Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of
Didcot
Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844 and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
to reflect its role as a
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
railhead. It is down the line from and is situated between to the east and to the west.
The station is served by local services operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
from to Didcot and , and by main line services from Paddington to the south-west of England and south Wales.
Just to the north of the station is the
Didcot Railway Centre
Didcot Railway Centre is a railway museum and preservation engineering site in Didcot, Oxfordshire, England. The site was formerly a Great Western Railway engine shed and locomotive stabling point.
Background
The founders and commercial backers ...
, which is accessed through the station. The centre is a comprehensive exhibition of original
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
rolling stock, with demonstration running tracks and including a reconstructed station named Didcot Halt.
History
The railway has run through Didcot since 1 June 1840, when the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
extended its main line from Reading to . During this period a
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
transported passengers to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
from Steventon. A few weeks later the line was extended to
Faringdon Road station near
West Challow
West Challow is a village and civil parish about west of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The village is on Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock. West Challow was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundar ...
, and eventually to
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. On 12 June 1844 the line from Didcot to Oxford was opened and Didcot station was opened at the junction. The original intended route would have taken a line from Steventon to Oxford via
Abingdon, but Abingdon's townspeople objected to this idea. Otherwise, it is unlikely that Didcot would have evolved into the town it is today, as its initial growth was prompted by the coming of the railway.
The
Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway
The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) was a cross-country railway running north–south between Didcot, Newbury and Winchester. Its promoters intended an independent route to Southampton and envisaged heavy traffic from the Mid ...
(DN&S) linked Didcot with , carrying services to
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
via Newbury, , and . In its latter years it was reduced to a rural backwater before its closure just before the
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...
. The DN&S was closed to passengers on 10 September 1962 and to freight in 1967. At the eastern end of Platform 1, there is a raised section of the east car park, which used to be the bay platform for the DN&S line.
On 7 December 1964, local passenger services between Didcot and were withdrawn and the stations at Steventon, , , , and were closed.
In 1985, a new main building for the station was built along with a new 600-space car park on the site of the former provender store to the west of the station for
Park and Ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
use. These were opened on 29 July 1985 by
David Mitchell MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, and on that date the station was renamed Didcot Parkway.
In 2018, a multi-storey car park was opened, costing £20 million and increasing the number of spaces by 65% to 1800. The car park also has a sheltered footbridge.
In 2021, a new cycle storage hub was constructed, providing 600 covered spaces, LED lighting, CCTV cameras and a bike repair station. The project cost £1m, and was completed by a partnership of GWR, DfT and Network Rail.
Stationmasters
*John Peach 1860 - 1865 (formerly station master at Hungerford, afterwards station master at Reading)
*George Bland 1868 - 1872
*Henry Maggs 1872 - 1878 (formerly station master at Dorchester West, afterwards station master at Newton Abbot)
*Henry Larkcom/Larkam 1878 - 1881 (formerly station master at Lydney, afterwards station master at Reading)
*Charles William Noble 1881 - 1882 (formerly station master at Stourbridge, afterwards station master at Birmingham)
*H.C. Evans ca. 1885 - 1908
*J. Short 1908 - 1912 (afterwards station master at Banbury)
*Thomas Frederick Edwin Jakeman 1916 - 1917 (afterwards station master at Dorchester West)
*Arthur Meddows Taylor ca 1928 - 1930 (formerly station master at Stroud, afterwards station master at Swindon)
*T.G. Curnow 1930 - ca. 1941
*William Ferguson Brown 1950 - 1956 (afterwards station master at Reading)
*R. Hyatt ca. 1960
Layout
Platforms
![Didcot - GWR 800017+800016 arriving from Swansea](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Didcot_-_GWR_800017%2B800016_arriving_from_Swansea.JPG)
The station is located just to the north of the town centre in
Didcot
Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...
. It can only be accessed by car from Station Road itself on the south side of the railway, although passengers may park in Foxhall Road Long Stay
Car Park
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...
, situated on Basil Hill Road, and cross a footbridge to the station. The station entrance is at road level; platforms 2-5 may be accessed by lifts, while platform 1 may be accessed from the ramp to the left of the station building near the taxi rank. All services are operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
.
*Platform 1 –
Down (westbound) express services to , , and , limited services to
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
, and
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
.
*Platform 2 –
Up (eastbound) express services to
London Paddington
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
.
*Platform 3 – Down (northbound) local services to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
.
*Platform 4 – Up local services to
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
and London Paddington,
*Platform 5 – Down (northbound) local services to Oxford, Banbury and Moreton-in-Marsh.
Junctions and yards
Didcot is a junction between the Great Western Main Line (GWML) and the route to Oxford and the Midlands. A marshalling yard is opposite platform 5 and another was once provided at Moreton, a little to the east. Moreton is still a junction, allowing trains to pass between the main lines on the south, and the relief and Oxford lines on the north. An avoiding line runs from Didcot East Junction, behind the marshalling yard and the Didcot Railway Centre, allowing trains to Oxford to run through without blocking the station platforms.
There also used to be another line at the East Junction which led to on the former DN&S railway. The track was lifted in 1967.
![Didcot parkway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Didcot_parkway.JPG)
The junction at the west end of the station which is accessible from platforms 3, 4, and 5 (the Oxford bound platforms) is known as Chester Line Junction. This is so called because that was as far at the Great Western Railway could take you from here.
