Oxted line

Oxted line
A Southern Class 377 unit crossing Riddlesdown Viaduct with a service to East Grinstead
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Greater London, Surrey, West Sussex, Kent, East Sussex
Termini	South Croydon East Grinstead / Uckfield
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Southern, Thameslink
Rolling stock	Class 171, Class 377, Class 700
History
Opened	1868-1888
Technical
Line length	42 mi 79 ch (69.2 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail (South Croydon–East Grinstead) None (Hurst Green Junction–Uckfield)
Route map Show static map Show zoomable map Legend South Croydon Brighton Main Line Brighton Main Line Woodside and South Croydon Railway Selsdon Sanderstead Southern Hts Lt Rly to Orpington Authorised line not built Purley Downs Golf Club Halt Riddlesdown 837 yd 765 m Riddlesdown Tunnel Riddlesdown Viaduct Upper Warlingham Woldingham Viaduct Woldingham Oxted Tunnel 2266 yd 2072 m M25 Oxted Oxted Viaduct Limpsfield Tunnel 565 yd 517 m Hurst Green Hurst Green Junction Monks Lane Halt ( 1907− 1939 ) Crowhurst Spur (closed 1965) Edenbridge Tunnel 319 yd 292 m Redhill–Tonbridge line to Redhill Redhill–Tonbridge line to Tonbridge Edenbridge Town Lingfield Hever Mark Beech Tunnel 1341 yd 1226 m Dormans Cowden 2nd Ashurst Ashurst Junction East Grinstead High Level│Low Level LL 1st to Three Bridges Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells (Spa Valley Railway) National Rail Bluebell Railway Groombridge Junction East Grinstead (Bluebell Railway) Birchden Junction Eridge to Sheffield Park Redgate Mill Junction Cuckoo Line to Eastbourne Crowborough Buxted Uckfield Uckfield ( original site ) Wealden Line Show line diagram

The Oxted line is a railway line in southern England. It runs from the Brighton Main Line at South Croydon in Greater London to Hurst Green Junction in Surrey, where its two branches diverge. The western branch continues via Lingfield to East Grinstead in West Sussex, whereas the eastern branch runs via Edenbridge in Kent to Uckfield in East Sussex. The line is named after the town of Oxted in Surrey and also serves parts of the London Borough of Croydon. The 18-mile-26-chain (29.5 km) South Croydon–East Grinstead section is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system and is double track throughout. The unelectrified Hurst Green Junction–Uckfield section is 24 mi 53 ch (39.7 km) in length and, south of Hever, is mostly single track.

Most trains on the Oxted line are operated by Southern, although Thameslink services also run to-and-from East Grinstead at peak times. During off-peak periods on weekdays, there is a half-hourly service between London Victoria and East Grinstead, and trains run hourly between London Bridge and Uckfield. Services operated by Class 377 electric multiple units generally call at all stations between Sanderstead and East Grinstead; services operated by Class 171 diesel multiple units call at all stations between Oxted and Uckfield, but generally run non-stop between East Croydon and Oxted.

The first part of the route to be completed, between Eridge and Uckfield, was opened by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) in August 1868. Although construction work was also carried out on the northern part of the Oxted line, the unfinished track bed was abandoned in 1869. In 1878, Parliament authorised the South Croydon–East Grinstead line, part of which would be built as a joint venture between the LB&SCR and the South Eastern Railway. The first trains between London and East Grinstead via Oxted ran in March 1884. Four years later, in 1888, the Oxted line was completed with the opening of the section between Hurst Green Junction and Eridge.

Until the mid-20th century, trains were able to continue from both southern termini to Lewes. Passenger services were permanently withdrawn from the East Grinstead–Lewes section in March 1958 and from the Uckfield–Lewes section in May 1969. Steam haulage on the Oxted line was replaced by diesel traction in 1965 and the electrification of the South Croydon–East Grinstead section was completed in 1987. Much of the line between Hever and Uckfield was converted to single track in 1990.