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East Croydon

East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop, and the largest and busiest station in Croydon.

On 12 July 1841 the London & Brighton Railway (L&BR) began passenger services through Croydon station (now East Croydon) on the Brighton Line from London Bridge to Haywards Heath. The station was designed by the architect David Mocatta, the second station in the town since the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) had opened its Croydon station (now West Croydon) in June 1839.

After 1842 the station was jointly administered by the L&BR and the South Eastern Railway (SER), which shared the Brighton main line as far as Redhill. Fares from Croydon to London were common to two railways. In 1846 The L&BR and the L&CR amalgamated to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and the two stations were renamed East Croydon and West Croydon to avoid confusion.

With the completion of the line to Victoria between 1860 and 1862, extra platforms were needed to provide a terminal for LB&SCR suburban services to and from the West End of London whilst London Bridge trains continued to use the existing lines. The new platforms adjoined East Croydon but were treated by the LB&SCR as a separate station named New Croydon, with its own ticket office, and which ran exclusively LBSCR services. This device enabled the railway to avoid breaking an agreement with the SER, whilst offering cheaper fares than the SER from the original station.

The terminal platforms at New Croydon proved difficult to operate as there was limited space for locomotives to run round their trains. As a result, in 1863 the LB&SCR obtained Parliamentary authority to build a one-mile (1.6 km) extension to a new terminus at South Croydon, which provided the additional operating room.

In 1864, the LB&SCR obtained authorisation to construct a halfmile long branch line into the town centre near Katharine Street, where Central Croydon station was built. The line opened in 1868 but enjoyed little success and closed in 1871, only to reopen in 1886 under pressure from the Council before finally closing in 1890. It was demolished and replaced by Croydon Town Hall.

By the late 1880s the station was again congested due to the growth of traffic on the main lines, the expansion of the suburban network in South London and the new line from Croydon to Oxted. As a result the station was rebuilt and the tracks remodelled during 1894/5. At the same time the suburban lines were extended from South Croydon to Coulsdon, where they joined the new Quarry line. In 1897–98, East Croydon and New Croydon were merged into a single station with the three island platforms that remain. The two stations kept separate booking accounts until 1924.

The present station building opened on 19 August 1992. It consists of a large steel and glass frame suspended from a lightweight steel structure that straddles the track and platforms to a much greater extent than was possible with its Victorian predecessor.

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