merton in August 2007, following consultation, there were hopes to have the station open by December 2007. The opening was scheduled for 19 May 2008 but that date was subsequently put back because Network Rail did not feel the station would be ready until early June. The opening was planned for the morning of Monday 2 June. It finally opened at 16,00 and the first train called at 16,11, the platforms are 170 m long, with a building on the up platform. However this means that passengers must cross Eastfields Road if they wish to purchase a ticket on the northbound side, the footbridge on the southbound side only allows safe movement over the railway and not the road. Mitcham Eastfields station is served by Southern trains to and from Victoria, the current journey time on this line between Mitcham Junction station and Streatham is six minutes. London Victoria can be reached in approximately 19 minutes, London Buses routes 152 and 463 serve the station. Eastfields station plan A photo of the station construction from Railway Gazette International
20.
St Albans City railway station
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St Albans City railway station, also shortened to St Albans, is one of two railway stations in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, the other being St Albans Abbey railway station. City station is the important of the two stations, as it serves London, Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport and Brighton. It is located 0.5 miles east of the city centre, on the Midland Main Line, the station was built by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St Pancras. Formerly, St Albans was famous for producing watercress which was sent in 56-pound lots to London, the other station, St Albans Abbey, was built by the London and North Western Railway in 1858. There was originally a station called London Road, built by the Hatfield. The station has four platforms, two for each direction, one fast and one slow, the main entrance, ticket office, multi-storey car park, taxi rank and bus connections are on Station Way, east of the station. There is an exit to the west, to a small surface car park off Ridgmont Road and Victoria Street. Somewhat controversially, a surface car park to the east of the railway lines gained planning permission in 2003. There are ticket barriers at both entrances, the station participates in the Plusbus scheme where combined train and bus tickets can be bought at a reduced price. There is also a WH Smith, a Pumpkin food stall, just outside the station there is a flower stall. There are also several metro newspaper containers in the station building. St Albans South signal box has been restored at the station and has opened as a visitor attraction by the St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust. In the northbound direction, principal stations served include Luton Airport, Luton, the Directory of Railway Stations, details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present. Train times and station information for St Albans City railway station from National Rail
21.
Herne Hill railway station
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Herne Hill railway station is in the London Borough of Lambeth, South London, England, on the boundary between London fare zones 2 and 3. The station building on Railton Road was opened in 1862 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. Initial service was only to Victoria, but by 1869 services ran to the City of London, Kings Cross, Kingston via Wimbledon, the arrival of the railways transformed Herne Hill from a wealthy suburb with large residential estates into a densely populated urban area. Herne Hill railway station sits at the bottom of the hill gives the area its name and is close to Brockwell Park. The section of Railton Road outside the station is mixed usage for pedestrians, the Chatham Main Line and Sutton Loop railway lines through Herne Hill are elevated above road level on a brick viaduct that runs north–south. The stations 1862 Gothic, polychrome brick building is on the side of the viaduct. The building houses an office and newsagent, and was Grade II listed in 1998. It was described by Cherry and Pevsner as a handsome group, the station entrance canopy was removed in 2015 due to its disrepair and a new one installed in July 2016 with a new timber valance design and cornice based on the original Victorian one. Thameslink and Southeastern services cross each others paths at the junctions, the station also has a turnback siding on its eastern side, adjacent to Milkwood Road. The area now known as Herne Hill had been a part of the Manor of Milkwell since the 13th century. Two tributaries of the River Effra met at the site of the future station. In 1783 a timber merchant, Samuel Sanders, bought Herne Hill from the Manor, Sanders granted leases for large plots of land to wealthy families – John Ruskin spent his childhood at an estate on Herne Hill. The Effra was covered over in the 1820s, and the area had become a suburb by the mid-19th century. The opening of the station, which provided convenient and cheap access to central London. All of the estates were eventually cleared to make way for many smaller houses. An 1870 railway travel guide noted the population of Herne Hill was 701, a railway line through Herne Hill was proposed in 1852 by the Mid Kent and London and South Western Junction Railways Company. No construction work was undertaken at that time and the company had ceased to exist by 1860, in the late 1850s, the East Kent Railway had ambitions to run passenger trains between Kent and London, but it did not own any railway lines in inner London. It reached an agreement with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1858 to use its West End and Crystal Palace line to access Battersea and this arrangement incurred costly access fees, but it was necessary until the company obtained Parliamentary authority to build in London
22.
