First Public Railway Created in London

The Surrey Iron Railway was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened completely by 1803. Established as a toll railway, the chief goods transported were coal, building materials, lime, manure, corn and seeds. A public 14 km long railway, the Surrey Iron Railway was a horse-drawn plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London, England.

An extension, the Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway was built and opened in 1805.