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Croydon Tramlink : Routes : Wimbledon

Tramlink took over the former West Croydon–Wimbledon railway line, which closed for conversion to tram operation on 2^nd June 1997. The tram line uses the length of the railway alignment from Wimbledon, including part of a platform in Wimbledon railway station, as far as the former junction with the West Croydon–Sutton railway line. The tram line is linked to the town centre loop by a viaduct over this railway and a short section of street track. The line opened as a Tramlink route on 30^th May 2000.

The Wimbledon line has a number of single track sections, some of which are necessitated by limited clearances in the formation or by new bridges constructed to single track width. Former railway stations on this line have all been replaced by tram stops, and supplemented by stops at new locations. The Tramlink depot is on this line, near to Therapia Lane stop.

The lines from Reeves Corner through central Croydon are described in the Croydon town centre page.

[click on a stop for pictures]

Reeves Corner–Therapia Lane

At Reeves Corner, the Wimbledon route leaves the one-way town centre loop. Trams from Croydon depart Church Street stop and proceed straight on at the junction, onto Cairo New Road. Trams from Wimbledon bear left at Reeves Corner junction to join the town centre loop towards West Croydon station. On Cairo New Road itself is Reeves Corner tram stop, which has a single platform for use by Croydon-bound trams only (Wimbledon-bound trams stop instead at the nearby Church Street stop).

After Reeves Corner stop, the line narrows to single track as it passes under the Roman Way flyover, and veers left to run alongside the West Croydon–Sutton railway line. The tramway crosses this line by viaduct to reach the alignment of the former West Croydon–Wimbledon railway line, which it then follows all the way to the terminus. The first stop on the former railway line is at Wandle Park, alongside the park of the same name, where the line becomes double track again.

Next comes Waddon Marsh, where the railway station of that name has been replaced by a tram stop further east towards Croydon. Ampere Way, which serves retail developemnts including the IKEA superstore, on the site of Croydon B power station, is followed by Therapia Lane. Immediately after this stop is the Tramlink depot, which has access to running lines in both directions.

Therapia Lane–Wimbledon

After Therapia Lane the line crosses Beddington Lane at a level crossing, then passes through Beddington Lane stop, on the site of Beddington Lane Halt, after which the line singles again. Mitcham Junction is reached by viaduct over the railway line to Sutton, which replaced the flat junctions here. West Croydon–Wimbledon line trains used the same platforms as Sutton line trains, but Tramlink has its own seperate platforms on the south side of the station.

After Mitcham Junction there is single track once again as far as Mitcham, which replaced the railway station of the same name. West from here there is a short section of interlaced track through a section of limited clearance caused by an embankment reinforcement structure, but otherwise the line is conventional double track through stops at Belgrave Walk and Phipps Bridge, where the line singles once again as far as Morden Road. At this and the next stop, Merton Park, tram stops have replaced railway stations. Merton Park was the site of the junction with a short railway line through Merton Abbey to Tooting, which closed in 1975. Just to the east of the stop the tram line crosses Kingston Road by a level crossing.

The final stop is Dundonald Road, next to a level crossing of the road of the same name. After this stop the line singles once again, curving right to run alongside the South Western main line into Wimbledon. The tram stop here takes up part of platform 10 in the mainline railway station, with the trackbed raised for trams to reach platform level. The rest of the platform is still in use for National Rail services.