Clapham Junction railway station
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Clapham Junction railway station is a major railway station and transport hub near St Johns Hill in the south-west of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, a district situated some 1.5 kilometres east-south-east of the station, the station is also the busiest UK station for interchanges between services. Before the railway came, the area was rural and specialised in growing lavender, the coach road from London to Guildford ran slightly south of the future station site, past The Falcon public house at the crossroads in the valley between St. Johns Hill and Lavender Hill. On 21 May 1838 the London and Southampton Railway became the London and South Western Railway and that was the first railway through the area but it had no station at the present site. The second line, initially from Nine Elms to Richmond, opened on 27 July 1846, Nine Elms was replaced in 1848 as the terminus by Waterloo Bridge station, now Waterloo. The line to Victoria opened by 1860, Clapham Junction opened on 2 March 1863, a joint venture of the L&SWR, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the West London Extension Railway as an interchange station for their lines. When the station was built, much of Battersea was the site of heavy industry while Clapham, Side, London and Clapham Common W. Side, London despite being well away from those park-side streets. Additional station buildings were erected in 1874 and 1876, batterseas slums unfit for human habitation were entirely replaced with council and charitable housing between 1918 and 1975. A £39.5 million planning application from Metro Shopping Fund was withdrawn before governmental planning committee consideration on 20 May 2009, Overground, the change would have been at Clapham Junction. On the morning of 12 December 1988 two collisions involving three commuter trains occurred slightly south-west of the station, thirty-five people died and more than 100 were injured. On the morning of 16 December 1991, a bomb ripped through tracks on one of the stations platforms, the Provisional Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility. The station is named Clapham Junction because it is at the junction of rail lines. Latchmere Main Junction connecting the WLL to the Brighton Line at Falcon Junction, West London Extension Junction and Junction for Waterloo, relaid for Eurostar empty-stock moves from the Windsor Lines to the WLL. Pouparts Junction where the low-level and high-level approaches to Victoria split, each day about 2,000 trains, over half of them stopping, pass through the station, more than through any other station in Europe. At peak times 180 trains per hour pass through of which 117 stop and it is not the busiest station by number of passengers, most of whom pass through. Interchanges make some 40% of the activity and on that basis too it is the busiest station in the UK, in 2011 the station had three entrances, all with staffed ticket offices, though only the south-east entrance is open 24 hours a day. The most heavily used of the three, this leads from St Johns Hill via an indoor shopping centre into a subway some 15 ft wide. The north entrance, which has restricted opening hours, leads from Grant Road to the same subway, the subway is crowded during rush hours, with the ticket barriers at the ends being pinch points
23.
Wimbledon station
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The station serves as a junction for services from London Undergrounds District line and National Rail operators, as well as Tramlink route 3. Some early morning services on the Thameslink route are provided by Southern, the station is in Travelcard Zone 3. Platforms 1–4 are for London Underground, Platforms 5 and 8 are for suburban services, Platform 9 is for Thameslink and platforms 10a. Platforms 6 and 7 are adjacent to the fast tracks intended for express and outer suburban services, because long distance trains very rarely make scheduled stops at the station, access to these platforms is via sliding gates through safety fencing installed in 2014. The first railway station in Wimbledon was opened on 21 May 1838, the original station was to the south of the current station on the opposite side of the Wimbledon Bridge. The station was rebuilt on its current site for the opening of this service, District line steam-hauled services were replaced by electric services from 27 August 1905. Main line suburban services were replaced by electric rolling stock either side of World War I although long distance journeys continued to use steam traction until 1967. The station was again with its current Portland stone entrance building by the Southern Railway in the late 1920s as part of the SRs construction of the line to Sutton. Parliamentary approval for this line had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway in 1910, from the W&SRs inception, the DR was a shareholder of the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built. In the 1920s, the London Electric Railway planned, through its ownership of the DR, to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway to Sutton. The SR objected and an agreement was reached that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route, the SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. It opened on 7 July 1929 to South Merton and to Sutton on 5 January 1930, on 2 June 1997, the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was closed by Railtrack for conversion to operation as part of the Tramlink tram operations. Part of platform 10 was used for the single track terminus of Tramlink route 3 and rail tracks, the new service opened on 30 May 2000. The other part of platform 10 was used as a terminus for Thameslink services, in 2015 platform 10 was split into two tram platforms, 10a and 10b, to allow higher frequency service on Tramlink. Wimbledon Station was also the haunt of a Railway Collection Dog and he retired in 1956 having collected over £5,000 and spent the rest of his days with the residents at the Home. On his death in 1960 he was stuffed and returned to Wimbledon Station and he continued to collect for the Homes, in a glass case situated on Platform 5, until 1990 when he retired once more and became part of the National Railway Collection. To increase the number of Tramlink services, a platform was built in place of the former Thameslink bay platform track. In order for the work to be carried out, the service was suspended between Dundonald Road and Wimbledon until Sunday 1 November 2015, the new platform is called 10b and opened in November 2015
24.
