DfT category F2 2011–12 0.157 million Opened 7 July 1929 | Station code SMO Fare zone 4 2012–13 0.158 million Number of platforms 2 | |
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Address London SW20 9JT, United Kingdom Similar | ||
South Merton railway station serves the southern parts of the London Borough of Merton in South London. The station is served by Thameslink trains on the Sutton Loop Line. It is in Travelcard Zone 4.
Contents
History
Parliamentary approval for a line from Wimbledon to Sutton had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) in 1910 but work had been delayed by World War I. From the W&SR's inception, the District Railway (DR) was a shareholder of the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built. In the 1920s, the London Electric Railway (LER, precursor of London Underground) planned, through its ownership of the DR, to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, now the Northern line) to Sutton. The SR objected and an agreement was reached that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route. The SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. The station opened as the temporary terminus of the line when the first section opened from Wimbledon on 7 July 1929. The remainder of the line to Sutton opened on 5 January 1930.
Services
The typical off-peak service from the station is 2 trains per hour to Luton (clockwise around the loop) and 2 trains per hour to Sutton (anticlockwise). Services to Sutton then continue on to St Albans via Mitcham Junction.
In peak times services to Luton via Wimbledon are extended to Bedford. There are also 2tph operated by Southern. In the morning peak Southern services operate anticlockwise around the loop to London Bridge via Sutton and Mitcham Junction and in the evening peak services run clockwise to Wimbledon then continuing on to London Bridge via Tooting.
Off-peak Thameslink services are usually operated by 4 carriage Class 319 units while peak time Thameslink services are usually operated by 8 carriage Class 319 units. Southern services are mainly all operated by 8 carriage Class 455 units.
Connections
London Bus routes 164 and 413 serve the station.
The station is also about an 800m walk away from Morden Underground Station which is served by the Northern line.