Clapham Junction railway station
Clapham Junction | |
---|---|
Location | Battersea |
Local authority | London Borough of Wandsworth |
Managed by | Network Rail |
Station code | CLJ |
DfT category | B |
Number of platforms | 17 |
Accessible | Yes[1] |
Fare zone | 2 |
Cycle parking | Yes – external |
Toilet facilities | Yes – behind gateline |
National Rail annual entry and exit | |
2018–19 | 29.520 million[2] |
– interchange | 29.324 million[2] |
2019–20 | 28.892 million[2] |
– interchange | 26.903 million[2] |
2020–21 | 8.371 million[2] |
– interchange | 6.824 million[2] |
2021–22 | 17.397 million[2] |
– interchange | 14.794 million[2] |
2022–23 | 20.790 million[2] |
– interchange | 19.091 million[2] |
Key dates | |
2 March 1863 | Opened |
Other information | |
External links | |
WGS84 | 51°27′53″N 0°10′14″W / 51.4646°N 0.1705°W |
London transport portal |
Clapham Junction railway station (/ˈklæpəm ˈdʒʌŋkʃən/[3]) is a major railway station and transport hub near St John's Hill in southwest Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is 2 miles 57 chains (2.71 mi; 4.37 km) from London Victoria and 3 miles 74 chains (3.93 mi; 6.32 km) from London Waterloo;[4] it is on both the South West Main Line and Brighton Main Line as well as numerous other routes and branch lines passing through or diverging from the main lines at this station. Despite its name, Clapham Junction is not located in Clapham, a district situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southeast and is instead sited in Battersea.
Routes from London's south and southwest termini, Victoria and Waterloo, funnel through the station, making it the busiest in Europe
History
On 21 May 1838 the London and Southampton Railway became the
Clapham Junction opened on 2 March 1863, a joint venture of the L&SWR, the
The railway companies, to attract a middle- and upper-class clientele, seized the nonindustrial
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Legend
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Discontinued proposals
A £39.5 million planning application from Metro Shopping Fund was withdrawn before governmental planning committee consideration on 20 May 2009.[n 1]
A '
Incidents and accidents
Clapham rail disaster
On the morning of 12 December 1988, two collisions involving three commuter trains occurred slightly south-west of the station due to a defective signal. 35 people died and 484 were injured.[13][14]
Track bombing
On the morning of 16 December 1991, a bomb ripped through tracks on one of the station's platforms, causing major disruption to the rail network. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) claimed responsibility.[15]
The Junction
The station is named Clapham Junction because it is at the junction of several rail lines. The name is not given to any rail junction near the station which, without end-on intercompany junctions, are:
- Falcon Junction at the south end of the station, where the West London Line (WLL) joins the Brighton Slow Lines[16]
- Ludgate Junction at the eastern end of the Windsor Line platforms to the WLL[17]
- Latchmere SW Junction connecting the WLL to the Windsor lines at Ludgate Junction.[16]
- Latchmere Main Junction connecting the WLL to the Brighton Line at Falcon Junction.[16]
- West London Extension Junction and Junction for Waterloo, relaid for Eurostar empty-stock moves from the Windsor Lines to the WLL.[16]
- Pouparts Junction where the low-level and high-level approaches to Victoria split.[18]
The station today
This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2015) |
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Each day more than 2,000 trains, over half of them stopping, pass through the station, more than through any other station in Europe.[19] At peak times up to 200 trains per hour pass through of which 122 stop. It is not the busiest station by number of passengers, most of whom (about 430,000 on a weekday, of which 135,000 are at rush hours) pass through. Interchanges make some 40% of the activity and on that basis too it is the busiest station in the UK.[20]
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 John's Hill via a small indoor shopping centre into a subway some 15 feet (4.6 m) wide, that connects to the eastern ends of all platforms.
