PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE COULSDON AREA

BUSES - TRAINS - OTHER TRANSPORT

Here you will find details of bus routes; Rail routes, times of trains and details of the type of tickets available as well as Other Transport Issues such as Steam and Special Trains; Car Rallies and much more. A useful link which gives you traffic reports is http://www.frixo.com/

Train Stations = Coulsdon Sth. Coulsdon Tow - Woodmansterne._0.jpg

Coulsdon has three stations : Coulsdon South on the Redhill corridor of the Brighton Mainline. Smitham (fully accessible and has lifts to both platforms) and Woodmansterne both on the Tattenham Corner branch of South London Metro services. All three stations are in Zone 6 of the London Travelcard Scheme and are operated by Southern Railway www.southernrailway.com

COULSDON TOWN formaerly Smith Railway Station)

The Station new booking office was completed at the beginning of March 2010. It will have a new toilet and new cycle rack and has extended opening hours.

Useful contacts for travellers:

National Rail Enquiries - 08457 484950 - www.nationalrail.co.uk

London Buses Information - 020 7222 1234 - www.tfl.gov.uk/buses

TRANSPORT NEWS - NOVEMBER 2011

Transport Report

Trains:.

One change to services at Coulsdon Town the 18.18 London Bridge to Caterham and Tattenham Corner will swop portions and the Tattenham Corner portion will be increased to 4 coaches. At Coulsdon South from 13^th December the 07.25 will be 12 coaches as will be the 17.32 from London Bridge. There will be an extra train from London Bridge at 19.33 while the 19.03 will be retimed to 18.59 and will also stop at New Cross Gate.

First Capital Connect: Blackfriars station will be reopened on 5^th December with a new entrance on the south side of the river. The Underground station will reopen later in the month. However, the station will still remain a construction site and full access and lifts will not be ready until May 2012. At Farringdon station the new booking hall and exits will also open in December but will not be completely fitted out until May.

An additional train from Coulsdon South to Gatwick Airport and Brighton from the 12th December is the 06.47 Monday to Friday.

Buses:

I am pleased to report that Robin who drives the morning shift on the 404 has been short listed for “Bus Driver of the Year” again this year. No changes to buses in Coulsdon. However, the merger of 312 and 412 will not take place. Road works will affect all services until the end of the year. Information TfL have now launched “text a stop for the next bus” All stops should now have a plaque that enables you to text 87287 with the stop plate number and within a minute they will text you back with the times of the next buses. This cost 12p to receive, but some networks also charge to send to 87287 (you do not have to be at the stop if you know your stop number you can text before you leave home). In addition you can also check your local route and stop from the internet log on to http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/#/ and type in the stop number or the route number then select the direction and stop name from the map.

Christmas Services:

Christmas Day: There will be no trains or buses in Coulsdon on Christmas Day.

On Boxing Day Trains: There are no trains in Coulsdon. A limited Metro service operates from East Croydon and Sutton to Victoria, the Gatwick Express will run half hourly and there will be a limited half hourly semi-fast service calling at East Croydon and Gatwick Airport and stations to Brighton www.nationalrail.co.uk

Boxing Day Buses there will be a slightly reduced Sunday service starting between 8.30 & 9.00am on routes 60, 166, 405, 463 & 466 and N68 will run as normal after 23.30pm. National Express 025 will run an hourly service between Victoria, Gatwick and Brighton calling at Coulsdon South station www.nationalexpress.com

Rest of the week: on the 27^th to 31^st there will be a modified Saturday service on both buses and trains there will be a modified Sunday service on the 1^st January on buses & trains on 2^nd January a Sunday service on buses and a Saturday service on the trains.

Fares

This year the government is raising fares by RPI + 3% compared with RPI + 1% of the last government. This will mean the rise in January 2013 can go up by an average of 8%. This extra money will not go to the train companies or into investment but will be used to reduce the subsidy.

In London the daily all zone Travelcard will rise to £16 in the peak and £8.60 in the off-peak and other single zone fares will rise between 10p and 30p. The Oyster bus fare will rise to £1.40 and the cap will be set at £4.20 and the cash fare rises to £2.40.