West of the station is Foxhall Junction which allows freight trains from Oxford to travel towards Swindon. Immediately beyond this two goods lines diverge on the north side of the line. The first served a loop for Merry-go-round trains that used to deliver coal to
Didcot Power Station
Didcot power station (Didcot B Power Station) is an active natural gas power plant that supplies the National Grid. A combined coal and oil power plant, Didcot A, was the first station on the site which opened in 1970 and was demolished betwee ...
. The second serves the Milton Freight Terminal, though this line is not in regular use.
Beyond this the four main and relief lines merge into three at Foxhall Junction and after a small loop just before Steventon, the four lines pass under the A34 and become two lines as far as the old station at Wantage Road.
Improvement programme 2012
An improvement programme for the forecourt of the station began in September 2012 and ran for two years. Key features include:
* Larger taxi rank with covered waiting area
* Dedicated drop-off and pick-up area
* Short-stay waiting bays
* Disabled parking with step-free access
* Secure cycle parking and motorcycle parking
* Pedestrian piazza with seating and a glazed atrium and walkways
* Extra bus stops with electronic real-time information
* An improved East Car Park
* Better security with CCTV and new lighting
* New drainage to alleviate flooding
* Completion of a cycle route serving the station
Electrification
As part of the
21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line
Network Rail planned to spend £5 billion on modernising the Great Western Main Line, its South Wales branch and other associated lines. The modernisation plans were announced at separate times but their development time-scales overlap in the 20 ...
, the GWML was electrified to just west of Didcot Parkway in January 2018. It was extended west to Swindon in November 2018. It was originally proposed that the Oxford line also be electrified, however cost overruns resulted in this being deferred. As a result, Didcot Parkway has seen an increase in the number of terminating services with
Class 387s electric multiple units connecting at Didcot with
British Rail Class 165
The British Rail Class 165 ''Networker Turbo'' is a fleet of suburban diesel multiple-unit passenger trains (DMUs), originally specified by and built for the British Rail Thames and Chiltern Division of Network SouthEast. They were built by B ...
/
166 diesel multiple units.
Services
Didcot is a major junction, where the (
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
-built) line to Oxford, and further north leaves the GWML to Bristol Temple Meads via Swindon, Chippenham and
Bath Spa also to
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
via and . There is no local service west of Didcot, so local service is exclusively provided by local trains taking the line to Oxford. However, a proportion of the main line services to Bristol and South Wales do stop here, with the remainder passing through the station non-stop. Fast trains to and from the Oxford line can avoid the station using the Didcot East curve.
A few trains, generally early morning weekday and Sunday services, call at Didcot for the
Cotswold Line
The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.
History Early years
The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway.
...
to . Infrequently trains to and further south-west call at this station.
Didcot Parkway was served by some CrossCountry services until 2003 when
Virgin CrossCountry
Virgin CrossCountry was a train operating company in the United Kingdom operating the InterCity CrossCountry passenger franchise from January 1997 until November 2007. Virgin CrossCountry operated some of the longest direct rail services in th ...
ceased to call at the station, with all services using the Didcot East curve to and from the Oxford line. As at December 2018, one late night
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
service from Reading to Birmingham New Street passes through Didcot Parkway to allow drivers to retain
route knowledge. Passenger services on the West Curve ceased after
Thames Trains
Thames Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Go-Ahead that operated the Thames Trains franchise from October 1996 until March 2004.
History
The Thames Trains franchise was awarded by the Director of Passenger Ra ...
Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads service was withdrawn in 2003.
Didcot Parkway was planned to be on
East West Rail
East West Rail is a major project to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England. In particular, it plans to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keyne ...
, connecting the GWML,
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull.
It is one of tw ...
,
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
,
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands.
...
and Greater Anglia together. It was planned that people will change here for connections to/from Bristol Temple Meads and South Wales. , services were not planned to extend beyond Oxford.
An hourly service to/from Bristol was recommended in the June 202
Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study(page 8, diagram for morning peak), as well as an hourly service between Banbury and Bristol.
Accidents and incidents
*On 13 February 1861, a passenger train ran into the rear of a freight train at Didcot Junction. The guard of the freight train had failed to adequately protect the rear of his train.
*On 26 September 1873, a freight train was derailed whilst being shunted to allow a passenger train to pass.
*On 6 January 1932 a milk train and a freight train collided at Didcot East. The locomotive of the milk train was derailed and six tankers were slightly damaged. Ten wagons of the freight were wrecked and seventeen more were damaged. The milk train had overrun a danger signal.
*On 14 August 1964
LMS Stanier Class 8F
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 8F is a class of steam locomotives designed for hauling heavy freight. 852 were built between 1935 and 1946 (not all to LMS order), as a freight version of William Stanier's successful ...
locomotive 48734 collided with a train of tank wagons at Didcot North Junction. Eleven of them were derailed and caught fire. The locomotive was severely damaged by the fire and was consequently scrapped.
*On 1 January 1966 a freight train was derailed.
*On 3 February 2007 a passenger train caught fire. All 400 passengers were evacuated.
See also
*
List of Parkway railway stations
A parkway railway station is a railway station that primarily serves a park and ride interchange rather than a town or city centre. The name parkway originally referred to being built next to the M32 motorway, which was built through parkland a ...
Notes
References
*
External links
Didcot Parkway information page on National Rail website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Didcot Parkway Railway Station
Railway stations in Oxfordshire
DfT Category B stations
Great Western Main Line
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1844
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
Didcot