Raynes Park railway station is in the London Borough of Merton in South London. 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 predominately 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 Nine Elms in Battersea to Woking. The Main line runs approximately east-west with the through lines (fast lines) through the middle with no platforms.

Raynes Park station is the junction station where the lines to Epsom (and then onto Dorking or Guildford) and Chessington South branch off from the mainline to Woking and beyond.

When originally built the route to Epsom joined with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) at Epsom for the double track line from Ashtead to Leatherhead. From where the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) headed to Effingham Junction and on to Guildford. (The LBSCR headed to Dorking North and then Horsham).

The Chessington Branch splits from the Epsom line at Motspur Park (the first station after Raynes Park). The Chessington Branch was a very late arrival (1920s/30s) which never reached through to its planned destination near Effingham Junction.

One distinct feature of the station is the long footbridge over the 4 tracks of the Main line which is set at an angle because of the offset of the platforms. This stands out as the mainline 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 mainline.

There was originally a LSWR mechanical signal box on the far south opposite platforms 1 and 2, but 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 though. The goods yard is no longer in use and is now occupied by local manufacturing firms.

Platforms and infrastructure

The station has four platforms on two islands.

• Platform 1 is a northbound platform for services to London Waterloo that have originated from Guildford (via Epsom), Dorking (via Epsom) and Chessington South.
• Platform 2 is a northbound platform for services to London Waterloo that have originated from Waterloo (via Strawberry Hill on the Kingston loop), Hampton Court and Shepperton.
• Platform 3 is a southbound platform for trains to Waterloo (via Strawberry Hill on the Kingston loop), Hampton Court and Shepperton.
• Platform 4 is a southbound platform for trains to Guildford (via Epsom). Dorking (via Epsom) and Chessington South.

Because of the design of the station, non-stop trains on the centre two fast tracks do not have platforms so are not able to stop to let passengers off.

The Epsom to London line burrows under the four mainline tracks and then curves up and right (heading east) to platform 1 which is one side of an island platform. The opposite side is platform 2 that takes other local stopping services onto Waterloo (on the Up Slow line). Beyond the platforms the Epsom line makes a trailing junction onto the Up Slow line to Waterloo. Directly opposite platform 2 the Down Epsom line branches off the Down Slow mainline. Platforms 2 and 3 form a V shape. On the left side of the V shaped is platform 4 that takes the Down Epsom line, which then curves away to the south before dropping sharply to parallel the Up Epsom line after the station. The Down Local (Slow) takes the straight right hand side of the V that comprises platform 3.

Services

Services from the station to destinations served are very 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 via Wimbledon
• 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 via Epsom
• 2 trains per hour to Chessington South

The station also benefits from a good late evening and early morning services to London Waterloo. 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. Journey time to and from London Waterloo is approximately 21 minutes.

New ticket gates

Raynes Park railway station is one of the stations selected by South West Trains to have new automatic ticket gates installed at all of the exits to the station. This is expected to be complete by December 2008 and will facilitate future usage of the Oyster "Pay as you go" system.

Death in 2007

At around 6.00am on the 5 March 2007, Worcester Park resident Daniel Connell was found dead on Platform 4. His body was discovered by a passenger who alerted a newspaper seller, who then called the police. According to the police, Mr Connell was in accident and emergency at Kingston Hospital on Sunday night, but had discharged himself and made his way to the station. Rumours that the man had been stabbed were denied by police.

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