Sutton railway station (London)
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Sutton railway station is in the London Borough of Sutton in south London. It is the station for Sutton town. It is served by Southern and Thameslink trains, and lies in Travelcard Zone 5, Sutton station was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway on 10 May 1847, when the railway opened its line from West Croydon to Epsom. A branch to Epsom Downs was opened on 22 May 1865, the final change to the station came when the branch to Wimbledon opened on 5 January 1930. Until the early 1980s, it was possible to catch an express train to the coast from here to Bognor Regis. This service, until its withdrawal, also gave Sutton its fastest ever time to London Victoria. Today, travel to London Victoria takes just over 25 minutes on the route via Hackbridge. The four platforms at Sutton station are numbered 1 to 4 from north to south, platforms 1 and 2 are on the lines to Wimbledon, Epsom, Leatherhead, Dorking, and Horsham. Platforms 3 and 4 are on the Epsom Downs Line, which becomes single-track about 0.5 miles south of the station, platforms 1 and 3 are used by services from outer termini to Central London. Trains from Central London use platforms 2 and 4, terminating trains which return to central London generally use platform 4. Platforms 1 and 2 can accommodate 12-coach trains, and were used by the services to Bognor Regis. Nowadays all trains calling at Sutton are formed of ten coaches or fewer, at the London end of platform 1 there are the remains of a fifth platform, which was a bay for local services via Mitcham Junction. Two waiting rooms serve the station, one has its own cafe, the other has a Starbucks kiosk adjacent to it. An M&S Food to Go shop sits adjacent to the concourse within the station building, three lifts serve all platforms - one each for platforms one, two/three and four. The installation of a side serving the Quadrant was completed in summer 2014. Parliamentary approval for a line from Wimbledon to Sutton had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway in 1910, from the W&SRs inception, the Metropolitan District Railway was a shareholder of the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built. In the 1920s, the London Electric Railway planned, through its ownership of the MDR, to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway to Sutton. The SR objected and an agreement was reached that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route, the SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area
25.
Epsom
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Epsom is a market town in Surrey, England,13.6 miles south south-west of London, located between Ashtead and Ewell. The town straddles chalk downland and the upper Thanet Formation, Epsom Downs Racecourse holds The Derby, now a generic name for sports competitions in English-speaking countries. The town also gives its name to Epsom salts, extracted from mineral waters there, Epsom is the source of the Hogsmill River and includes the semi-rural Horton and Langley Vale. Epsom lies within the Copthorne Hundred used for periodic, strategic meetings of the wealthy and powerful in Anglo-Saxon England, the name of Epsom is early recorded as forms of Ebbas ham. Many Spring line settlements by springs in Anglo-Saxon England were founded at the foot of dry valleys such as here and Effingham, Bookham, Cheam, Sutton, Carshalton, Croydon, a relic from this period is a 7th-century brooch found in Epsom and now in the British Museum. Epsom appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Evesham, held by Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were,11 hides,2 churches,2 mills worth 10 shillings,18 ploughs,24 acres of meadow, woodland worth 20 hogs, altogether it rendered £17 per year to its overlords. The town at the time of Domesday Book had 38 households, at various dates in the Middle Ages, manors were founded by subinfeudation at Epsom Court, Horton, Woodcote, Brettgrave and Langley Vale. Under Henry VIII and Queen Mary the manor passed to the Carew then related Darcy families and it passed via the Mynne, Buckle and Parkhurst families to Sir Charles Kemys Tynte and after his death to Sir Joseph Mawbey. By the end of the Georgian period, Epsom was known as a spa town, remnants of this are its water pump and multiple exhibits in the towns museum. There were entertainments at the Assembly Rooms, a green-buffered housing estate has now been built upon the wells in the south-west of the town. Epsom salts are named after the town, Epsom salt was originally prepared by boiling down mineral waters which sprung at Epsom. The towns market is built on the pond that existed in the Middle Ages, within the centuries-old boundaries is Epsom Downs Racecourse which features two of the five English Classic horse races, The Derby and The Oaks, which were first run in 1780 and 1779 respectively. On 4 June 1913, Emily Davison, a militant womens suffrage activist, stepped in front of King George Vs horse running in the Derby, sustaining fatal injuries. Lord Rosebery remained closely associated with the town throughout his life, leaving land to the borough, commemorated in the names of roads, Rosebery Park. A house was named after him at Epsom College, one of Britains public schools in Epsom. A bell was added in 1867, by 1902 the lions had been replaced by lanterns, and the toilet buildings added either side of the tower. The Epsom Playhouse was opened in 1984 and is run by Epsom, the Ashley Centre, a shopping mall, was built in the early 1980s and subsequently parts of the high street were pedestrianised as part of the construction of the towns one-way system
26.
New Addington
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New Addington is an area in South London, England in the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Addington near the Greater London border with Surrey and it is a large local authority estate surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the edge of New Addington. The areas isolation from the rest of the Croydon borough has given it a sense of community. The Croydon Advertiser publishes a separate New Addington edition, the presence of the library, youth clubs, leisure centre, shops, churches and street market enables locals to lead full lives in many ways. The Addington Community Association has provided an important hub for the community and it has been notable for its local gangs. Until the 1930s, the now known as New Addington was farmland and woodland in the southeast of the ancient parish of Addington. The farms were called Castle Hill, Addington Lodge and Fishers Farms, at the time, central Croydon and London more generally had overcrowded slums causing concern to the authorities. In 1935, the First National Housing Trust purchased 569 acres of Fishers Farm with the intention of erecting a Garden Village, with 4,400 houses, shops, two churches, cinema, and village green. The Chairman of the Trust was Charles Boot, hence the earliest part of New Addington is sometimes called The Boots Estate, by 1939, when the outbreak of World War II suspended construction,1,023 houses and 23 shops had been built. The new estate was popular, but the provision of amenities had not kept pace with the house building, only one of the proposed schools and few of the shops were in operation. For employment, decent shopping and entertainment, the residents had to travel off the estate and this heralded a long history of isolation for the estate, then nicknamed Little Siberia, because it is much colder than the rest of Croydon. The isolation was partly remedied 60 years later with the arrival of Tramlink route 3, Tramlink runs alongside Lodge Lane, the main road access. There is only one point of access by road, where King Henrys Drive connects with minor roads to the south. After the war, there were concerns about the amount of space being used for building around London. Much of the countryside around the estate was declared Green Belt. The County Borough of Croydon bought the unused First National Housing Trust land, at the same time as the smaller prefabs were built, larger two-storey semi-detached houses were also built. These houses, which had metal upper skins, still survive around the King Henrys Drive area near Wolsey School and this was more development than had originally been envisaged but it brought about the structure of the estate as seen today
27.
