Summerton Rushett

## Description

Summerton Rushett is a station located in the small village of Rushett, south east of London. Services are operated by London Overground and SouthEastern, although the station is owned by London Overground.

The station is formed of a single, narrow platform that is sandwiched between a level crossing at the northern end and a viaduct across the reservoir at the southern end. Because of this, the platform length is restricted to 8 coaches. This means that the 10 coach trains which operate during peak hours have their doors locked on the 2 rearmost coaches, and passengers must move from these coaches should they wish to disembark. Due to this peculiar arrangement, outbound trains to Madford Water cannot have a class 466 unit at the rear, since these are two coaches long and passengers would not be able to disembark from these two carriages.

Summerton Rushett has a car park with approximately 40 spaces and has been unstaffed since 1969, however CCTV is in operation. The station building has been closed to the public and is used for storing maintenance supplies.

## History

The branch was originally opened in 1916 as a small spur from what would become the 3rd rail suburban line to Brackwell Common. Originally it was intended to continue further from Madford station but was never extended due to financial issues. A station and a small halt were constructed, at Madford Water and Summerton respectively. Summerton was renamed Summerton Rushett in 1934 after the provision of an interchange at Rushett Common caused a small town to spring up around the area, granting it its own district.

The Madford Water reservoir was constructed and filled during 1935. During this time, the railway had to be rerouted over the large area, by means of a new viaduct. The publicity generated from the plentiful water supply which the nearby towns now enjoyed led to the renaming of the town as Madford Water, and subsequently the station was renamed.

The line was electrified in 1937. It was originally fed from a substation at Rushett Common station. However, after power issues were experienced around the sharp curves towards Madford Water, it was swiftly relocated to Summerton Rushett station, near to the (now disused) second platform. A heavy-duty cable carried the 750 Volt DC power supply beneath the reservoir.

The Beeching cuts of the 1960s caused the line to eventually be run into the ground; better bus routes, roads and new housing away from the stations on the branch meant the railway became lightly used. The service was cut to just one train in each direction daily. The line finally closed in 1977.

After much public outcry from local residents of the New Town estate in Summerton Rushett, the track on the branch line was relayed and reopened under Network Southeast between 1983 and 1984 with passengers services commencing services on July 12th 1984. Before the station was closed, it could only accommodate a 5 coach train. So, to allow 8 (and subsequently 10) carriage trains running on the branch, the second track and platform were taken out of service, allowing the in service platform to be extended to the very edge of the viaduct without a junction obscuring it. The disused platform wasn't demolished and is still standing today, although the track has long since been removed.

After the privatisation of the railways in 1997, Connex South Eastern took control of the services on the Madford Water branch. In 2005, Silverlink trains took over some services on the line to create a cross city service to Watford Junction and North Woolwich, operated with 3rd rail class 313s. This service has since ceased with the demise of Silverlink and the current existence of the London Overground.

## Services

#### Mondays to Saturdays

* 3 Trains per hour to Madford Water
* 2 Trains per hour to London Charing Cross
* 1 Train per hour to Dartford.

#### Sundays

* 2 Trains per hour to Madford Water
* 2 Trains per hour to London Charing Cross