79-555: The Epsom Downs Branch is a 3-mile-65-chain (6.1 km) railway line in Greater London and Surrey , England. It runs from Sutton to its southern terminus at Epsom Downs , with intermediate stations at Belmont and Banstead . With the exception of the northernmost 39 ch (780 m), the branch is single track. All stations are managed by Southern , which operates all passenger trains. Most services run between Epsom Downs and London Victoria via Selhurst . The line
158-647: A central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the commission. Reform of local government in the County of London and its environs was next considered by the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London , chaired by Sir Edwin Herbert , which issued the 'Herbert Report' after three years of work in 1960. The commission applied three tests to decide if
237-498: A community should form part of Greater London: how strong is the area as an independent centre in its own right; how strong are its ties to London; and how strongly is it drawn outwards towards the country rather than inwards towards London. Greater London was created by the London Government Act 1963 , which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London , including
316-402: A locomotive based at West Croydon and the passenger carriages were berthed at Sutton. The first records of goods services on the line are from the 1872 timetables and it is thought that the yards at Banstead and Belmont opened around 1880. No goods yard was provided at Epsom Downs. It is unclear how the branch was originally signalled. Until 1874, with the exception of racedays, only one train
395-462: A population of between 12 and 13 million depending on the definition of that area. According to Eurostat, London has been the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union . The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometre, more than ten times that of any other British region. In terms of population, London is
474-462: A short section of the northern end of the branch was electrified, to allow terminating electric trains to shunt between platforms at Sutton. The majority of services between London and Sutton via West Croydon were operated by electric trains. As a result, the Epsom Downs branch was mostly run as a self-contained shuttle, with only a few services running through to the capital at peak times. With
553-420: A tight curve with a radius of 12 ch (240 m), were built at Sutton to serve the branch. The southern terminus had nine platforms and was designed to handle large volumes of passengers and trains on racedays. During the 1865 Epsom Derby period, 70,000 people travelled on the branch, but outside of racedays, traffic was very light. In 1892, the site of the terminus was described as "an absolute wilderness and
632-406: A type of passenger carriage, known as a balloon trailer . The train would be driven from the locomotive in one direction and, in the other, from a driving position at the front of the carriage. Initially these services ran from West Croydon to Belmont, but from October 1909, they were used on the full length of the branch. By the end of that year, there were 37 return railmotor workings on weekdays on
711-598: Is a closed railway station that served the town of Epsom in Surrey , England. For many years, Epsom had two railway stations, one built by the LSWR in 1859, and this station, built by the LBSCR twelve years earlier. It was located on Upper High Street and is less than ten minutes' walk from the town's other station. It closed in 1929 when the former LSWR station was rebuilt and expanded to four platforms. The railway first reached
790-526: Is commonly regarded as a city in the general senses of a conurbation and a municipality. A Lord Lieutenant of Greater London is appointed for its area, excluding the City of London. For the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , this area is defined as a county . The term "London" usually refers to region or to the conurbation, but not often to the ancient, tiny City of London. That small area
869-581: Is divided into five sub-regions . Greater London is divided into 32 London Boroughs, each governed by a London Borough council. The City of London has a unique government dating back to the 12th century and is separate from the county of Greater London, although is still part of the region served by the Greater London Authority. All London Borough councils belong to the London Councils association. Three London Boroughs carry
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#1732798067700948-408: Is double track, including the platforms at Sutton, but the rest of the line was singled in the early 1980s. The maximum speed permitted on the branch is 60 mph (97 km/h) and the line is electrified using the 750 V DC third-rail system. Signalling is controlled from Three Bridges and Track Circuit Block is in operation. The steepest gradient on the line, on the approach to Belmont from
1027-668: Is explained by the quantity of independent schools getting good A-level results. The state school system is often bypassed at age 16 by the more able pupils. Some London boroughs need more good sixth form colleges. The region's 34 further education colleges are funded through the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency . Large colleges include Kingston College , Havering College of Further and Higher Education , and Croydon College . Epsom Town railway station Epsom Town railway station