Elmers End railway station
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Elmers End is a railway station and tram terminus in Elmers End, south London, England. It is in the London Borough of Bromley, and Travelcard Zone 417 km south of London Charing Cross, the portion of the line to Addiscombe, which was originally named Croydon, was closed in 1997 when Tramlink took over much of the trackbed from Elmers End. The Hayes line service on the commuter railway line between Hayes and London Charing Cross through Elmers End is still in use. The station is on Elmers End Road, at the south-east corner of South Norwood Country Park, one former railway platform is now the terminus for Tramlink routes 1 and 4 to central Croydon. The Mid Kent line was built by the Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway and was opened on 1 January 1857 as far as Beckenham Junction, from opening the line was worked by the South Eastern Railway. Seven years later the MK&NKJR built an extension from a new station at New Beckenham to Croydon with an intermediate station at Elmers End. The station was occupied in what was then an area with scattered farm houses. The station building was located on the side whilst a goods yard was provided on the up side. By 1914 Elmers End had almost become part of Beckenham on the east side of the railway, sidings served the Croydon and Beckenham Council sites. The station was rebuilt in 1881/2 in anticipation of the opening of the Hayes branch, Bay platforms were provided on the up and down side and a new 43 lever signal box was provided immediately south of the station. New coal sidings, in anticipation of further growth, were also provided on the up side. The Elmers End – Hayes section was built by the West Wickham & Hayes Railway and it was sold to the South Eastern Railway in 1881 and opened on 29 May 1882. Initially 13 services each way were operated between Elmers End and Hayes with central London passengers having to change trains, following the Railways Act 1921, Elmers End became a Southern Railway station on 1 January 1923. The Mid-Kent line was electrified with the system and electric services commenced on 28 February 1926, early electric services were worked by early Southern Railway 3-car Electric Multiple Unit trains often built from old SECR carriages. In connection with the electrification the track bed between Elmers End and Clock House area was raised in an effort to reduce flooding, electrification led to further house building between Clock House and Elmers End stations. During World War 2 the station was hit three times by bombs during 1941, some track alterations took place in 1947 which included the link between the Up Bay and Hayes line being removed, platform lengthening and direct access from the Hayes branch to the down bay. After World War II and following nationalisation on 1 January 1948, three-aspect colour light signals were installed at the station in 1956. The goods yard was closed on 6 May 1963, the station building was destroyed by fire on 16 December 1973 On 28 May 1975 all signalling came under the control of the London Bridge Signalling Centre and the 1882 signal box was closed
28.
London Buses
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London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London. Contracts are normally for five years, with two-year extensions available if performance criteria is met, operators provide staff to drive the buses, provide the buses to operate and also adhere to set TfL guidelines. Operators are then in return paid per mile that each bus runs, London Buses publishes a variety of bus maps. Some are traditional street maps of London marked with bus numbers, in 2002, TfL introduced the first spider maps. The arachnoid form of bus routes radiating from a centre earned them the nickname spider maps, the maps are displayed at most major bus stops, and can be downloaded in PDF format via the Internet from the TfL website. The legal identity of London Buses is London Bus Services Limited, East Thames Buses was the trading name of another wholly owned subsidiary of TfL called, rather confusingly, London Buses Limited. The operating units were sold off in 1994/95, and their purchasers make up the majority of companies awarded bus operating tenders from the current London Buses, after 1994/95, the LBL company lay dormant, passing from LRT to TfL. It was resurrected when East Thames Buses was formed, separated by a wall from LBSL. The local bus network in London is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world, over 8000 scheduled buses operate on over 700 different routes. Over the year this network carries over 1.8 billion passenger journeys, Buses in the London Buses network accept Travelcards, Oyster card products and contactless debit and credit cards. Cash fares have not been available since 6 July 2014, single journey fares used to be charged in relation to length of journey, but are now charged as single flat fares for any length of journey. Alternatively, weekly and monthly passes may also be purchased and loaded onto an Oyster card, passengers using contactless payment cards are charged the same fares as on Oyster pay as you go. Unlike Oyster cards, contactless cards also have a 7-day fare cap though it only operates on a Monday-Sunday basis. Under 11s can travel free