The north entrance, which has restricted opening hours, leads from the
The south-west entrance, also known as the Brighton Yard entrance, as the buildings still bear signage for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, has a more traditional appearance, with a Victorian station building set at the back of a large forecourt. This entrance leads to a very wide covered footbridge, which joins the western ends of all platforms. This entrance includes cycle parking and a taxi rank. It was re-opened in May 2011 as part of a wider programme of access improvements that included installing lifts to the platforms.[23]
There are public and disabled toilets at the south-west entrance. There are refreshment kiosks in the subway, on the footbridge and on some platforms; and a small shopping centre, including a small branch of Sainsbury's supermarket, in the south-east entrance.
On 9 December 2012 a new platform for the
Overcrowding is most frequent in the often convenient but narrow cross-platform subway. Using this rather than the wide, elegant flying concourse for interchange, a visitors' eyes assessment of fabric and environment listed Clapham Junction in the most needy 10% of Department for Transport category B stations.
In an attempt to reduce overcrowding, a staircase to platforms 13 and 14 was replaced with a new wider staircase in April 2023.[26]
Platforms
The station has seventeen platforms, numbered 1 to 17.[27] In general, platforms 1 and 2 are used by London Overground trains, platforms 3–11 by South Western Railway trains, and platforms 12–17 by Southern trains. Non-stop Gatwick Express trains pass through platforms 12 and 13.
- Platforms 1 and 2 are northeast-facing bay platforms connected to Dalston Junction via Peckham. Usually, platform 1 is served by trains on the West London line, while platform 2 is used by services on the South London line, although this usage can be reversed.
- Platforms 3 and 4 are through platforms on the Waterloo–Reading line towards London Waterloo.
- Platforms 5 and 6 are through platforms on the Reading.
- Platform 7 is a through platform located at a siding off the South West Main Line fast line towards London Waterloo, used by stopping trains.
- Platform 8 is a through platform on the South West Main Line fast line towards London Waterloo, used by non-stop trains passing through this station.
- Platform 9 is a through platform on the Woking.
- Platform 10 is a through platform on the South West Main Line slow line towards London Waterloo.
- Platform 11 is a through platform on the Woking.
- Platform 12 is a through platform on the Brighton Main Line fast line towards London Victoria.
- Platform 13 is a through platform on the Brighton Main Line fast line towards East Croydon.
- Platform 14 is a through platform on the Brighton Main Line slow line towards London Victoria.
- Platform 15 is a through platform on the Brighton Main Line slow line towards East Croydon.
- Platforms 16 and 17 are platforms connecting the East Croydon). Platform 17 can also be used by some terminating London Overgroundservices as well.
Sidings leading into railway sheds at the west of the station are located between platforms 6 and 7.
Because the platform gap is too wide at platform 8, it must not be used for stopping trains unless in an emergency.[28]
Services
All South Western Railway services from Waterloo pass through the station, as do Southern and Gatwick Express trains from Victoria. The West London line and South London line services of London Overground have Clapham Junction as one of the termini.
