Clapham Junction railway station

Clapham Junction
Clapham Junction
Location	Battersea
Local authority	Wandsworth
Managed by	South West Trains
Owner	Network Rail
Station code(s)	CLJ
Number of platforms	16
National Rail annual entry and exit
2004–05	12.550 million
Other information
External links	Departures; Facilities;
	London transport portal

"Clapham Junction" redirects here. For other uses, see Clapham Junction (disambiguation)

Railways around Clapham Junction

Legend

Waterloo

Victoria

Vauxhall

Grosvenor Bridge

over River Thames

Linford curve

built for Eurostar

Stewarts Lane Junction

Battersea Park

limited service

Chatham Main Line &

South London line

Queenstown Road

by 1912 RCH map

changed after grouping

and end of freight service

Poupart's Junction

West London Extn Jcn

Latchmere Junction

for Waterloo

Latchmere Main Junction

Latchmere Southwest Jcn

West London Line

Ludgate Junction

Clapham Junction

Carriage sidings

Falcon Junction

Waterloo–Reading line

to Reading

Brighton Main Line

to Brighton

South West Main Line

to Weymouth

Clapham Junction railway station is in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located at St John's Hill in the south-west of Battersea, in an area now commonly known as Clapham Junction; a reflection of the influence the station has upon its locality. Several suburban lines funnel through Clapham Junction en route to two of London's three busiest termini, Waterloo and Victoria. By throughput Clapham Junction is claimed to be the busiest railway station in Britain, and even in Europe, though it is far less highly ranked by the standard measure of journeys originated at the station, as most passengers pass straight through. It is the busiest station in the UK by the number of interchanges.

The station

Services

All services to Waterloo, and many services to Victoria and the Croydon stations pass through the junction; these include South West Trains, Gatwick Express and Southern services. Services from Clapham Junction also head north along the West London Line, through West Brompton and Kensington (Olympia), on to Willesden Junction (London Overground services) and Watford Junction (Southern services). Services from Brighton to Manchester pass through on a scarce appearance heading up past Kensington (Olympia) (Cross Country).

The typical off-peak (1300hrs) service from the station is: (tph = trains per hour)

35 tph to London Waterloo
22 tph to London Victoria

1 tph to Alton
1 tph to Basingstoke
1 tph to Bognor Regis (via Horsham)
2 tph to Brighton
2 tph to Caterham (via Norbury)
2 tph to Chessington South
1 tph to Dorking (via Sutton & Epsom)
2 tph to Dorking (via Wimbledon)
2 tph to East Grinstead
1 tph to Epsom Downs (via Norbury)
2 tph to Epsom (via Hackbridge)
1 tph to Epsom (via Norbury)
2 tph to Guildford (via Cobham)
2 tph to Guildford (via Epsom)
2 tph to Hampton Court
1 tph to Haslemere
1 tph to Horsham (via Sutton & Epsom)
2 tph to Littlehampton (via Hove & Worthing)
2 tph to London Bridge (via Crystal Palace)
22 tph to London Victoria
35 tph to London Waterloo
2 tph to London Waterloo (via Hounslow & Richmond)
2 tph to London Waterloo (via Kingston & Richmond)
2 tph to London Waterloo (via Richmond & Hounslow)
2 tph to London Waterloo (via Richmond & Kingston)
1 tph to Ore
1 tph to Poole
1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour
1 tph to Portsmouth Harbour (via Horsham)
2 tph to Reading
2 tph to Shepperton
2 tph to Sutton (via Norbury)
1 tph to Watford Junction
2 tph to West Croydon (via Crystal Palace)
2 tph to Weybridge (via Hounslow & Staines)
1 tph to Weymouth
2 tph to Willesden Junction
2 tph to Windsor & Eton Riverside
2 tph to Woking
1 tph to Yeovil Junction
1 tph to Southampton Central (via Horsham)

119 tph in total (about 7.5 per platform). If each train spends under three minutes in a platform, each platform will be occupied for less than half of any given hour, meaning that the station is not quite at capacity.

Facilities

Electronic Information board on a Clapham Junction platform

The station has 16 active platforms, numbered 2 to 17, and arranged in two groups. Platform 1, the northernmost platform, is no longer used, having no rails; portable buildings have been sited at the north-east end, and a portable building and power or signalling equipment housings at the south-west end. If the planned East London Line extension gets to Clapham Junction, it is possible that platform 1 would be used for the purpose. Platform 2, for the West London Line, and 3 to 6, for the Windsor lines, form a northern group oriented in a west-south-westerly direction, whilst platforms 7 to 17, on the South-Western and Brighton main lines, form a southern group oriented in a south-westerly direction and are separated from the northern group by a fan of a dozen or more sidings running into railway sheds to the west of the station.

The main entrance is from St. John's Hill, into a subway some 15 ft (4.6 m) wide running transversely beneath the eastern end of the 17 platforms, and on to a northern exit, which has restricted opening hours. The subway becomes very crowded during the morning and evening rush hours: ticket barriers at the end are a particular pinch point.

A covered footbridge connects the platforms at their western end. In contrast with the width of the subway, parts of the footbridge are vast, but unfortunately the footbridge does not provide entry to or exit from the station. Network Rail announced in 2007 a package of improvements to access at Clapham Junction, including re-opening the Brighton Yard entrance on St Johns Hill and installing lifts to the platforms; the scheme is due for completion in 2009.^[2]

The station has limited pay-for-use toilet facilities; drinks and confectionery kiosks in the underpass, the overpass, and on some platforms; and a small shopping centre forming the St. John's Hill entrance.

