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Redhill railway station serves
the town of Redhill, Surrey, England. The station is a major
interchange point on the Brighton Main Line, 22 miles 40 chains
(36.2 km) measured from London Charing Cross. It is managed by
Southern, and is also served by Thameslink and GWR.
The local topography determined that it was cheaper to build and
operate a railway line between London and Brighton which
by-passed the parliamentary borough and long-established market
town of Reigate and instead passed through the nearby Redstone
or Red Hill gap in the Reigate Foreign (countryside) parish.
According to the Acts of Parliament establishing railways
between London and Brighton, and London and Dover, the line was
to be shared between Croydon and Red Hill after which these two
would deviate. The London and Brighton Railway (L&BR)
constructed the new line during 1840 and 1841, with the South
Eastern Railway (SER) contributing half of the construction cost
and taking ownership of the section between Croydon and Red
Hill. (The SER had however been running services over the line
since 1842.) The inevitable and continuing conflict between the
two railway companies over the use of this joint line gave rise
to the construction of four railway stations at the site of what
was then a hamlet on the eastern side of Reigate.
The Brighton Main Line and the line from Redhill to Reigate were
both electrified under the Southern Railway on 1 January 1933.
The Redhill to Tonbridge Line was electrified under British Rail
in 1993.
Redhill station is at the junction of the Brighton Main Line,
which runs north to London and south to Gatwick Airport and
Brighton, with the ex-SER North Downs Line, which runs west to
Guildford and Reading, and the Redhill to Tonbridge Line, to the
east.
The station has four passenger platforms and a parcels bay
(which is now out of use). From west to east: platform 0 is the
most recently built (which accounts for its unusual numbering)
and serves destinations including Bedford, Reading, London
Victoria and Reigate; platforms 1 and 2 are an island; there are
two through lines between platforms 2 and 3; platform 3 and the
old parcels dock are on the eastern side with a secondary
entrance/exit. All passenger platforms are of 12 car length, and
all are subdivided into 'a' (north end) and 'b' (south end).
Platform 1 is a bay platform with no northbound access;
otherwise all platforms have access to all routes. There is no
access from either through line to or from the North Downs Line
- all traffic from this direction must pass through a platform.
Platforms are linked by a subway, and by an out-of use
parcels/staff bridge. There are lifts from the platforms to the
subway and a level entrance from the Platform 3 exit, with a
further lift between the subway and the main entrance, which is
at street level. The main entrance faces the town centre, and is
opposite Redhill bus station.
The ticket office is staffed and also has ticket machines, and
there are ticket barriers. There is a coffee shop in the ticket
hall, and a takeaway-only coffee shop on platforms 1 and 2.
Services at Redhill are operated by Southern, Thameslink and
Great Western Railway.
On 11 January 2016, payment using Oyster and contactless payment
cards was introduced at Redhill, as part of the Oyster extension
from Merstham to Gatwick Airport. The station is outside of the
London Fare Zone area, and special fares apply.
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