The typical off-peak service of 118 trains an hour comprises:
South Western Railway:
- 35 tph to London Waterloo
- 1 tph to Alton
- 1 tph to Basingstoke(slow)
- 1 tph to Exeter St Davids via Salisbury
- 1 tph to Haslemere
- 1 tph to Portsmouth and Southsea via Haslemere
- 1 tph to Salisbury (roughly 1tp2h extended to Yeovil Pen Mill)
- 1 tph to Weymouth
- 2 tph to Chessington South
- 2 tph to Dorking via Wimbledon
- 2 tph to Guildford via Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon
- 2 tph to Guildford via Epsom
- 2 tph to Hampton Court via Surbiton
- 2 tph to Wimbledon
- 2 tph to Woking (slow)
- 2 tph to London Waterloo by the Kingston Loopvia Wimbledon, Kingston and Richmond
- 2 tph to London Waterloo by the Hounslow Loop via Brentford, Hounslow and Richmond
- 2 tph to London Waterloo by the Hounslow Loop via Richmond, Hounslow and Brentford
- 2 tph to London Waterloo by the Kingston Loop via Richmond, Kingston and Wimbledon
- 2 tph to Reading via Wokingham
- 2 tph to Weybridge via Brentford, Hounslow and Staines
- 2 tph to Windsor & Eton Riverside
Southern:
- 18 tph to London Victoria
- 1 tph to Bognor Regis and Portsmouth & Southsea dividing at Horsham
- 1 tph to Bognor Regis and Southampton Central, dividing at Horsham
- 2 tph to Littlehampton
- 2 tph to East Grinstead via Oxted
- 2 tph to Eastbourne, with 1 continuing to Ore
- 2 tph to Reigate
- 2 tph to
- 2 tph to Epsom Downs
- 2 tph to London Bridge via Crystal Palace
- 2 tph to West Croydon
- 1 tph to East Croydon via Norbury
- 1 tph to Kensington Olympia
London Overground:
- 4 tph to Dalston Junctionvia Canada Water
- 4 tph to Stratford via Highbury & Islington
During peak hours on weekdays express services on the South West Main Line and outer suburban services to Alton and Basingstoke typically do not stop at the station.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
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London Waterloo
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West of England Main Line
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Wimbledon, Woking or Basingstoke .
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Alton Line
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Wimbledon or Surbiton
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Vauxhall | New Guildford Line
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Earlsfield. | ||
Vauxhall
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Waterloo to Reading
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Richmond | ||
Vauxhall | Waterloo to Reading
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Putney | ||
Queenstown Road
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Kingston Loop via Richmond
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Wandsworth Town. | ||
London Victoria
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Oxted Line
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East Croydon | ||
London Victoria
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Southern
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Balham
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Balham |
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Preceding station | London Overground | Following station | ||
Terminus | West London line | Imperial Wharf towards Willesden Junction or Stratford
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Wandsworth Road towards Dalston Junction
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South London line | Terminus | ||
Proposed Future Development | ||||
Preceding station | Crossrail | Following station | ||
Balham
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Crossrail 2 | King's Road Chelsea towards New Southgate or Broxbourne
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Historical railways | ||||
Terminus | West London Line
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Battersea |
Future proposals
In the 2010s, a Clapham Junction station was proposed as part of the Crossrail 2 project. A large underground station dug underneath the existing station was proposed to serve Crossrail 2 service.[29] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was indefinitely postponed in 2020, although the route has been safeguarded.[30]
The Northern line extension to Battersea Power Station was criticised for not extending to Clapham Junction. During the public inquiry into the extension in 2014, it was noted that although an extension to Clapham would be desirable, it was unnecessary to meet the needs of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea regeneration area.[31] Additionally, it was noted that a further extension could overwhelm the extension, due to the high demand.[32] However, provision has been made for a future extension of the line to the station, with a reserved course underneath Battersea Park.[33][34][35]
Government and Network Rail funding for[clarification needed] in the early 2010s of £50 million of improvements was granted.[36] This comprised an upgrade to the main interchange: new entrances and more retail.[37]
In a Network Rail study in 2015, it was proposed that platform 0 could reopen for 8-car operations of the West London Line.[38]
Connections
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ The 2009 Metro Shopping company plan included a new entrance on St John's Hill, the straightening and extension of platforms 15 to 17, more ticketing facilities, step-free access to all platforms by 2011, a new step-free entrance on Grant Road, and a new 'high street' from St John's Hill to Falcon Road with retail space and arthouse cinema. Profitable immediate funding was planned via radical height 42-storey residential buildings above the station.
References
- ^ National Rail: Clapham Junction Accessed 7 August 2011
- ^ Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
- ^ "Clapham Junction - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes". www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-9549866-4-3.
- ^ Great British Railway Journeys (Series 4, Episode 7): "Woking to Clapham Junction" BBC Two, 15 January 2013
- ^ Office of Rail Regulation, Station Usage Estimates 2011–12
- ^ "Estimates of Station Usage 2017-18" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ Sherwood, Tim (1994). Change at Clapham Junction. London: Wandsworth Borough Council. p. 12.