1106-842: Is home to sizeable Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham ; the most important Muslim buildings are the East London Mosque in Whitechapel and the London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park . London's large Hindu community is in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter containing one of Europe's largest Hindu temples, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London . Sikh communities are in East and West London, particularly Southall in
1185-543: Is often referred to as "the City" or "the Square Mile" and it forms the main financial district. Archaically, the urbanised area of London was known as the Metropolis . In common usage, the terms "London" and "Greater London" are usually used interchangeably. Greater London is officially divided for some purposes, with varying definitions, into Inner London and Outer London . For some strategic planning purposes, it
1264-501: Is only slightly smaller, with an area of 1,569 km (606 sq mi) and a population of 8,855,333 in 2022. The area is almost entirely urbanised and contains the majority of the Greater London Built-up Area , which extends into Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire and in 2011 had a population of 9,787,426. None of the administrative area, region, or ceremonial county hold city status , but
1343-632: Is responsible for Greater London's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend the London Plan each electoral cycle. The Mayor of London is a directly elected politician who, along with the London Assembly, is responsible for the strategic government of Greater London. For elections to the London Assembly , London is divided into 14 constituencies, each formed from two or three boroughs. The City of London forms part of
1422-467: The Brighton Main Line in around nine minutes and arrive at London Victoria in about an hour. The earliest horse races on Epsom Downs are thought to have been held during the reign of James I , in the 17th century. The first formal races were run on an uphill course from Carshalton and were primarily a test of stamina rather than speed. The Oaks was established in 1779 and The Derby
1501-530: The City and East constituency. London is divided into 73 Parliamentary borough constituencies , formed from the combined area of several wards from one or more boroughs. Typically a borough is covered by two or three constituencies. The London Region does not have city status granted by the Crown. The Cities of London and Westminster within it have received formal city status. Despite this, Greater London
1580-557: The City of London , where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex , Hertfordshire , Kent and Surrey . Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by
1659-411: The City of London Corporation . Greater London is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Essex to the north-east, Kent to the south-east, Surrey to the south, and Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west. Greater London has a land area of 1,572 km (607 sq mi) and an estimated population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The ceremonial county of Greater London
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#17327980677001738-618: The European Union . Irish people, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, number about 200,000, as do the Scots and Welsh combined. In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2006 London's foreign-born population
1817-661: The Local Government Act 1985 . Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London formed the London region in 1994. The 1998 London referendum established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority , London Assembly and
1896-780: The London Assembly , and an executive head, the Mayor of London . The current Mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London ) is Sadiq Khan . He is scrutinised by the elected London Assembly , which may amend his annual budget (by two-thirds majority) but otherwise lacks the power to block his directives. The headquarters of the GLA, previously at City Hall in Southwark , moved to The Crystal in Newham in January 2022. The Mayor
1975-467: The London region , containing most of the continuous urban area of London . It contains 33 local government districts : the 32 London boroughs , which form a ceremonial county also called Greater London , and the City of London . The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region, and regular local government is the responsibility of the borough councils and
2054-622: The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). The London postal district does not cover all of Greater London. Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant Greater London is under the strategic local governance of the Greater London Authority (GLA). It consists of an elected assembly,
2133-467: The 1920s). It has now surpassed the previous 1939 peak, and is over 9 million. Figures here are for Greater London in its 2001 boundaries. Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses to fit the 2001 boundaries. Figures from 1981 onward are mid-year estimates (revised in August 2007), which are more accurate than the censuses, known to underestimate
2212-546: The 1969 transfers of Farleigh to Surrey and Knockholt to Kent. Others have included exchange of two Thames islands with Surrey and adjustments during the 1990s to parts of the boundaries of three boroughs near the M25 . The only part of Greater London outside the motorway is North Ockendon , the furthest land unit from its centre. The majority of Greater London forms the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and
