Taplow railway station serves the village of
Taplow
Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...
in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is down the line from and is situated between to the east and to the west.
The station has been served by local services operated by the
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, 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 London Paddington statio ...
since December 2019. Currently, all eastbound trains terminate at
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 ...
; most westbound services terminate at Reading, with a few peak-time services terminating at Maidenhead.
History
Original station
![Maidenhead Bridge station entrance in 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Maidenhead_Bridge_station_entrance_in_2016.JPG)
The first station was opened on 4 June 1838 as ''Maidenhead'' (referred to as ''Maidenhead Riverside'' in some publications). The station was the terminus of 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 ...
for just over a year until the opening of
Maidenhead Railway Bridge
Maidenhead Railway Bridge, also known as Maidenhead Viaduct and The Sounding Arch, carries the Great Western Main Line (GWML) over the River Thames between Maidenhead, Berkshire and Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. It is a single structure o ...
and the line to on 1 July 1839. The station was renamed ''Maidenhead and Taplow'' in August 1854. It was constructed of wood, and situated west of the
skew bridge
A skew arch (also known as an oblique arch) is a method of construction that enables an arch bridge to span an obstacle at some angle other than a right angle. This results in the faces of the arch not being perpendicular to its abutments and its ...
that carries the railway over the Bath Road (the modern
A4), near .
With the opening of the present station miles to the west on 1 November 1871, ''Maidenhead and Taplow'' station was renamed ''Taplow''; it was closed less than a year later on 1 September 1872, when a new Taplow station was opened at its current location mile to the east. As with station, the actual station is a significant distance south of the village that it takes its name from.
Current station
The current station was opened on 1 September 1872. It was probably designed by GWR architect J. E. Danks, and largely dates from the quadrupling of the line, with
dual gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
main line tracks. It is unusually large and grand in appearance, despite the fact it only serves a relatively small number of passengers during the day. The first reason for this was because several major GWR shareholders lived nearby and therefore used the station in
Victorian times. The second being that it was always intended to be part of a high-quality network of stations for commuters using the GWR.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Taplow station played an important part in transporting
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
s stored at "the dump" which is now at the site of
Slough Trading Estate
The Slough Trading Estate founded in Slough in Buckinghamshire in 1920, was an early business park in the United Kingdom. According to the estate's owners and operators, Segro, Slough Trading Estate consists of of commercial property in Slough ...
. The
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
and steel-reinforced road that was laid to take the weight of the tanks can still be found in the station's south car park. Just to the north of the station on a
rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...
was a large
Barbed wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...
dump. The siding has long since been removed, the remaining noticeable incline being partially occupied by the nearby SGT car dealership buildings.
The remaining buildings of the station are outwardly little changed since their original construction.
2006 refurbishment
In 2006, the 1884 built station footbridge underwent a major refurbishment costing £250,000. The footbridge was in a very poor state of repair before the work began. This project also included a repaint of the station buildings, partial resurfacing of the island platforms, and renewal of the flower beds. The refurbishment was completed in time for the 2006
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...
at
Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of Wi ...
, which used a shuttle bus service to transport spectators to and from the event. During the duration of the event, the station briefly had a Sunday service. The station was heavily used during the
London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, because of the
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
and
canoeing
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
events at Dorney Lake.
Crossrail and GWML Modernisation
Various improvement works have been made at the station, with the refreshment of many station facilities, heated waiting rooms, and a new footbridge with lifts for step-free access. This is in addition to the work carried out as part of the
modernisation of the Great Western main line, which included the modernisation of signalling systems and electrification of the line between
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 ...
and .
Facilities
![2012 at Taplow station - buildings road side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/2012_at_Taplow_station_-_buildings_road_side.jpg)
Taplow retains the Victorian era ticket office, with a footbridge linking the platforms. There are four platforms, though platforms 1 and 2 (on the express lines) are gated off and only used in exceptional circumstances. The station is equipped with a ticket vending machine (TVM) and modern customer information screens and has a CCTV monitored car park.
It has been modernised in preparation for Elizabeth Line services. Contactless payment pads were added, and a new footbridge with three lifts were installed to provide step-free access to all platforms. The station previously had a bike shelter installed and toilets refurbished by
First Great Western
Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the Greater Western passenger railway franchise. It manages 197 stations and its trains call at over 270. GWR operates long-distance inter-city ...
. Taplow received '
Secure Station' accreditation from the
British Transport Police
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The original footbridge dating from 1884 was removed in totality in mid-2018, and replaced by a second temporary structure. The refurbishment of the lattice footbridge (damaged by railway contractors) appears to have been cancelled; a new modern footbridge with lifts at the London end of the station opened in late 2019.
Services
Since November 2022, nearly all services at the station are operated by the
Elizabeth line
The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, 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 London Paddington statio ...
, with a few early-morning and late-evening GWR services. The station is served by four trains per hour in each direction during weekday peak hours, and four trains per hour at other times. All eastbound services terminate at
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 ...
; westbound services mostly at .
References
Bibliography
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{{Crossrail navbox
Railway stations in Buckinghamshire
Former Great Western Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1872
Great Western Main Line
Railway stations served by the Elizabeth line