- ISBN 0-85361-174-2
- ^ Year's Art, published 1922, London, p. 500
- ^ Directory of British Architects, 1834–1914: Vol. 2 (L-Z) A. Brodie (ed), 2001, Continuum, London, p.12
- ^ "Heathrow Airtrack Waterloo rail link shelved by BAA". BBC News London. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ "1988: 35 dead in Clapham rail collision". BBC On This Day. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 1988. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-10-108202-0. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ^ O'Mara, Richard (17 December 1991). "British workers, shoppers brave IRA bomb wave with dogged determination". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7110-2026-9.
- ^ Lee, Charles E. (October 1956). "The West End of London Railway" (PDF). The Railway Magazine. p. 650. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ISBN 0-902837-26-5.
- ^ "Great British Railway Journeys (Series 4, Episode 7): Woking to Clapham Junction" BBC2, UK TV Channel, 15/01/13
- ^ Delta Rail, 2008–09 station usage report Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Office of the Rail Regulation website
- ^ "Winstanley Estate MUGA - Thomas Baines Road Grant Road Clapham Junction South London SW11 2HF : sports facility book online". Openplay.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "Winstanley&York Road estates". Cjag.org. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ Route Plans 2007 – Route 3 – South West Main line Archived 29 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine published by Network Rail, 2007 – See page 20
- ^ "British Transport Police, London South Area". Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ Majumdar, Debabani (10 December 2012). "Outer London rail orbital opens". BBC News. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ Smith, Roger (11 April 2023). "New, wider staircase at Clapham Junction station improves capacity". RailAdvent. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^ "Detailled London transport map (track, depot, ...)". cartometro.com. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ Kent Sussex Wessex Sectional Appendix June 2021
- ^ "Clapham Junction". Crossrail 2. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Topham, Gwyn. "Crossrail 2 plans shelved as part of £1.8bn TfL funding deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Dixon, J S (19 June 2014). "Report to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government - Transport and Works Act 1992 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and Acquisition of Land Act 1981 - London Underground (Northern Line Extension) Order 201[ ]" (PDF). HM Government. pp. 186–187. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Lydall, Ross (21 May 2021). "First extension to London Underground this century to open in Sept". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
Engineers have previously said that extending the Northern line to Clapham Junction could have overwhelmed the new route due.
- ^ Henderson, Jamie (23 June 2013). "Clapham Junction next for Northern Line says London Assembly member". Wandsworth Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
A path running beneath Battersea Park has already been reserved for such a move
- ^ "Northern line extension Factsheet 8: Previous consultation on the Northern line extension (NLE) and our response to issues raised" (PDF). Transport for London. 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
Consultation responses raised some interest in the possibility of the Northern line being extended beyond Battersea as far as Clapham Junction. The proposals allow for the potential for a future extension beyond Battersea.
- ^ Johnson, Boris; Darren, Johnson (8 October 2012). "Extension of Northern Line to Clapham Junction". Mayor's Question Time. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
There are no current plans to extend further to Clapham Junction; however it is a requirement that the extension be designed so that a further extension would be possible in the future.
- ^ "£50m revamp for 'worst stations'". BBC News. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- ^ Chris Green & Sir Peter Hall, Better Rail Stations Archived 22 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine, November 2009
- ^ "South East Route: Sussex Area Route Study" (PDF). cdn.networkrail.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "Clapham Junction Station – Bus Station 1". Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "Clapham Junction Station". Transport for London. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
External links
- Network Rail Details
- Short History of Clapham Junction prepared by Wandsworth Council, and from which much of the information in the history section of this entry is sourced
- 1988: 35 dead in Clapham rail collision BBC News report on the 1988 train collisions
- Local news website
- Yes, Clapham Junction is that bad. The sun shone, but the roof still leaks, Zoe Williams, The Guardian 18 November 2009
- Winchester, Clarence, ed. (4 October 1935), "Clapham Junction", Railway Wonders of the World, pp. 1129–1132, description of the station in the 1930s