2291-949: The 25th largest city and the 17th largest metropolitan region in the world. It is ranked 4th in the world in the number of US dollar billionaires residing in the city. It ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow . In the 2001 UK Census, 71.15% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (59.79%), White Irish (3.07%) or "Other White" (8.29%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish and Portuguese). 12.09% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 10.91% classed themselves as Black British (around 6% as Black African, 4% as Black Caribbean, 0.84% as "Other Black"). 3.15% were of mixed race; 1.12% as Chinese; and 1.58% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside
2370-563: The Belmont Rail Frequency Improvement project was awarded £14.1M to double the number of scheduled services on the northern part of the branch line. A new turnback siding will be constructed, allowing two trains per hour from London Victoria to terminate at Belmont, in addition to the two per hour that currently continue south to Epsom Downs. The scheme will improve access to the London Cancer Hub at
2449-596: The British armed forces in Germany. London has been a focus for immigration for centuries, whether as a place of safety or for economic reasons. Huguenots , Eastern European Jews, Cypriots and East African Asians are examples of the former; Irish, Bangladeshis and West Indians of the latter. The East End district around Spitalfields has been first home for several ethnic groups, which have subsequently moved elsewhere in London as they gained prosperity. The population of
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2528-631: The City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the clerical head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion , the Archbishop of Canterbury , has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth . Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey . The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral ,
2607-537: The City of London and City of Westminster separately do. The area was historically part of Middlesex , Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire. The River Thames is the defining geographic feature of the area, entering it near Hampton in the west and flowing east before exiting downstream of Dagenham . Several tributaries of the Thames flow through the area, but are now mostly culverted and form part of London's sewerage system . The land immediately north and south of
2686-615: The City of London and the 32 London boroughs, since the 1990 enactment of the Education Reform Act 1988 . From 1965 to 1990, 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London were served by the Inner London Education Authority . The introduction of comprehensive schools , directed by Circular 10/65 in 1965, was mostly followed in Greater London; however, 19 grammar schools have been retained in some Outer London boroughs, with Sutton having
2765-475: The GDP of Outer London to be 103 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 21,460 euros. The largest religious groupings are Christian (48.4%), Muslim (8.4%), Hindu (8.0%), Jewish (1.8%), Sikh (1.5%), and Buddhist (1.0%), alongside those of no religion (21.7%). The United Kingdom has traditionally been Christian, and London has a large number of churches, particularly in the city. St Paul's Cathedral in
2844-714: The Greater London Arterial Road Programme, devised between 1913 and 1916, and the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles (4,810 km ) and included 9 million people. Although the London County Council (LCC) and County of London were created in 1889, the area did not cover all of London. London's built-up area, postal district , transport network and Metropolitan Police District, extended vastly beyond
2923-509: The LSWR from Wimbledon to Epsom, where it joined with the LBSCR, and then ran on to Leatherhead. The lines were connected south of the LBSCR station and a new Epsom station was established on the present site. However competition between the companies remained and the new station was operated by the LSWR only, with the tracks configured so that LBSCR trains ran non-stop on the central tracks. In 1867
3002-549: The UK, with "a huge majority of them living in London"). Though a Polish community has existed in London since the late-Middle Ages, it was not significant in the 2001 Census but has grown significantly since 2004, when Poland joined the European Union and by June 2010; London had 122,000 Polish residents. The German-born population figure may be misleading, however, because it includes British nationals born to parents serving in
3081-560: The World Wars, the area around Epsom Downs was used by the army and traffic on the branch increased as a result. During the Second World War, civilian passenger services were reduced to one per hour in each direction, to accommodate military trains. In 1940, the lineside south of Banstead was fortified with anti-tank obstacles and pillboxes . A bomb destroyed the buildings on the down platform at Belmont on 11 October 1940 and
3160-514: The best GCSE results in England, at A-level it is not even above average. Sutton gets the best A-level results in London and in England. Three of the schools in the top four at A-level in London are in Sutton. It has only one independent school. The few other boroughs with above-average A-level results are Havering, Barnet, Bexley, Redbridge, and Ealing. The poor A-level results in many London boroughs
