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       Clapham Junction is a railway junction and station located on St. John's Hill in the south-west of Battersea in London, England; the area around the station is by now commonly known as Clapham Junction, reflecting the influence of the station upon its locality.
Clapham Junction Railway StationClapham Junction lays claim to be the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom. Some 2,000 trains pass though it each day, the majority of which stop at the station. It is possible that measured in numbers of trains, it may be the busiest railway station in the world. All services to Waterloo (except Eurostar services to the continent) and most services to Victoria stations pass through the junction; these include South West Trains, Gatwick Express and Southern services. Services from Clapham also head north, through West Brompton and on to Willesden Junction and Watford Junction - some of these services (to Willesden Junction) are operated by Silverlink. The station has 16 active platforms, numbered from 2 to 17, and arranged in two groups. Platform 1, the northernmost platform, is no longer used, although it still exists; Portacabins have been sited at the north-east end, and a portacabin and power or signalling equipment housings sited at its south-west end. Platforms 2 to 8 form a northern group orientated in an east-south-easterly direction, whilst platforms 9 - 17 form a southern group orientated in a south-easterly direction and are separated from the northern group by a fan of a dozen or more sidings running into railway sheds to the west of the station. The station's main entrance is from St. John's Hill, into a foot tunnel some 15 ft (4.6 m) wide running transversely beneath the eastern end of the seventeen platforms, and on to a northern exit which has restricted opening hours. The foot tunnel becomes very crowded during the morning and evening rush hours, and ticket barriers at the end of the tunnel are a particular pinch point. A covered footbridge connects the platforms at their western end; by contrast with the width of the tunnel, parts of the footbridge are vast; but unfortunately the footbridge does not enable entry to or exit from the station. In the recent past, in part because of the large number of platforms and trains, the station was somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with it, who often found it difficult to establish from which platform a particular train would run. Since 2003, a reasonably extensive system of electronic train information displays has been installed at the station entrance, in the foot tunnel and on platforms. In May 2004, the ticket machines at the station were moved and reduced in number from six to four, only two of which take credit cards, and all of which are prone to frequent breakdown - this prompted a significant number of complaints from customers, leading to reinstallation of the two removed machines in winter 2004. There are seven manned ticket kiosk windows but purchasing tickets in the morning rush hour, and from time to time through the day, nevertheless tends to involve a lengthy delay. History of Clapham JunctionPrior to the railway age, the area was rural and specialised in the growing of lavender used in the production of perfume; the hill to the east of the station is called Lavender Hill. The coach road from London to Guildford passed slightly to the south of the location of the station passing a public house called The Foulcan at a crossroads in the valley between St. John's and Lavender Hill. The 19th century saw the rapid development of a railway system in the UK. The first railway to be driven through the area was the London and Southampton Railway, opened in 1838. That railway terminated at Nine Elms, near Vauxhall, about 2 km (1 mile) to the north west of the Clapham Junction site, and made no provision for a station at the site of the (by now renamed) Falcon pub. A second railway line running from Nine Elms to Richmond opened in 1846, a third serving Vauxhall in 1848, and a fourth in 1860. Railways running through the Area now served the centre of London, at Victoria Station (London) and Waterloo station; the affluent west of London - places like West Brompton and Earls Court; Watford Junction and connections north; Croydon, Crystal Palace and other parts of South London; Guildford, Richmond, and places west; Southampton and places south-west; and Brighton and places south. This being the case, the London and South Western Railway determined to build an interchange station, choosing the Falcon crossroads and the point at which the Richmond & west line separated from the main Brighton and south line. The station was opened in 1863 as a joint venture of the London & South Western Railway, whose trains served the northern platforms, and the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway whose trains served the southern platforms. Additional station buildings were erected in 1874 and 1876. At the time of the construction of the station, Battersea was mostly associated with industry and poor working people. Clapham, a mile to the east of the site, was a longer established and entirely more fashionable village and so the railway companies - which sought to attract a middle and upper class clientele - decided to adopt the grander of the two names. The station precipitated the development of the area around it, with the population rising from 6,000 people in 1840 to 168,000 by 1910. In 1885 the Arding and Hobbs Department Store was built, and after a 1909 fire, rebuilt to include the landmark cupola. A recent refurbishment has rebranded the store with the parent company Allders name, however some of the original Arding and Hobbs signs have been retained. The cupola is now illuminated at night in a rather fetching shade of blue. Clapham Rail disasterIn more recent times, Clapham Junction - or a point just slightly south-west of the station - was the scene of an horrific railway accident involving two collisions between three commuter trains on the morning of the 12th December 1988. 35 people died and more than a hundred were injured. External links
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