Motspur Park railway station

Motspur Park railway station is a suburban station in the London Borough of Merton in south London. The station is served by South Western Railway, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is 9 miles 57 chains (15.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo.

Motspur Park National Rail
Motspur Park is located in Greater London
Motspur Park
Motspur Park
Location of Motspur Park in Greater London
LocationMotspur Park
Local authorityLondon Borough of Merton
Managed bySouth Western Railway
Station code(s)MOT
DfT categoryC2
Number of platforms2
Fare zone4
National Rail annual entry and exit
2018–19Increase 1.112 million[1]
– interchange Increase 13,821[1]
2019–20Decrease 1.061 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 9,972[1]
2020–21Decrease 0.270 million[1]
– interchange Decrease 2,677[1]
2021–22Increase 0.629 million[1]
– interchange Increase 6,087[1]
2022–23Increase 0.745 million[1]
– interchange Increase 6,835[1]
Key dates
12 July 1925Opened
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°23′45″N 0°14′23″W / 51.3958°N 0.2397°W / 51.3958; -0.2397
London transport portal

Southbound destinations are Chessington South, Dorking and Guildford.

The station stands atop a railway embankment off a service road behind the parade of shops on West Barnes Lane. The shops and surrounding streets on both sides of the line are known as Motspur Park. There is also footpath access from Claremont Avenue on the western side.

The station is a single island platform reached by footbridge from either side of the track. The station retained its original Southern Railway buildings in the centre of the platform until August 2023 when they were demolished for the Network Rail Wessex Access for All scheme.

History

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The railway itself was constructed through the locality in 1859 but Motspur Park station was not added until 1925.

On 6 November 1947, there was a train crash at Motspur Park junction, 766 yards (700 m) south of the station, which killed four and injured 12 people. In foggy conditions, a train was incorrectly authorized by a fog signalman to pass a danger signal, and collided with another train that was crossing the line in front of it.[2][3]

A small newspaper kiosk once stood on the West Barnes Lane side of the approach road, Station Road, opposite the Earl Beatty public house, but this was demolished in the 1970s and has been replaced by a prefabricated travel agency office that later became a minicab office.

A signal box once stood at the western trackside approximately 50 yards (46 m) from the southern end of the platform but this was also demolished (1992) when the level crossing changed to CCTV type controlled from Wimbledon Area Signalling Centre. The earlier manually operated gates were operated by a wheel turned by the signalman from within the box.

 
This 1912 Railway Clearing House map shows the lines around Motspur Park railway station, but not the actual station, which was only opened in 1925.

Under Transport for London's plans for Crossrail 2, Motspur Park was originally chosen as a hub station to serve Malden Manor, Tolworth and Chessington North on the Chessington Branch Line as well as Worcester Park, Stoneleigh and Ewell West on the Mole Valley Line. Crossrail trains were not planned to stop at those stations so as to provide fast suburban links to a wide variety of railway stations including Victoria and Kings Cross St Pancras.[4] In October 2015, TfL announced a set of local consultations would take place and their amended proposal provides that Crossrail 2 trains will now stop at all stations on the routes to the south and west of Wimbledon.[5] Construction of the line is currently on hold due to a lack of available funding.[6]

Services

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All services at Motspur Park are operated by South Western Railway.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:[7]

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Raynes Park   South Western Railway
  Worcester Park
  South Western Railway
  Malden Manor

Connections

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London Buses route K5 serves the station.

Future

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In July 2023, work started to install lifts enabling step-free access to the station, from both entrances. They are planned to open in early 2024.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  2. ^ Ministry of Transport; Lt Col G.R.S. Wilson (1948). Report on the Collision at Motspur Park Junction (PDF). HMSO.
  3. ^ Glover, John (2001). Southern Electric. Hersham: Ian Allan. p. 136. ISBN 0-7110-2807-9.
  4. ^ "Image: 1368593468_crossrail2reg.jpg, (640 × 453 px)". theconstructionindex.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Crossrail 2 Factsheet: Services at New Malden, Motspur Park and Raynes Park" (PDF). tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Crossrail 2 Funding Update: November 2020". Crossrail 2. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  7. ^ Table 152 National Rail timetable, December 2023
  8. ^ Wessex Access for All Scheme at Motspur Park station
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