What needs to happen if the timetabling is going to be rigorous is an examination of if there needs to be an extra train to South Croydon. If there does, a way to provide that needs to be found, and you don't use revenue issues as a reason why this might not happen. I have no idea of there is a need for this stop or not but it's very strange to suggest the main reason the idea isn't acceptable is because the guards wouldn't like it. Who are all of these East Grinstead line passengers who need to buy onboard in the daytime anyway?
gtr driver has got it spot on. There is indeed little passenger benefit due to an extra service stopping, much less 2 East Grinstead services per hour.
It's not so much that guards wouldn't like it, they'd just be later getting everything done. There are numerous passengers without tickets boarding East Grinstead trains at all hours of the day, particularly from Lingfield, Hurst Green and Sanderstead, for reasons varying between "won't pay unless challenged" to "at those stations always at least a few people get on, some of whom turn up and want to use the one or two TVMs at the same time".
At the moment, if you are a guard on that line, you can sell two or three tickets between Sanderstead and East Croydon, if you position yourself well within the train. Or move your bags from whichever inaccessible location they are in, so you are ready to handover at East Croydon. Or deal with a faulty toilet which will be no good when people flood on at the next stop (no pun intended). If it is a twelve coach service, or indeed anything beyond six coaches for that matter, there are very few options for dispatch positions on the Up except at Oxted, Woldingham, Sanderstead and East Croydon, so these stations are ideal if you need to pop down to one end of the train or another to do something, as you can then dispatch the train from anywhere along its length (with the exception of a few coaches at Oxted). Time is at a premium as you only usually have 2-5mins between stops. (Most trains are formed of six/eight or more coaches during the day; a couple are three/four, a couple twelve).
Now try to add in a dispatch from South Croydon. Suddenly you have lost potentially £20-£30 in revenue as there's no time for it. Ideally the guard must be towards the middle of the front eight coaches at South Croydon, which in turn means they will be positioning themselves about 5 minutes earlier, say just after Riddlesdown, where every fare evader in the land knows where the guard has to dispatch from. South Croydon's platforms are only eight coaches long and are very hazardous due to the surface and step down. Manual announcements may be required, and of all the stations on the line, this is one which requires absolute maximum concentration. All for about 3 passengers, except during the school run, where some 10 year olds will come and leave unmentionable stuff all over your train. And then lo and behold, your bags are in coach 9, you're in coach 5, and your colleague at East Croydon is waiting at coach 6 to hand over. Well done, you're 3 late and the all stations Victoria stopper is sat behind you, which also calls at South Croydon but more importantly Selhurst to pick up a whole load more crew, whose train has now missed its path and now every service to the back of beyond is delayed at Victoria.
I don't want to repeat myself any more, but trust me, I am one of those people who has an awful lot to do with East Grinstead services. And this would happen...
