East Croydon station
East Croydon station is one of the three stations serving Croydon, a town located some 12 miles south of London, within the Greater London conurbation; the other two are situated respectively in the west and to the south of the town.
Architecture
The new East Croydon station was opened on 19. August 1992.
The building consists of a huge steel and glass frame suspended from a lightweight steel structure that straddles the track and platforms to a much greater extent than was possible with its Victorian predecessor. Four steel ladder masts anchor the enormous glass box and the whole gives the impression of a suspension bridge that stretches to the distance. External canopies cover the customers? entrances and an open-air café, as well as the approaches to the tram station.
440sq metres of glass were used in the roof, and 800sq metres for the wall glazing.
The architects were Alan Brookes Assoctiates, the structural engineers, YRM Anthony Hunt Associates.
The importance of East Croydon
The station is, amongst others, on the London - Gatwick Airport - Brighton line, on the Thameslink route from Gatwick through London Bridge to Bedford; it is a well served station with frequent connections. It is also - as is increasingly the case on the UK railway system - very well provided with electronic information displays showing next departures to some 80 named stations.
The station is the site of an interchange with the Croydon Tramlink system, the trams of which have a stopping point immediately outside the front of the railway station, and with the local bus service.
