Norwood Junction railway station

Jolly-sailor station in 1845, showing the atmospheric railway pumping station, with its Gothic chimney vent, in the foreground.[6]

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

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

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

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

Following construction of lines to Crystal Palace the station closed on 1 June 1859 and was replaced by the current station located at the end of a short approach road off the south side of the A213 road. The original station building was used as a private house until the 1960s, when it was demolished.

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

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

Platform 2 serves the same track as Platform 1 but passengers are not able to join or alight as the doors open only on the Platform 1 side. This is due to the live rail being on the side nearest to Platform 2. Platform 2 also is used for platform alteration.

Platform 1,2 & 3 at Norwood Junction when the station was managed by Southern. (view from Platform 1)

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

Platforms 4 & 5 (the bridge in the background was replaced in 2015)

Platform 4 is mainly used for southbound trains terminating at Gatwick Airport. The platform serves both fast trains and stopping services, and is also mainly used by Thameslink.

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

Platform 6 looking south when station was managed by Southern.

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

Platform 7 is disused and the line is covered by vegetation. However, with the planned two-year blockade of Thameslink trains through Central London while London Bridge station was being reconstructed, Network Rail considered reinstating and electrifying this line as a 'dead-end'. The object was to terminate some additional services arriving via Crystal Palace which would otherwise have needed to go on to Beckenham Junction to terminate, thus obviating unnecessary occupation of the 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) of single bi-directional line east of Birkbeck Junction and also save a carriage set. To achieve the change the lead to the down spur at Bromley Junction would have been being removed to the up line and a facing crossover put into place west of it. To provide the necessary pathing northbound the trains would have used the same spur line, which would have become reversible to the resited point on the up line at Bromley Junction. Despite safety problems for the user-operated level crossing into the track maintenance depot on the former steam shed site (because of restricted sighting under Goat House bridge) having apparently been resolved, the changes have been postponed until the work at London Bridge is complete. This is mainly because it was judged that the cost did not justify the change, at least until a general renewal of the signal and control installation is undertaken.

The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[21] extending northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford and Dartford. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock. The new Thameslink timetable for Norwood Junction started 20 May 2018. "Norwood Junction gain[ed] an all-day-long Thameslink service to Bedford via Blackfriars and St Pancras, with two trains per hour to Epsom via Sutton" and timetables will continue being expanded and adjusted into 2019.[22][23]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The proposals for Norwood Junction station are unfunded, as are the wider proposals to upgrade the Brighton Main Line. Over the months and years ahead Network Rail will continue to make the case for investment in the Brighton Main Line railway 2020.