on London buses and trams at any time unaccompanied by an adult, children aged 11 to 15 travel free on buses with an 11–15 Oyster photocard, without an Oyster card or Travelcard, they have to pay the full adult fare. Visitors can have a special discount added to an ordinary Oyster card at TfLs Travel Information Centres, there are also concessions for London residents aged 16 to 18. The Freedom Pass scheme allows Greater London residents over state pension age, people who have concessionary bus passes issued by English local authorities travel free on TfL bus services at any time. Each company has its own operating code, and every bus garage in London has its own garage code, however, London Buses in fact maintains a close control over both the age and specification of the vehicles. These have been known to tear and get dirty quickly, however there have been improvements with LED Backlights and the SmartBlind system installed on newer vehicles
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London Buses route S1
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This is a list of Transport for London contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as commercial services that enter the Greater London area. Bus services in London are operated by Abellio London, Arriva London, CT Plus, Go-Ahead London, Metroline, Quality Line, RATP Group Stagecoach London, Sullivan Buses, Tower Transit, tfL-sponsored operators run more than 500 services. Other operators soon saw the advantage, in that a route number was easier for the travelling public to remember. Bus routes run by London Transport were grouped as follows, the 1924 London Traffic Act imposed numbering known as the Bassom Scheme named after Chief Constable Arthur Ernest Bassom of the Metropolitan Police who devised it. Variant and short workings for many decades used letter suffixes, the numbers reflected the company that operated the route. The numbering was revised in 1934 after London Transport was formed, *Except 603 and 607, the number of Mobility Buses routes have declined because low-floor and wheelchair accessible buses run on all London Buses routes except for the heritage route. Night bus routes are often related to the day numerical equivalent, normally running the same route and this is normally to provide a night service to destinations served by tube or train during the day. There are also 24-hour routes, which run day and night, the vast majority run the same route at all times. Route 65 is classed as a 24-hour service, but unusually has an extension to its night service and these bus routes are not contracted to TfL and are therefore not London Buses. All but three run from the villages and towns outside Greater London to destinations within and they are painted in a colour chosen by the operator, so are not necessarily red like London Buses, and most of them do not accept Oyster cards. These routes are operated with a London Service Permit issued by TfL so they are recognised by TfL bus maps, there are four special express routes that run during the Notting Hill Carnival, 2X, 36X, 205X and 436X. This list shows some old routes that used to operate but do not exist anymore, services withdrawn before 1994 are not listed. Category, London bus operators Atkin, Michael, THIS SCEPTRED ISLE, The Guardian Carr, Ken, The London Bus Guide
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Side Platform
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A side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. Dual side platform stations, one for direction of travel, is the basic station design used for double-track railway lines. Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with a platform where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track. In some stations, the two platforms are connected by a footbridge running above and over the tracks. While a pair of platforms is often provided on a dual-track line. Where the station is close to a crossing the platforms may either be on the same side of the crossing road or alternatively may be staggered in one of two ways. With the near-side platforms configuration, each platform appears before the intersection, in some situations a single side platform can be served by multiple vehicles simultaneously with a scissors crossing provided to allow access mid-way along its length. Normally, the facilities of the station are located on the Up platform with the other platform accessed from a footbridge. However, in cases the stations main buildings are located on whichever side faces the town or village the station serves. Larger stations may have two platforms with several island platforms in between. Some are in a Spanish solution format, with two platforms and an island platform in between, serving two tracks
31.
New Addington tram stop
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New Addington is a terminal tram stop serving the centre of New Addington, in the London Borough of Croydon, in the southern suburbs of London. The tram stop is served by Tramlink route 3, which connects New Addington with Wimbledon via central Croydon, London Buses routes 64,130,314 and 464 serve the station. Interchange between trams and these bus routes is free in New Addington, New Addington tram stop – Timetables and live departures at Transport for London
32.
