Oxted was built as a joint London, Brighton and South Coast Railway/South Eastern Railway station when the South Croydon to East Grinstead line opened on 10 March 1884. The three platforms are connected by a subway which runs under the track. In addition, a lift is provided for entry to Platforms 2/3. There are tunnels at each end of the station:
Oxted Tunnel 1 mile 23 chains at the London end
Limpsfield Tunnel 551 yard at the country end
In 1951 the station had a train every thirteen minutes of the day, services running to Victoria and London Bridge in the up direction and to Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne and Brighton in the down. Locomotives using the station on an average weekday would be of the following classes: BR4 2-6-4T, C2X 0-6-0, H 0-4-4T, L 4-4-0, LM2 2-6-2T, LM4 2-6-4T, N 2-6-0, Q 0-6-0, U 2-6-0 and U1 2-6-0. In addition, diesel 10800 was a regular visitor to the station four times a day between 1952 and 1954. The station was the scene of a bomb attempt by suffragette sympathisers in 1913 – Harold Laski and a friend placed the device in the men's toilets. Although it did detonate the damage was limited as the fuse failed to ignite the petrol contained in the device. A similar device was planted at the Bank of England on 13 April 1913, which was successfully defused.
Facilities
On the London-bound platform is a manned ticket office and two standard quick-pay self-service passenger-operated ticket machines in Southern branding are located outside the station on the London-bound side and at the entrance to the underpass on Platforms 2 and 3 side The station is staffed 17 hours a day. The station accommodates a cafe, refurbished toilets, two waiting rooms and a line control centre in a large concourse. All of the platforms are linked by a subway which also links the two main streets in Oxted together as well as the local supermarket and the town's leisure complex. There is an underground car park located under the adjacent supermarket. The station acts as a terminus for the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line and trains use platform three on a regular basis after termination for both train maintenance and cleaning. The present signal box opened in the 1980s and covered control of the Uckfield line in January 1990. It replaced the previous original wooden structure located at the end of platform 2/3 The station was also the first station and terminus on the Southern network to receive two fully DDA-compliant ticket windows which will move down to accommodate easy use by wheelchair users. The station is also linked to the Southern Control Centre in Croydon, by two help points where passengers can receive help 24 hours a day externally.
Improvements
In 2010 the station was refurbished a new lift installed, followed by a deep clean and internal rezoning. In May 2010, Platform 1 and 2 were lengthened by Balfour Beatty to take 12 car trains. During January 2011, Southern installed ticket gates on the main concourse as well as the exit and indoor area in between platforms 2 and 3. Gate-line staff operate at the station also.
Services
Southern operate all off-peak services at Oxted. The current off-peak service at the station in trains per hour is:
2 tph to London Victoria
1 tph to London Bridge
2 tph to
1 tph to
During the Monday-Friday peak hours there are also additional Thameslink services to and via London Bridge. On Sundays, services on the Uckfield Line start/terminate at Oxted.
Bus services
Most local bus services are provided by Southdown PSV. The nearest bus stops are adjacent to the London Bound Platforms and near to the subway on Station Road East. Rail replacement services stop directly outside the main concourse. Destinations include:Westerham, Redhill, East Grinstead and Hurst Green