Technology

In the recent past, in part because of the large number of platforms and trains, the station was confusing for those unfamiliar with it, who often found it difficult to establish from which platform a particular train would run. In 2003 a reasonably extensive system of electronic train information displays was installed at the entrance, in the subway and on platforms. In May 2004, the ticket machines were moved and reduced in number from six to four, only two of which take credit cards, and all of which are prone to frequent breakdown - this prompted a significant number of complaints from customers, leading to reinstallation of the two removed machines in winter 2004. There are seven staffed ticket kiosk windows, but purchasing tickets in the morning rush hour, and from time to time through the day, tends to involve a lengthy delay. In March 2005, work began to alter the layout of the travel centre and to install a set of eight new ticket machines; these were installed in April 2006. Only two of these machines accept cash payments; the excessive queueing times for these has also provoked complaints.

Busiest station claims

Clapham Junction has claimed to being the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom, and on 17 June 2005 changed its signage and claim, to be the busiest in Europe. Some 2,000 trains pass though it each day, the majority of which stop. Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is the world's busiest railway station in terms of passenger numbers, and sees far more trains than Clapham Junction.

The junction

The station is named Clapham Junction because it forms the junction of a number of major rail lines. The name is not shared by any actual rail junction in the locality of the station. The names of the nearby rail junctions are:

Falcon Jn (at the south end of the station, where the West London Line (WLL) joins the Brighton Slow Lines)
Ludgate GW Jn (at the eastern end of the Windsor Line platforms with the WLL and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway)
Latchmere Jns (where the three curves join the WLL)
West London Jn (the junction where Eurostar empty stock leaves the Windsor Lines at to get onto the WLL)
Pouparts Jn (where the low level and high level approaches to Victoria split)

History

Prior to the railway age,the area was rural and specialised in the growing of lavender used in the production of perfume; the hill to the east of the station is called Lavender Hill. The coach road from London to Guildford passed slightly to the south of the location of the station, passing a public house called The Falcon at a crossroads in the valley between St. John's and Lavender Hill.

The 19th century saw the rapid development of the railway system. The first railway through the area was the London and Southampton Railway, opened in 1838. That railway terminated at Nine Elms, near Vauxhall, about 2 km (1 mile) to the north east of the Clapham Junction site, and made no provision for a station at the site of the (by now renamed) Falcon pub.

A second railway line, from Nine Elms to Richmond, opened in 1846, a third serving Vauxhall in 1848, and a fourth in 1860. Railways running through the area now served the centre of London, at Victoria and Waterloo; the affluent west of London - places like West Brompton and Earls Court; Watford Junction and connections north; Croydon, Crystal Palace and other parts of South London; Guildford, Richmond and places west; Southampton and places south-west; and Brighton and places south. This being the case, the London and South Western Railway determined to build an interchange station, choosing the Falcon crossroads and the point at which the Windsor lines and South-western main line separated from the Brighton line.

The station was opened in 1863 as a joint venture of the London & South Western Railway, whose trains served the northern platforms, and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, whose trains served the southern platforms. Additional station buildings were erected in 1874 and 1876.

At the time of the construction of the station, Battersea was mostly associated with industry and poor working people. Clapham, a mile to the east of the site, was a longer-established and entirely more fashionable village and so the railway companies, which sought to attract a middle and upper class clientele, decided to adopt the grander of the two names.

The station precipitated the development of the area around it, with the population rising from 6,000 people in 1840 to 168,000 by 1910. In 1885 Arding and Hobbs Department Store was built, and after a 1909 fire was rebuilt to include the landmark cupola. Refurbishment rebranded the store with the parent company Allders name, but some of the original Arding and Hobbs signs were retained. Allders went into liquidation at the start of 2005 and Arding and Hobbs is now part of the Debenhams chain. The cupola is illuminated at night.

On 11 November 1974 the owner of the "Pram Shop" at the station was found stabbed to death. The crime remains unsolved.

In 2005, Wandsworth Council deputy Labour group leader, Councillor Tony Belton, suggested that the station be renamed 'Battersea Junction', as the station is actually in Battersea, and quite a distance from Clapham[1].

Clapham rail disaster

Clapham Junction — in fact, a point just slightly south-west of the station — was the scene of a railway accident involving two collisions between three commuter trains on the morning of 12 December 1988. Thirty-five people died and more than 100 were injured. The accident was caused by a signal relay wiring fault as a result of poor workmanship. A signal was displaying an incorrect aspect. A driver noticed this error and stopped his train to report it, and the train behind ran through the faulty signal and collided with the rear of the stationary train. A third empty train then collided with the wreckage.

References

^ "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
^ Route Plans 2007 - Route 3 - South West Mainline published by Network Rail, 2007. See page 20.

External links

Mirror of the Unofficial CJ Guide (original site seems to have been removed)
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.
BBC News report on the 1988 train collisions

Preceding station		Following station
London Waterloo	South West Trains South Western Main Line West of England Main Line	Woking
London Waterloo	South West Trains Waterloo to Basingstoke Alton Line	Surbiton
Vauxhall	South West Trains Suburban services	Earlsfield Main Line
Queenstown Road (Battersea)	South West Trains Suburban services	Wandsworth Town Reading and Windsor Lines
Battersea Park	Southern South London Line (Outer)	Wandsworth Common
West Brompton	Southern West London Line	Wandsworth Common
London Overground
Template:LOG stations toward Template:LOG stations	Template:LOG lines	Terminus

[infobox_stats_ref_rail-1] "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.

[Improvements-2] Route Plans 2007 - Route 3 - South West Mainline published by Network Rail, 2007. See page 20.

[1]

[2]