Elmers End station
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Elmers End is a railway station and tram terminus in Elmers End, south London, England. It is in the London Borough of Bromley, and Travelcard Zone 417 km south of London Charing Cross, the portion of the line to Addiscombe, which was originally named Croydon, was closed in 1997 when Tramlink took over much of the trackbed from Elmers End. The Hayes line service on the commuter railway line between Hayes and London Charing Cross through Elmers End is still in use. The station is on Elmers End Road, at the south-east corner of South Norwood Country Park, one former railway platform is now the terminus for Tramlink routes 1 and 4 to central Croydon. The Mid Kent line was built by the Mid-Kent and North Kent Junction Railway and was opened on 1 January 1857 as far as Beckenham Junction, from opening the line was worked by the South Eastern Railway. Seven years later the MK&NKJR built an extension from a new station at New Beckenham to Croydon with an intermediate station at Elmers End. The station was occupied in what was then an area with scattered farm houses. The station building was located on the side whilst a goods yard was provided on the up side. By 1914 Elmers End had almost become part of Beckenham on the east side of the railway, sidings served the Croydon and Beckenham Council sites. The station was rebuilt in 1881/2 in anticipation of the opening of the Hayes branch, Bay platforms were provided on the up and down side and a new 43 lever signal box was provided immediately south of the station. New coal sidings, in anticipation of further growth, were also provided on the up side. The Elmers End – Hayes section was built by the West Wickham & Hayes Railway and it was sold to the South Eastern Railway in 1881 and opened on 29 May 1882. Initially 13 services each way were operated between Elmers End and Hayes with central London passengers having to change trains, following the Railways Act 1921, Elmers End became a Southern Railway station on 1 January 1923. The Mid-Kent line was electrified with the system and electric services commenced on 28 February 1926, early electric services were worked by early Southern Railway 3-car Electric Multiple Unit trains often built from old SECR carriages. In connection with the electrification the track bed between Elmers End and Clock House area was raised in an effort to reduce flooding, electrification led to further house building between Clock House and Elmers End stations. During World War 2 the station was hit three times by bombs during 1941, some track alterations took place in 1947 which included the link between the Up Bay and Hayes line being removed, platform lengthening and direct access from the Hayes branch to the down bay. After World War II and following nationalisation on 1 January 1948, three-aspect colour light signals were installed at the station in 1956. The goods yard was closed on 6 May 1963, the station building was destroyed by fire on 16 December 1973 On 28 May 1975 all signalling came under the control of the London Bridge Signalling Centre and the 1882 signal box was closed
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Transport for London
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Transport for London is a local government body responsible for the transport system in Greater London, England. Its head office is in Windsor House in the City of Westminster, the underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies, by private sector franchisees and by licensees. In 2015-16, TfL had a budget of £11.5 billion, the rest comes from government funding, borrowing, other income and Crossrail funding. On 21 January 2016, it was announced that the responsibility for franchising all of Londons inner suburban services would be transferred from the DfT to TfL. This transfer will take place as current franchises fall due for renewal, TfL was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It gained most of its functions from its predecessor London Regional Transport in 2000, the first Commissioner of TfL was Bob Kiley. The first Chair was then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, and the first Deputy Chair was Dave Wetzel, Livingstone and Wetzel remained in office until the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor in 2008. Johnson took over as Chairman, and in February 2009 fellow-Conservative Daniel Moylan was appointed as his Deputy, TfL did not take over responsibility for the London Underground until 2003, after the controversial Public-private partnership contract for maintenance had been agreed. Management of the Public Carriage Office had previously been a function of the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London Group Archives holds business records for TfL and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are held on behalf of TfL Group Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives. After the bombings on the underground and bus systems on 7 July 2005 and they helped survivors out, removed bodies, and got the transport system up and running, to get the millions of commuters back out of London at the end of the work day. Those mentioned include Peter Hendy, who was at the time Head of Surface Transport division, and Tim OToole, head of the Underground division, carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The Mayor of London and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer, there were Last Round on the Underground parties on the night before the ban came into force. Passengers refusing to observe the ban may be refused travel and asked to leave the premises, the Greater London Authority reported in 2011 that assaults on London Underground staff had fallen by 15% since the introduction of the ban. In an effort to reduce sexual offences and increase reporting, TfL—in conjunction with the British Transport Police, Metropolitan Police Service, TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position held by Sadiq Khan since May 2016. The Commissioner of Transport for London reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities, the body is organised in three main directorates and corporate services, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. This network is sub-divided into three service units, BCV, Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines. JNP, Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, SSL, Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
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Office of Rail Regulation
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The Office of Rail and Road protects the interests of rail and road users, improving the safety, value and performance of railways and roads today and in the future. The ORR is responsible for ensuring that railway operators comply with health, the ORR regulates Network Rail’s activities and funding requirements, regulates access to the railway network, licenses the operators of railway assets and publishes rail statistics. The ORR is the authority for the railways and they enforce consumer protection law in relation to the railway. The ORR is also responsible for monitoring Highways Englands management of the road network – the motorways. As a non-ministerial government department it is independent of central government. The ORRs main functions are, The ORR regulates health and safety for the mainline rail network in Britain, as well as London Underground, light rail, trams. It is the ORRs responsibility to ensure that those responsible make Britains railways safe for passengers, the ORR has a team of more than 100 rail health and safety inspectors and professionals who are respected across the network and have significant