The District line and Sutton loop

On 3 June 1889, the District Railway (DR, now London Underground's District line) opened the LSWR-built extension of its line from Putney Bridge,^[10] making Wimbledon station the new terminus of that branch and providing Wimbledon with a direct connection to the developing London Underground system. The station was rebuilt on its current site for the opening of this service. District line steam-hauled services were replaced by electric services from 27 August 1905.

The station was rebuilt again with its current Portland stone entrance building by the Southern Railway (SR, the post grouping successor to the L&SWR) in the late 1920s as part of the SR's construction of the line to Sutton. Parliamentary approval for this line had been obtained by the Wimbledon and Sutton Railway (W&SR) in 1910, but work was delayed by World War I.^[11] From the W&SR's inception, the DR was a shareholder of the company and had rights to run trains over the line when built. In the 1920s, the London Electric Railway (LER, precursor of London Underground) planned, through its ownership of the DR, to use part of the route for an extension of the City and South London Railway (C&SLR, now the Northern line) to Sutton.^[11] The SR objected and an agreement was reached that enabled the C&SLR to extend as far as Morden in exchange for the LER giving up its rights over the W&SR route.

The SR subsequently built the line, one of the last to be built in the London area. It opened on 7 July 1929 to South Merton and to Sutton on 5 January 1930.^[11]

Tramlink

On 2 June 1997, the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line was closed by Railtrack for conversion to operation as part of the Tramlink tram operations. Platform 10, originally the down platform for the Wimbledon & Croydon and Wimbledon & Sutton lines, was used for the single track terminus of Tramlink and rail tracks and infrastructure were replaced with those for the tram system. The new service opened on 30 May 2000. The other end of Platform 10 became a terminating bay for trains from the Tooting direction. Platform 9, the W&C and W&S up platform, became a reversible platform for all Thameslink services between the Sutton and Tooting lines.

To increase the capacity of Tramlink services, a second platform was built in place of the former Thameslink bay.^[12] The service was suspended between Dundonald Road and Wimbledon from 13 July until November 2015 for the work to be carried out. The original tram platform was renumbered to '10a' with the new part called '10b', opening on 2 November 2015.^[13] As a result, tram frequency increased from 8 per hour to 12 per hour from April 2016.^[14]

Forecourt

Before 14 March 2011, there was a roundabout outside the main entrance of the station to allow for vehicles to drop off passengers. This made the approach to the station somewhat cramped and not ideal during busy times. On 14 March 2011, vehicle access to the station's forecourt was permanently removed and the approach to the station was completely repaved. This made the much larger open space outside the station's entrance more ideal during busy times. These works were completed by June 2011 and the approach was hastily cleared in preparation for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships which would see a large increase in passengers passing through the station.

Laddie

Wimbledon station was also the haunt of a 'Railway Collection Dog'. Airedale Terrier "Laddie" was born in September 1948 and started work on Wimbledon Station in 1949, collecting donations on behalf of the Southern Railwaymen's Homes at Woking, via a box strapped to his back. He retired in 1956, having collected over £5,000 and spent the rest of his days with the residents at the Home. Upon his death, in 1960, he was stuffed and returned to Wimbledon station. He continued to collect for the Homes, in a glass case situated on Platforms 7/8, until 1990, when he retired once more and became part of the National Railway Collection.^[15]

National Rail

National Rail services at Wimbledon are operated by South Western Railway and Thameslink.

The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is:^[22]

• 14 tph to London Waterloo
• 2 tph to St Albans City via Herne Hill
• 2 tph to Sutton
• 2 tph to Chessington South
• 2 tph to Shepperton via Kingston
• 2 tph to Teddington via Kingston, returning to London Waterloo via Richmond
• 2 tph to Hampton Court
• 1 tph to Dorking via Epsom
• 3 tph to Guildford (1 of these runs via Epsom and 2 run via Cobham)
• 2 tph to Woking via Weybridge

Additional services call at the station during the peak hours. In addition, during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, longer distance South Western Railway services often make additional calls at the station.

London Underground

The typical off-peak London Underground service on the District Line in trains per hour is:^[23]

• 6 tph to Tower Hill of which 3 continue to Barking
• 6 tph to Edgware Road

Additional services, including trains to and from Dagenham East and Upminster call at the station during the peak hours.

Tramlink

The typical off-peak Tramlink service in trams per hour is:^[24]

• 6 tph to Beckenham Junction
• 6 tph to Elmers End

A limited number of early morning and late evening trams to and from New Addington also run to and from Wimbledon.

More information Preceding station, National Rail ...

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Earlsfield		South Western Railway South West Main Line		Raynes Park or Surbiton
Haydons Road		Thameslink Sutton Loop Line		Wimbledon Chase
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Terminus		District line		Wimbledon Park towards Upminster or Edgware Road
Preceding station		Tramlink		Following station
Terminus		Tramlink Wimbledon to Beckenham Junction		Dundonald Road towards Beckenham Junction
		Tramlink Wimbledon to Elmers End		Dundonald Road towards Elmers End
	Disused railways
Terminus		Southern Railway Merton Branch		Merton Park
		Connex South Central West Croydon to Wimbledon Line
	Abandoned Plans
Preceding station		London Underground		Following station
Elm Grove towards Sutton		District line Wimbledon & Sutton Railway		Wimbledon Park towards Barking or Edgware Road

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