TICKETS

As all three station are both part of the National Rail network and are also in London, there are two different ticket regimes in place.

National Rail : You can buy a single or return ticket to or from any other national rail station you can also buy a ticket to any London underground stations. However, you cannot buy a cheap day return to any rail or underground station in London However, a Travelcard is often better value to a station that is in the London zones (See below).

TfL Oystercard: This is an electronic smartcard and comes in two forms

1. The Season Ticket Version: This requires a photocard and is used in exactly the same way as a paper season ticket.

2. Pay as You Go Chargecard: This works in the same way as a prepay mobile phone.You buy an Oystercard which requires a £5.00 deposit and load the card with what payment you think you will need. This can be done at newsagents such as Pandora in Coulsdon, Underground stations and some mainline stations. When the card is getting low you top it up. This can be done at newsagents in Coulsdon, local stations in Coulsdon, Underground stations or online from TfL at www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster

How Does the Oystercard Work? The Oyster will automatically deduct the far from your card when you pit it on the yellow touch pad on the ticket barrier, station entrance / exit, tram stop or bus ticket machine. However, on railway journeys it automatically deducts the maximum fare until you 'touch out' then it reverts to the correct fare. So it is always importand to 'touch in and touch out'

Maximum Fare: The Oystercard will also cap the cost in any one day at the cost os a one day Bus Pass if you have only used buses and trams. If you have used a rail service at either a peak or off-peak Travelcard price for the zones you have travelled in when you hae used the Nataional Rail, Docklands Light Rail, the Overground or the Underground during the course of the day.

Difference between Paper Tickets and Oyster train tickets purchases at local stations.

The main difference are that Oyster fares ae often a few pence cheaper. However, it has two Monday to Friday peaks in the morning from 4.30am to 9.30am and in the evening from 16.00 to 19.00. If you travel between these times you will be charged the peak fare and the cap will be the Peak Travelcard peak. If you travel outside these times the cap will be the Off-peak Travelcard price.

Note:These times apply to when you touch in and NOT the train time.

Passengers from the Coulsdon Area: Have an easement on the 9.30am cheap day rule on the 9.23am and the 9.28 am from Coulsdon South to East Croydon and London. If you wish to catch these trains or travel after 9.30am and back between 16.30 pm and 19.00 pm it will well be better to buy an off-peak paper Travelcard as these is no evening peak restriction.

Senior Railcard and Oyster: If you have a Senior Railcard you can have this programmed on to your Oystercard at an underground station. This may be particularly useful if you live outside the GLA boundary and do not have a Freedom Pass.

National Rail Tickets: There are three types of national rail tickets:

1. 1. Advance : These are now only sold as single tickets and must be bought in advance and depending on how far in advance you purchase the ticket the greater the discount you will receive. Advance tickets can only be used on the train specified, although you may use any connecting service if it is not specified. As well as the ordinary advance ticket a number of train companies also have promotional advance ticket specific to their company only. This will require you to buy a separate ticket for any connecting services.

1.      2. Off-Peak :   These come in two forms: for the London area and short journeys there are only day singles or returns. For longer distance such as Manchester there are day singles or monthly returns (This used to called a Saver ticket), this ticket will also include ( free of charge) a tube journey between any two London mainline terminals. As general rule these tickets can only be used after 9.30 am Monday to Friday or at any time Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays.

      3. However, there are some exceptions.

all off-peak tickets can also be used from Coulsdon South on the 9.23am train. From Euston after 9.15am and there is no restriction at all from Marylebone. Some train companies also impose a restriction on off-peak tickets leaving London after 3.30pm until 7.00pm, but not Southern (please check each company).

Also if you have a long distance off-peak ticket such as Coulsdon South to Manchester this can be used on all trains from Coulsdon from the 5.30 am onwards so that you can get to Euston or Reading via Redhill in time to catch the train there at the earliest time after the restriction eg. 09.15am at Euston or 9.30am a Reading.
.