powers of enforcement. Their remit is to ensure that the railway is safe, and is kept safe, the UK is amongst the safest railways in Europe. Fewer passengers are killed or seriously injured on our railway than at any time in recent decades. Safety of the workforce and of members of the interacting with the railway is also important. And while safety is improving in most areas, there is room for improvement. The ORR regulates Network Rail, holding it to account for delivering high levels of performance and service, as well as value for money – for passengers. The ORR regulates the High Speed 1 line between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel and this line is operated by HS1 Ltd, and is separate to the rest of the national railway network operated by Network Rail, but the ORR regulates it in much the same way. This includes holding HS1 to account for its performance, service and value for money for passengers, the ORR aims to regulate such as to balance the interests of investors, customers, taxpayers and the industry. Although the ORR does not regulate fares, ensuring that passengers get a safe, the ORR is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the performance and efficiency of Highways England and is delivering this through its Highways function. Highways England maintains, renews, operates and improves the strategic road network – the motorways, the ORR holds Highways England to account for its management of the strategic road network – including delivery of performance and efficiency. They also advise the UK Government on the levels of funding and performance requirements for future road periods to help frame challenging and deliverable performance, a safer railway, Protecting passengers, the workforce and the travelling public is at the heart of what the ORR does. They will continue to hold industry to account to deliver safety improvements, focusing especially on level crossings, the train-to-platform gap, and through overseeing better design at the outset
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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Sutton & Mole Valley Lines
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Services include commuter services in south London, Surrey and West Sussex operated by Southern, usually from London Victoria to Horsham via Sutton and Dorking. Some Southern services in peak hours from London Bridge call at West Croydon and diverge at Leatherhead and serve Effingham Junction, the South West Trains services are operated by Class 455/8. The Southern services use that type of train, but sometimes Class 377 instead. Southern previously used Class 456 trains but these were transferred to South West Trains in March 2014, SWT plan to re-release these on the line in around November 2014. South West Trains operates services between London Waterloo and Leatherhead via Raynes Park and Epsom, half continue along the main line to Dorking, others run to Guildford via Bookham and Effingham Junction. Thameslink operates services from Tulse Hill to Sutton as part of the Thameslink route to London Blackfriars and Luton using Class 319 trains. The route from Raynes Park to Horsham via Epsom and Dorking is known to commuters as the Mole Valley Line – seven out of the 15 stations are in the Surrey district of Mole Valley. The full title Sutton and Mole Valley Lines is used for the north of Epsom via Sutton. Confusingly, all Southern services that terminate or call at Sutton are branded as Sutton, Class 455 electrical multiple units are used, with semi-fast and stopping services to Horsham from London Victoria frequently operated by Class 377 Electrostars. 1857, Wimbledon and Dorking Railway authorised under the auspices of the London and South Western Railway and this is why services are run by South West Trains. Autumn 1857, rival schemes to connect Shoreham Harbour with Horsham, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was eventually successful, on 1 August 1859. Opened in two sections,11 March 1867, Leatherhead to Dorking 1 May 1867, Dorking to Horsham 22 May 1865 Epsom Downs Branch opened, I October 1868 The mainline route from London to Sutton via Hackbridge opened. 2 February 1885 Bookham branch and Guildford New Line open, Epsom and Leatherhead linked with Guildford by rail for the first time. 12 July 1925 Third rail electrified services begin between London Waterloo and Dorking North/Bookham and the Guildford New Line, July 1927 Leatherhead LSWR station closes - from 10th, all trains use LBSCR station, thanks to new spur. 3 March 1929 Third rail electrified services start between London Victoria and Epsom via Mitcham Jct and London Bridge and Epsom via Tulse Hill, Epsom Town station closed and services concentrated at new station on approximately the site of the former LSWR one. 1938 Dorking/Three Bridges to Horsham electrified, New signalling installed and new station built at Horsham. Colour light signalling through Dorking North from 15 May, public third rail services start on 3 July. 1978 Portsmouth Harbour/Bognor Regis express services diverted via Gatwick Airport, a peak hour service continues, stopping at Sutton and Dorking
37.
Mitcham tram stop
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Mitcham tram stop is a Tramlink stop in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. The stop is on Tramlink route 3 between Belgrave Walk and Mitcham Junction and it was formerly Mitcham railway station, which closed in 1997. The tram stop consists of twin platforms accessible by ramps at either end, east of the station there used to be single track to Mitcham Junction Station. The track layout allows two trams to travel between the stations at the same time, work started in Spring 2012 at the site laying the new track and installing the new OHLE cables. The job took about three months to complete and 18 test tram runs passed successfully before opening, London Buses routes 118,280 and night routes N44 and N133 serve the tram stop
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Tramlink route 3
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Tramlink route 3 is one of four tram routes operated as part of the Tramlink network in south London. The route is owned and operated by Transport for London, the section between Waddon Marsh and Wimbledon runs broadly along the alignment of the former West Croydon to Wimbledon Line. On 9 November 2016, a route 3 tram derailed near Sandilands tram stop killing 7 people, the cause was excessive speed on a curve, however underlying causes of the tram speeding are under investigation. The driver of the tram has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, official London Trams Website Croydon Tramlink - The Unofficial Site
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Tramlink route 4
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Tramlink Route 4 is a tram route operated as part of the Tramlink network in south London for Transport for London. The route is the newest on the system, starting operations on 25 June 2012 and this route should not be confused with the Route 4 which appeared on the destination blinds of the CR4000s when new, which would have operated on the proposed Wimbledon - Sutton extension. This route serves to both routes 1 and 3, as part of this project the section between Mitcham and Beddington Lane has been double tracked. Tramlink are also in talks with Network Rail to have a platform built at Wimbledon for Tramlink Services. Six new Stadler Variobahn trams were ordered to enable Tramlink to run this route, all of these have now been delivered, and have all entered service. They will be used over the system, and not just on Route 4. Official London Trams Website Croydon Tramlink - The Unofficial Site
40.