3239-426: The best results for regions of England. Greater London is generally a prosperous region, and prosperous areas generally have good GCSE results. The City of London has no state schools, just two independent schools. Haringey and Kensington and Chelsea have the most people that pass no GCSEs. At A-level, the average results for LEAs are disappointing compared to their good GCSE results. Although Kingston upon Thames gets
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3318-712: The boroughs. The Greater London Authority was formed in 2000. The term "Greater London" was used before it was established by statute in 1965. It referred to the Metropolitan Police District , the area served by the Metropolitan Water Board , the London Passenger Transport Area , and the area defined by the Registrar General as the "Greater London Conurbation". The term was also used for
3397-591: The boundaries of the new administrative county. Many of the LCC housing projects, including the vast Becontree Estates , were also outside its boundaries. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War , noting that within the Metropolitan and City Police Districts there were 122 housing authorities. A Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider
3476-578: The branch on 17 June 1928. Services operated to London Bridge via West Croydon and ran up to three times per hour at peak times, with two trains per hour on weekdays in the off-peak. Electric services between Epsom Downs and London Victoria began on 4 May 1930. Electrification stimulated housebuilding in the local area and the Great Burgh and Nork Park estates were sold for development in the early 1930s. Annual passenger numbers more than doubled in eight years: from 329,779 in 1927 to 859,794 in 1935. During
3555-471: The control of a manager based at Sutton on 25 March 1973. Epsom Downs signal box was damaged beyond economic repair in a fire on 16 November 1981. A system of emergency working was introduced, in which a shuttle service between Epsom Downs and Sutton was run with one train on the up (northbound) track. Over the course of the next eleven months, the down line was prepared for permanent single-line working , and re-entered service on 4 October 1982. The majority of
3634-401: The course. The Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway (BEDR) was formed to promote a 4 mi (6.4 km) branch from the existing LBSCR station at Sutton to a southern terminus close to the racecourse. The LBSCR indicated its provisional support and parliamentary authorisation for the new line was granted on 17 July 1862. The BEDR began to appoint contractors to build the line, but errors made by
3713-406: The current area of Greater London rose from about 1.1 million in 1801 (when only about 850,000 people were in the urban area, while 250,000 were living in villages and towns not yet part of London) to an estimated 8.6 million in 1939, but declined to 6.7 million in 1988, before starting to rebound in the 1990s. By 2006, the population had recovered to the level of 1970 (and the level of population in
3792-584: The directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 . In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone , who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson . The 2016, 2021 and 2024 elections were won by Sadiq Khan . London
3871-497: The formation of the Southern Railway in 1923, a change in policy was announced, with the replacement of the LBSCR overhead AC system by third-rail DC electrification. A conversion programme began in 1925, the first phase of which included the electrification of the Epsom Downs line. In preparation for the new timetable, the platforms at Belmont and Banstead were lengthened for 8-coach trains. Electric trains began running on
3950-458: The freeholder of the required land. By late 1863, the BEDR was in severe difficulties and the LBSCR offered to take over the company and to complete the line. The amalgamation was authorised by parliament on 29 July 1864. The branch opened between Sutton and Epsom Downs on 22 May 1865. The line was double track from the outset and the intermediate stations opened on the same day. Two new platforms, on
4029-534: The honorific title of Royal Borough : Kensington and Chelsea , Kingston , and Greenwich . Within the City of London are the liberties of Middle Temple and Inner Temple . With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939. There were an estimated 7,753,600 official residents in mid-2009. London's wider metropolitan area has
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#17327980677004108-532: The inexperienced board resulted in contracts being drawn up improperly. The board expelled several directors, some of whom served writs on the company. Before agreeing terms to operate trains on the branch, the LBSCR insisted that the southern terminus should be built closer to the racecourse. However, attempts to relocate Epsom Downs station from its planned site were vigorously opposed by the Epsom Grand Stand Association and John Briscoe ,
4187-543: The issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties . Protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor , Slough and Eton in the authority. The commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCC's scheme. Two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and
4266-442: The largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Religious practice in London is lower than in any other part of the UK or Western Europe and is around seven times lower than American averages. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, weekly observance is low within that denomination , although in recent years church attendance , particularly at evangelical Anglican churches in London, has started to increase. London