Also you can break your journey on the return; for example on a return journey from Manchester you could get off at Birmingham and resume your journey the same day or any other day during the month validity of the ticket

There is also a Super Off-peak ticket available on some routes, this cheaper but has more restricted use than ordinary off-peak tickets.

2.     4. Anytime Ticket : Singles or Returns; this is the most expensive ticket and is valid on any train at any time of day. You may break your journey in either direction, but you must complete the outward journey on the first day unless it is impossible, then you must complete the journey the following day leaving the station where you broke your journey the previous night before 12.noon on day two.

      5. Plus Bus : Over 250 towns and cities in Britain have added their bus services to train tickets. For example on a day trip to Brighton by asking for a Plusbus day return you can add the use of all the local buses for an extra £2.00 - £3.00. For more information www.plusbus.info

More info from National Rail : www.nationalrail.co.uk/simplefares

Travelcard is the London area ticket that can be used on Trains, Buses, Trams Docklands Light Rail (DLR) and the Underground in London zones 1 to 6 (a discount is also available on some River Thames boats)

Season Tickets: Can be purchased for two zones or any combination of consecutive zones.

One day Peak and Off-Peak Travelcards can be purchased for combinations of zones. From the Coulsdon South there is now only one day ticket available.

All zones Travelcard (1-6)

One Day Travelcards are valid on night services until 04.30 a.m. the next morning.

Child Fares :

Children under 5: Travel free on bus, tram, DLR and train

Children under 11: Travel free on bus and underground but not on trains

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COULSDON AREA BUSES

60 - 404 - 463 - 405 buses - 18-12-11.jpg

Coulsdon is in the Greater London Area and local bus services in Coulsdon and the surrounding area are operated by London Buses part of Transport for London (TfL). The Mayor for London also has responsibility for people travelling to and from London and TfL also operates cross boundary services into Surrey such as routes 166 & 405. These are operated as though they are London Buses and London fares apply including Travelcard and Bus Pass which are valid for the whole route as far as Redhill and Epsom.

The Brighton Road between Coulsdon and Purley is subject to 20 weeks of road works. Stoats New Road will be closed for 2 weeks during this time. Rout 466 will be divered via Coulsdon Town Centre. Route 404 will still serve Coulsdon Road between the Tudor Road and Byron Avenue.

The Coulsdon area : Has eight London bus routes these are made up of four trunk routes 60, 166, 405 and 466 all serving Croydon. Three local routes 404, 434 and 463 and one night route N68 which operates a 24-hour service in conjunction with route 60.

Route 60 : Old Coulsdon, Coulsdon, Purley, Brighton Road, Croydon, Mayday Hospital, Thornton Heath, Pollards Hill and Streatham Common. Operates from 04.45am until 1.00am

Route 166 : Epsom (daytime) Banstead, Woodmansterne, Chipstead Valley, Coulsdon, Purley, Brighton Road, and Croydon. Operates from 06.30am to Midnight

Route 405 : Redhill, Hooley, Coulsdon, Purley, Pampisford Road, and Croydon. Operates from 06.30am to 11.30pm

Route 466 : Caterham on the Hill, Old Coulsdon, Stoats Nest, Purley, Brighton Road, Croydon, Shirley Park, Addington Village. Operates from 06.00am to 1.00am

Route 404 : Caterham on the Hill, Caterham Drive, Old Coulsdon, Rutherwick Rise and Coulsdon. Operates from 07.00am to 7.00pm Monday to Saturday - It was pleasing to learn that Robin, who drives the morning shift on the bus, was nominated and short listed for the London Bus Driver of the year. - unfortunately he was not a winner on the night but am sure he will remain a winner with all his regular passenger.

Route 434 : Rickman Hill, Coulsdon, Woodcote Valley Road, Purley, Kenley, and Whyteleafe South Station. Operates from 7.00am to 8.00pm Monday to Saturday

Route 463 : Coulsdon South Station, Coulsdon, Clock House (the Mount), Wallington, Beddington Lane, Pollards Hill and Mitcham Eastfields. Operates from 06.30am to 11.50pm.

