[2] All trains serving it are operated by Southern and it is in London Travelcard Zone 6.

A short walk away from Purley Oaks is Sanderstead railway station, also in Zone 6, with services to Victoria and East Grinstead.

The station was opened by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway on 5 November 1899 as part of the improvements to the main line and the opening of the Quarry Line.

Platform 1 was gutted by fire in 1989, destroying Croydon Model Railway Society's clubrooms.

All services at Purley Oaks are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.