4345-430: The line was extended south from Leatherhead to Dorking and Horsham, and in 1885 a branch from Leatherhead was built to Effingham Junction, where it connected to the line from Surbiton to Guildford. These extensions provided greater connections for Epsom to much of the rest of Surrey. After the First World War , the railway companies were merged into the Southern Railway , which set about removing duplication. In 1929 work
4424-466: The line – around a third ran to Epsom Downs, but the majority terminated short at either Banstead or Belmont. D1 class tank engines started to operate push-pull trains on the branch from June 1914, when the number of weekday services was increased to 41. Electrification of the line from West Croydon to Sutton, using a 6,600 V AC overhead line system, began in 1922 and was completed on 1 April 1925. Although services to Epsom Downs remained steam-hauled,
4503-413: The majority of the branch has operated as a single line since 1981. The Epsom Downs branch line is a railway line in Surrey and Greater London , England. It runs for 3 miles 65 ch (6.1 km) from Sutton station to its southern terminus, Epsom Downs station , 18 mi 60 ch (30.2 km) down the line from London Bridge via West Croydon . The northernmost 39 ch (780 m)
4582-458: The most god-forsaken place in the world" and it was alleged that only 20–30 passengers used it on a normal day. In the 1890s, the annual surplus over working expenses on the branch (taken over the year as a whole, including racedays) barely exceeded £200. The initial passenger service was 14 trains each way between Sutton and Epsom Downs on weekdays and four each way on Saturdays, with a typical journey time of around 15 minutes. Trains were hauled by
4661-492: The most with five, followed by Bexley with four and others in five other boroughs. In these boroughs the state schools outperform the (relatively few) independent schools. In inner London, private schools always get the best results and are larger in number. At GCSE and A level , Outer London boroughs have broadly better results than Inner London boroughs. At GCSE, the best borough is Kingston upon Thames, closely followed by Sutton. Both boroughs have selective schools, and get
4740-597: The north, is 1 in 58. All four stations on the line are managed by Southern , which operates all services. Sutton and Belmont stations are in Zone 5 of the London fare zones ; Banstead and Epsom Downs are in Zone 6. Sutton has four operational platforms , of which only two are connected to the branch; the other three stations have one platform each. The off-peak service pattern is two trains per hour in each direction between Epsom Downs and London Victoria via Selhurst . Off-peak trains from Epsom Downs typically reach Sutton on
4819-636: The northeast between Sewardstonebury next to Epping Forest and Chingford and with the Mar Dyke between Bulphan and North Ockendon . Greater London is also bounded by Hertfordshire to the north, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west, Kent to the southeast and Surrey to the south and southwest. The highest point is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 m (804 ft). Central government has implemented small boundary changes . The greatest were
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#17327980677004898-608: The population of London. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Inner London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows the GDP of Inner London to be 232 billion euros in 2009 and per capita GDP of 78,000 euros. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Outer London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Eurostat data shows
4977-500: The river is flat, but rises to low hills further away, notably Hampstead Heath , Shooter's Hill , and Sydenham Hill . The area's highest point is Westerham Heights (245 m (804 ft)), part of the North Downs . In the north-east the area contains part of Epping Forest , an ancient woodland. The City of London has had its own government since the Anglo-Saxon period. The first London-wide directly elected local government
5056-588: The southern campus of the Royal Marsden Hospital . Infrastructure works are expected to be completed in March 2026 and the enhanced timetable will begin in May of that year. Download coordinates as: 51°20′11″N 0°12′00″W / 51.3365°N 0.2000°W / 51.3365; -0.2000 Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with
5135-606: The top 21 countries of birth of residents in 2011. These figures do not give a fair indication of the total population of the specific ethnic groups associated with each country. For example, Londoners of Greek origin (from both Greece and Cyprus) number 300,000, since an organised Greek community has been established for nearly two centuries. The same can be said for Italian and French Londoners whose communities have been here for centuries (the French Embassy estimates there are between 300,000 and 400,000 French citizens living in
5214-421: The top two average GCSE results in England for LEAs. Next is Kensington and Chelsea, the third best in England, then Redbridge , Hammersmith and Fulham, Bromley, Barnet and Harrow. Only ten boroughs have GCSE results under the England average, and some inner-London boroughs have surprisingly good results considering where they lie on the scale of deprivation, e.g. Lambeth. Overall at GCSE in 2009, Greater London had
5293-424: The town in 1847 when an extension of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) from West Croydon was opened with a terminus in the former Station Road (now Upper High Street). The station was initially named Epsom , subsequently known as Epsom Town from c.1870 to c.1900, and again from 1923 to 1929. In 1859 a joint venture between the LBSCR and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) extended