Route N68 : Old Coulsdon, Coulsdon, East Croydon Station, Upper Norwood, Elephant and Castle, Waterloo, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road. Operates from 11.30pm to 04.30am

More information tel. 020 7222 1234 www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl

Timetables : London Buses provide information on all stops. They do not provide individual Timetables they only provide the time of the first and last bus and service pattern. However, if you would like an individual timetable for a particular route these can be down loaded from the following web site :

www.londonbusroutes.net/routes.htm

Other Services : Surrey County Council

Route 866 : one journey each way Coulsdon to Banstead Beacon School operated by Surrey County Council. Tel 0870 608 2608 www.traveline.org.uk

National Express

Service 025 runs from Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton stopping on request at both Coulsdon South Station and Hooley. You can use these services by either booking in advance or paying the driver. You may also use these services as part of a longer distance National Express journey changing coaches at Victoria or Gatwick Airport. There is one additional journey each way on route 027 between Victoria and Chichester which also calls at Coulsdon South and Hooley. tel 08457 740740 www.nationalexpress.com

London Bus Fares; in the outer zones can be paid to the driver, but in the inner zone 1 a ticket must be purchased in advance. London Buses operates a flat fare system and the cost of a ticket is £2.20 per journey regardless of whether you travel one stop or the whole route including cross the boundary as far as Epsom and Redhill.

You can reduce this by either purchasing an Oystercard smartcard which you prepay in advance, this cost £5.00 deposit plus the amount you load on it. The cost of each bus journey is then reduced to £1.30 per journey if you make more than 4 journeys in a day. Oyster caps itself at the Buss Pass or Travelcard price for any subsequent journeys on bus or rail journey.

Freedom Pass : Coulsdon Residents over the age of 60 or with a permanent disability who live in the London Boroughs of Croydon or Sutton can obtain a Freedom pass provided by the London Councils. This can be obtained from the local Post Office. Freedom Pass allows travel on the Buses, Trams and Docklands Light Rail and some Overground Rail Services 24 hours a day It also allows use of the Nation Rail network in London zones 1-6. From 09.30 (at Smitham and Woodmansterne and from 09.28 at Coulsdon South) Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Nationwide : In addition this pass can be used on any local service bus throughout England subject to local conditions normally after 9.00 or 9.30 am. Freedom Pass cannot be used in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

For information on buses and other travel journeys outside London

You can contact the Traveline by phone 0871 200 22 33

or on the web www.traveline.org.uk

OTHER TRANSPORT ISSUES

TAXIS AND MINICABS

Taxis

As Coulsdon is in the GLA area Black cabs can be booked by phone or hailed in any street. - The nearest Black Cab Rank is at Purley Station

MiniCabs

Thee are also two MiniCab private hire companies in Coulsdon registered with Transport for London. They operate a range of minicabs and minibuses.

District Cars at Coulsdon South Station -

020 8668 6686

Liberty Cars - next to Waitrose near Smitham Station - they also operate a womon driver service. -

020 8660 6666 - 020 8668 0666 - book@liberty247.co.uk

COACH TOURS AND DAY TRIPS FROM COULSDON

Two coach companies operate day trips, tours, city breaks and holidays and pick up from Coulsdon

Epsom Coaches

Epsom Coaches – operate day trips, city breaks and holiday tours and pick up at Coulsdon. For holiday and city breaks where they are not picking up in Coulsdon, they will arrange a pick up from your home by mini-bus or taxi, A brochure can be viewed or obtained on line – www.epsomcoaches.com – telephone 0372731705

Mayday Coaches

Mayday Coaches – Day trips and tours picks up at Coulsdon South Station. A Brochure cam be viewed or obtained on line – www.maydaytravel.co.uk – telephone number 020 8680 5115

STEAM TRAINS AND SPECIAL TRAINS

During the course of the year there are a number of special trains including Steam trains that pass through Coulsdon

Known Dates for 2011 and beginning of 2012 of Steam Trains passing through Coulsdon South Station.

Orient Express - Loco Clan Line; Victoria to Guildford return to Victoria via Redhill; Coulsdon South appry roximately 15.15 pm

2012

Friday 20^th January

Cathedrals Express - Loco Tornado;Surrey Hills to Ely Coulsdon South approximately 09.20am & 22.50pm both northbound.

