The tram stop is next to, but was for a long time physically separate from, the rail platforms, until the construction of the new entrance.

The canal was drained and became part of the route of the London & Croydon Railway, opening on 5 June 1839.

[5] On 23 September 1846, a fire broke out in a lamp room, severely damaging the station and destroying thirteen carriages.

[5] The canal basin was served by a short private branch from the terminus of the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR) at Pitlake.

From 1855 the station was the terminus of the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line, which followed much of the route of the SIR.

In 1912 the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912), who was a resident of Croydon, collapsed whilst on the station.

West Croydon is a southern terminus of the Windrush line of the London Overground, with services operated using Class 378 EMUs.

Additional services at West Croydon are operated by Southern using Class 377 EMUs.