Network SouthEast
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Network SouthEast was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail created in 1982. NSE principally operated commuter trains in the London area and inter-urban services in densely populated South East England, before 1986, the sector was known as London & South Eastern. In the privatisation of British Rail on 1 April 1994 it was broken into a number of franchises. The aim was to introduce greater budgetary efficiency and managerial accountability by building a more market-focused and responsive business and it was expected that the London and South East sector would cover most of its operating costs from revenues, in contrast to heavily subsidised rural services. Day-to-day operation, staffing and timetabling continued to be delivered by the Regions -, on 10 June 1986, L&SE was relaunched as Network SouthEast, along with a new red, white and blue livery. This approach was brought about by a new director, Chris Green. Although NSE did not originally own or maintain infrastructure, it exercised control over almost all carrier core functions, NSE set its own goals and service standards in consultation with BR, and created its own management structure and oversight. BR allowed NSE to decide about scheduling, marketing, infrastructure enhancements, Network SouthEast, like each other sector, was given primary responsibility for various assets, and control resided with the primary user. Other sectors could negotiate access rights and rent facilities, using their own resources, NSE was able to exert much greater control and accountability over both its operating budget and service quality than BR could under its Regions. Relations were generally good between NSE and other sectors, although operating pressures sometimes forced staff to use equipment and assets belonging to other sectors to meet immediate needs. On 1 April 1994, Network SouthEast was officially disbanded as train services passed to various train operating units ready for privatisation through a franchising process, NSE was broken down into various sub-divisions. Soon after conception, Network SouthEast started to modernise parts of the network, the most extreme example was the Chiltern Lines. The Chiltern Line ran on two lines from London Marylebone to Aylesbury and Banbury. These lines were former GWR and GCR intercity lines to Wolverhampton, after the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, these lines became seriously run down with a lack of investment and a reduction of services. NSE realised that something needed to be done to these lines quickly, numerous plans for the lines were proposed. One serious plan was to close the line between Marylebone and South Ruislip/Harrow-on-the-Hill, and convert Marylebone into a coach station, metropolitan line trains would be extended to Aylesbury and BR services from Aylesbury would be routed to London Paddington via High Wycombe. Also the line north of Princes Risborough would close, however, this did not happen as Baker Street and London Paddington would not have been able to cope with the extra trains and passengers. What did happen was total route modernisation and this was an ambitious plan to bring the lines into the modern era of rail travel
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Beddington Lane railway station
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Beddington Lane railway station was a small single-platform station on the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line. Situated in a location, the nearest major settlements were Beddington. After the Surrey Iron Railway went out of business in 1846, a new railway was built on the site by the Wimbledon and Croydon Railway and it was originally named Beddington but was renamed in January 1887 to Beddington Lane. In 1919 it became Beddington Lane Halt, but reverted to Beddington Lane on 5 May 1969, the station and the others on the line were closed after the last train ran on 31 May 1997. Beddington Lane tram stop was built on its site, the adjacent stations on the line were Mitcham Junction, to the west, and Waddon Marsh Halt, to the east
42.
Tramlink route 1
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Tramlink route 1 is one of four tram routes operated as part of the Tramlink network in south London. The route is operated by London Tramlink, part of Transport for London, like many modern tram systems, most of the length of Tramlink route 1 on the Tramlink is built on disused railway alignments. In 1839 the London and Croydon Railway was opened, running to what is now West Croydon, in 1841 the London and Brighton Railway, constructed a line branching off in Croydon, and becoming the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1846. Branching off this in turn, at Redhill, was the Redhill to Tonbridge Line, the North Kent Railway, was built in 1849. To complement it, the Mid Kent Railway was conceived, branching off at Lewisham by a curve and initially heading southwards. However, construction was overtaken by events, namely the more direct South Eastern Main Line via Grove Park, Orpington and Sevenoaks, which later became the South Eastern Railway. Thus construction of the MKR in its form was abandoned at New Beckenham. This opened in 1864, and branches at Elmers End and Woodside were added, the branch from Woodside to Sanderstead was relatively unsuccessful and was finally closed by British Rail on 13 May 1983. The branch to Hayes became the route, with the service between Elmers End and Addiscombe reduced to a shuttle service. The route between Elmers End and Woodside has been converted to operation, although the section from Woodside to Addiscombe had been abandoned. This provides the only section of Line 1 that is not on railway lines. In addition, extra stops were added at Arena and Blackhorse Lane, Addiscombe tram stop replaces Bingham Road Halt, an original station that was across Bingham Road from where Addiscombe tram stop is now. The tram stop is at level, Bingham Road Halt Station was on an embankment. It is still on the route of the Woodside and South Croydon Railway, the other half of the route took over the former West Croydon to Wimbledon shuttle. Parts of the alignment between Waddon Marsh and Mitcham follow the Surrey Iron Railway which opened in 1803 between Wandsworth and Croydon. The line was closed by Railtrack on 31 May 1997, and, since there were no bus services, temporary route TL1 was introduced, running half-hourly. Initially operated by Cowie South London and later transferred to Metrobus, since Tramlink has taken over, a 10-minute service is provided during the day on Mondays to Saturdays and has proved unexpectedly popular. It provides a public transport link to the previously under-served Purley Way retail area
0.387 million[4]
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