Maidenhead railway station serves the town of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is down the line from and is situated between to the east and to the west. It is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway and the

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...

, and is also the junction for the Marlow Branch Line. It has five platforms which are accessed through

ticket barriers In rail transport, the paid area is a dedicated "inner" zone in a railway station or metro station, accessible via turnstiles or other barriers, to get into which, visitors or passengers require a valid ticket, checked smartcard or a pass. A sys ...

at both entrances to the station. The Marlow line platform had an overall roof until 2014 when it was removed in the course of electrification works.

History

Maidenhead station geograph-2481781-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, which opened as far as Reading in 1840. The original Maidenhead Station lay east of the Thames, not far from the present station. This was the line's first terminus, pending the completion of the Sounding Arch ( Maidenhead Railway Bridge) bridge over the river. In 1854, the Wycombe Railway Company built a line from Maidenhead to , with a station on Castle Hill, at first called "Maidenhead (Wycombe Branch)", later renamed "". However, there was no station on the present site until 1871, when local contractor William Woodbridge built it. Originally, it was called "Maidenhead Junction", but eventually it came to replace the Boyn Hill station as well as the original station on the Maidenhead Riverside. In 2008 the station underwent major renovation works and in 2010 a statue of

Nicholas Winton Sir Nicholas George Winton (born Wertheim; 19 May 1909 – 1 July 2015) was a British humanitarian who helped to rescue children who were at risk of being murdered by Nazi Germany. Born to German-Jewish parents who had emigrated to Britain at ...

was installed on one of the platforms. In 2010 a statue was erected to honour the man dubbed the "British Schindler" for his work saving Jewish children from Nazi invasion. Sir Nicholas Winton was 29 when he smuggled 669 boys and girls, destined for concentration camps, out of Czechoslovakia in 1939. The statue, on platform three, depicts Winton sitting on a bench reading his famous scrapbook, which contained lists of all the children he helped to save.

Crossrail

Maidenhead was initially the planned western terminus of

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...

before an announcement was made in 2014 to move the terminus to Reading. Some peak

Elizabeth Line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...

trains terminate at Maidenhead, with two per hour continuing to Reading, so sidings have been built at Maidenhead to support this. The station has undergone significant modification, including the replacement of the existing passenger waiting facilities, a new ticket hall, lifts, platform extensions to accommodate the longer trains, the introduction of overhead line equipment and the construction of new stabling and turnback facilities to the west of the station.

Platform layout

The main entrance to the station is on the A308 with a back entrance on Shoppenhangers Road. The station has five through platforms and no terminating platforms: * Platform 1 - For westbound trains on the main line. This platform is mainly used during peak times, as outside these times few trains on the main line stop at Maidenhead. It is outside of the ticket barriers at Shoppenhangers Road and the gate to the platform is only opened when a train is due to arrive. * Platform 2 - For eastbound trains on the main line. This platform is mainly used during peak times, as outside these times few trains on the main line stop at Maidenhead. * Platform 3 - For westbound trains on the relief line. The concourse is shared with platform 2. * Platform 4 - For eastbound trains on the relief line. * Platform 5 - For trains serving the Marlow branch line. Trains either begin/terminate here or continue to or from London on the relief line. This shares a concourse with platform 4.

Services

All trains at Maidenhead are operated by Great Western Railway and the

. The typical off-peak service is: * 4tph to

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

* 2tph to * 2tph to * 2tph to * 1tph to During the peak periods, additional trains run to and from . In addition, the Marlow shuttle services increase to half-hourly and run only to . A half-hourly shuttle connects from to .

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Crossrail navbox Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Railway stations in Berkshire Great Western Main Line Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1871 Railway stations served by Great Western Railway Railway stations served by the Elizabeth line Maidenhead DfT Category C1 stations