Raynes Park railway station

Raynes Park
Raynes Park Location of Raynes Park in Greater London
Location	Raynes Park
Local authority	London Borough of Merton
Managed by	South West Trains
Station code	RAY
DfT category	C2
Number of platforms	4 (facing 4 tracks)
Fare zone	4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2004–05	2.359 million[1]
2005–06	2.287 million[1]
2006–07	4.326 million[1]
2007–08	3.999 million[1]
2008–09	3.860 million[1]
2009–10	3.797 million[1]
2010–11	4.008 million[1]
2011–12	4.200 million[1]
2012–13	4.370 million[1]
2013–14	4.432 million[1]
Key dates
30 October 1871	Opened
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°24′34″N 0°13′48″W / 51.4094°N 0.2299°W

Plymouth - Waterloo express passing in 1964

Raynes Park railway station serves the district of Raynes Park in the London Borough of Merton. The station is served by South West Trains, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. The large commuter population in the area who use the station predominantly travel to and from London Waterloo on weekdays.

History

The railway station at Raynes Park was opened on 30 October 1871 on the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR) line that ran from its terminus at London Waterloo to Woking and beyond. The line runs east by north-east in the London direction and has two through lines (for express services) through the middle and platforms to the outsides.

Raynes Park station is the junction station where the line to Motspur Park (and on to Chessington South, Dorking or Guildford) branches off from the South Western Main Line ultimately to coastal resorts and port cities.

The track to Epsom was to compete with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR)'s Mole Valley Lines to Epsom but then use statutory running powers over that line through Ashtead to Leatherhead. From where the London and South Western Railway (LSWR)'s second Guildford track headed via Effingham Junction to Guildford, south-west following its line built from the north. From Epsom, the LBSCR laid the southward track via Dorking (then called Dorking North) to Horsham.

One distinct feature of the station is the long footbridge over the four tracks of the main line which is set at an angle because of the offset of the platforms. This stands out as the main line is on a fairly high embankment (allowing local roads and the Epsom line to pass beneath). Passenger access to the station is via subway at street level on either side of the main line.

There was originally a LSWR mechanical signal box at the far south, opposite platforms 1 and 2, but this was demolished and replaced by modern automated signalling equipment many years ago.

Raynes Park goods yard was in and beyond the notch between Platforms 3 and 4, and was accessed from the Epsom lines. It did not push right up into the point of the V. The goods yard is no longer in use and is now occupied by local manufacturing firms.

Accidents and incidents

• On 25 May 1933, a passenger train was derailed approaching the station, coming to rest foul of an adjacent line. Another passenger train was in a side-long collision with it. Five people were killed and 35 were injured. The cause of the accident was the failure to implement a speed restriction on a section of track that was under maintenance.^[2]
• On 28 November 1967, a newspaper train was derailed entering the station. One of the vans struck the support pillars of the footbridge, severely damaging it.^[3] The line was blocked for two days. The cause of the accident was that the guard of the train failed to inform the driver that there were wagons in the train restricted to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). The train was booked to run at up to 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) and was doing about 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) when it derailed.^[4]

Platforms and infrastructure

The station has four platforms on two islands, 1 and 2 on the up lines, and 3 and 4 on the down lines.

• Platform 1 is an eastbound platform for services to London Waterloo that have originated from Guildford, Dorking (both via Epsom) or Chessington South.
• Platform 2 is an eastbound platform for services to London Waterloo that have originated from Waterloo (via Strawberry Hill on the Kingston loop), Hampton Court or Shepperton.
• Platform 3 is a westbound platform for trains to Waterloo (via Strawberry Hill on the Kingston loop), Hampton Court or Shepperton.
• Platform 4 is a south-westbound platform for trains to Guildford, Dorking (both via Worcester Park and Epsom) or Chessington South.

There are no platforms for the two central fast tracks on the main line.

The Epsom to London line, arriving from the south-west, passes under the four main line tracks to the west of the station and then curves up and right to platform 1. Beyond the platforms it makes a trailing junction onto the up slow line to Waterloo. Opposite platform 2 the down Epsom line branches off the down slow main line to arrive at platform 4, on the left side of a V formed with platform 3. The line then drops away to the south to parallel the up Epsom line after the station. The down slow continues straight ahead on the right hand side of the V to platform 3.

Services

Services from the station to destinations served are frequent throughout the whole day, with weekend services running at a similar frequency. Almost all of the services either start or terminate at London Waterloo.

The typical off-peak service from the station is:

• 12 trains per hour to London Waterloo direct
• 2 trains per hour to London Waterloo via Kingston and Richmond
• 2 trains per hour to Hampton Court
• 2 trains per hour to Shepperton
• 2 trains per hour to Guildford via Epsom
• 2 trains per hour to Dorking
• 2 trains per hour to Chessington South

Weekday services to London Waterloo start at 5:13 with the last direct train at 23:58. The first weekday services from London Waterloo arrive at 5:31 with the last service arriving at 1:07am. Electrified trains provide stopping services only with time to and from London Waterloo of 23-24 minutes.^[5]

Connections

London Buses routes 57, 131, 152, 163, 200 and K5 and night route N87 serve the station.

Refurbishment

Raynes Park railway station was refurbished between March 2009 and July 2009. The refurbishment programme involved constructing a new entrance, ticket office and gateline, and converting the previous ticket office into a new retail unit. Automatic ticket gates were installed at all of the exits to the station, which allowed the station to accept the Oyster "Pay as you go" electronic ticketing system from January 2010.^[6][7] Waiting rooms, toilets, and platform areas were also refurbished to improve passenger safety and comfort.

References

1. "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
2. Hoole, Ken (1982). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 30. ISBN 0-906899-05-2.
3. Earnshaw, Alan (1991). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 7. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 42. ISBN 0-906899-50-8.
4. Moody, G. T. (1979) [1957]. Southern Electric 1909-1979 (Fifth ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd. pp. 171–72. ISBN 0 7110 0924 4.
5. National Rail Timetables for Raynes Park
6. http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/oysteronnationalrail.aspx
7. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/oysteronline/5823.aspx