Note :

These trains times and routes can be altered or cancelled at short notice even on the day. Trains may also run up to 15 mins early or late. A useful web site to check these and other steam trains is 2011 www.uksteam.info/tours/trs11.htm

: and for 2012 www.uksteam.info/tours/trs12.htm

www.steamdreams.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Other information on Steam trains on National rail

THE A23 BRIGHTONS ROAD IS USED FOR A NUMBER OF OTHER CAR AND BIKE RALLIES. THESE INCLUDE

The Historic Commercial Vehicle Rally from Crystal Palace to Brighton will pass through Coulsdon (should use town centre) and Hooley from about 8.00 to 10.30am www.hcvs.co.uk/

The London and Surrey Mini Owners will also pass through Coulsdon (using the Bypass) on their way to Brighton from about 9.30am.

www.london-to-brighton.co.uk/faqs.htm/

Veteran London to Brighton Historic Car Rally (Old Crocks) from Hyde Park Palace to Brighton over 500 Veteran cars will pass through Coulsdon (should use the Town Centre) and Hooley from 8.00 am to 11.00 am - for more information use www.lbvcr.com/index.cfm

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION LONDON TO BRIGHTON CYCLE TOUR

The British Heart Foundation London to Brighton Cycle Tour. With up to 27,000 cyclists taking part each year this is the biggest cycling event of its kind in Europe. This does not use the A23 but B Roads. The nearest place to see the ride is at the end of Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon near the Midday Sun Public House. From 10.00a.m onwards. The Actual route is not published until a few days before the event. For more information call 020 7554 0300. www.bhf.org.uk/L2B

GREEN LIGHT FOR NEW STATION NAME AT SMITHAM

The new station building was completed in 2010 and the station was re-named Coulsdon Town in May 2011..

The history and the existing name of the station Smitham you have to look back at both local and railway history and you will discover it is not only uncommon to rename a station, but also a town after a station and there are many local examples of this.

After the Brighton line was opened in 1841 the Caterham Line was the first local line to be built in 1856 and one of the stations which we now know as Kenley was called Coulsdon as it was in the parish of Coulsdon. As it was some 4 miles from today’s Coulsdon this caused many problems for passengers and at the end of that year it was renamed Kenly after a large local house and now the whole local community is know by this name.

The second local line was the Tattenham Corner line which was completed as far as Kingswood in 1897 and Tadworth in 1900 and on to Tattenham Corner opening on Derby day 4^th June 1901. Although Tadworth remained the main terminus until and 1928 Tattenham Corner only being used in high summer and on race days.

Smitham was opened 1904 and was clearly named after the local village of Smitham Bottom which had its name changed by the Post Office in 1914 and I am sure if had not been for the First World War the station would have also changed its names to reflect the new name Coulsdon.

Other local changes have been Purley which was also part of the parish of Coulsdon at the time of opening in 1841 being first called Godstone Road then on building of the Caterham line renamed Caterham Junction in 1856 and finally changed to Purley in 1888 from which the present town takes its name.

Other local station renaming include Stoats Nest 1841 moving to Coulsdon North in 1899 then changing to Coulsdon West in 1923 and back again to Coulsdon North some 3 weeks later after public protest (it took a little less time to change things in those days). Coulsdon South was Coulsdon on opening in1899 and Coulsdon and Cane Hill was added in 1896, then it was changed to Coulsdon East in 1923 then finally to Coulsdon South three weeks later after public protest.

This brings us to today. It is fair to say that most local people and railway people know Smitham is in Coulsdon and tickets are interchangeable between Coulsdon South and Smitham. However, many visitors and railway employee outside the area are not aware of this and it is not infrequent for passengers at times of disruption to end up alighting and confused at Purley not knowing there is another station in the town.

It is the view of East Surrey Transport Committee that it is time to bring the station name into line with the name of the town. However, there are still some historic connections with the name Smitham such two local roads have this name the local junior school (although not on the same site) and the adults education centre use this name.