5372-442: The track between Banstead and Epsom Downs was damaged on 28 May 1941. There was a decline in traffic on the Epsom Downs branch between the 1960s and early 1990s. The goods yard at Belmont closed on 6 January 1969 and the signal box at the station closed on 21 December the same year. On 1 May 1972, the terminus at Epsom Downs was reduced to two platforms. Stationmasters were removed from the southernmost three stations, which came under
5451-399: The train to Surbiton. In 1857, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) opened a line to Epsom Town and, in 1859, the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened its own line from London to a separate station at Epsom . Although Epsom was now served by two railway companies, each with its own station, racegoers were still required to walk around 1 mi (1.6 km) to
5530-486: The up line was subsequently lifted and a new signalling system, controlled from London Victoria, was commissioned in June 1983. At the end of the 1980s, Epsom Downs station was sold for development. A single platform, around 350 yd (320 m) to the north of the original buffer stops , was opened on 14 February 1989 and a housing estate was built on the remainder of the site by the developer, Charles Church . In 2023,
5609-535: The western borough of Ealing, which is also home to the largest Sikh temple in the capital. The majority of British Jews live in London, with significant communities in Stamford Hill (the most Orthodox Jewish area outside New York City and Israel) and St. John's Wood , Golders Green , and Edgware in North London. Publicly funded education has been administered through 33 LEAs , which correspond to
5688-856: Was 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997. The 2001 UK Census showed that 27.1% of the population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as Non-White. In the 2011 UK Census, 59.79% of the population classed their ethnic group as White, including White British (44.89%), White Irish (2.15%) or "Other White" (12.65%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Colombians and Portuguese). 18.49% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 13.32% classed themselves as Black British (7% as Black African, 4.22% as Black Caribbean, 2.08% as "Other Black"). 4.96% were of mixed race; and 3.44% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). The table shows
5767-417: Was allowed on the line at any one time. A signal box was opened at Belmont around 1877, and a new box opened at Epsom Downs in May 1879, to increase the capacity of the branch for racedays. An intermediate signal box, between Banstead and Belmont, was opened in 1901, but was only used on racedays, and a box opened at Banstead in 1903. When it opened in May 1865, Belmont station was called "California". The name
5846-504: Was completed on building a completely new station on the site of the former LSWR station and the tracks at Epsom were rearranged so that the two island platforms provided cross-platform interchange , although as late as the 1960s there were survivals of different systems of the lines of the two former railway companies in that the semaphore signals on the up platforms to London were upper quadrant (on platform 3) for trains to Victoria and London Bridge, but were lower quadrant (on platform 4) for
5925-664: Was covered by a single Parliamentary constituency in the European Parliament before Brexit . Greater London includes the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers and includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a similar way to the city's parks. The closest and furthest boundaries are with Essex to
6004-546: Was first run the following year. The first railway to be used by racegoers was the London-Woking section of the South West Main Line , which opened in May 1838. The nearest station to Epsom was Kingston (now Surbiton ), an 8 mi (13 km) walk from the racecourse. On Derby Day that year, Nine Elms station , the temporary London terminus, was overwhelmed with around 5,000 people intending to catch
6083-525: Was primarily built for racegoers attending Epsom Downs Racecourse and was promoted by the Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway. Authorisation was granted by parliament in July 1862 and construction was completed by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway . The branch opened as a double track line on 22 May 1865. It was electrified by the Southern Railway using the 750 V DC third-rail system in 1928 and
6162-489: Was taken from a nearby public house that had been owned by a man who had returned from the gold rush with some money. Owing to confusion on the part of goods consignors, the station was given its current name on 1 October 1875. The settlement that subsequently grew up in the surrounding area, took its name from the renamed station. Railmotors were introduced to the Epsom Downs branch line in June 1906. These push-pull trains consisted of an A1 class tank engine coupled to
6241-474: Was the London County Council , established for the County of London in 1889, which covered the core of the urban area. In 1965 the county was abolished and replaced by Greater London, a two-tier administrative area governed by the Greater London Council , thirty-two London boroughs, and the City of London Corporation. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986, and its responsibilities largely taken over by
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