Wargrave railway station is a railway station in the village of

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, England. The station is on the Henley-on-Thames branch line that links the towns of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

and Twyford. It is down the line from Twyford and measured from . It 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 ...

, and is a ten-minute walk from Wargrave High Street. The station has a single platform, which is used by trains in both directions and is long enough to accommodate a four coach train. There is a 30 space car park, but no station building other than a simple shelter. The station is unmanned, and tickets must be purchased on the train.

History

When the

opened the

Henley Branch Line The Henley branch line is a branch railway line between Twyford in Berkshire and Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It was built by the Great Western Railway in 1857. Train services are provided by the present day Great Western Railway tr ...

on 1 June 1857, the only intermediate station was . The Great Western Railway provided no station at Wargrave; apparently it considered Twyford station close enough. After many complaints from the villagers the GWR opened a station in 1900. At the time the line was double, so two platforms and a footbridge were provided, there was a goods yard with a few sidings and a 6-ton crane. The station was host to a GWR camp coach from 1936 to 1939. 1937 was a particularly busy year as some eight berth camp coaches were positioned here to provide accommodation for parties wishing to witness the coronation. These coaches were let at twice the normal hire rate for the week. A camping coach was also positioned here by the Western Region from 1953 to 1964. The line was singled again in June 1961, rendering the second platform and footbridge redundant. The station retained its Great Western Railway building until 1988 when

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 ...

demolished it on the grounds that it was unsafe.

Service

In normal service, there is a regular service between Henley-on-Thames station and Twyford station. All trains call at Wargrave. Trains operate every 30 mins during the day, reducing to hourly in the evening. The last train on weekday evenings runs through to

Reading station Reading railway station is a major transport hub in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the northern edge of the town centre, near the main retail and commercial areas and the River Thames, from . Reading is the ninth-busiest station in th ...

. At other times, passengers for Paddington and Reading must change at Twyford. During the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

, held every July, a special timetable is operated with additional trains. During this period, the service pattern for Wargrave is subject to change.

References

External links

* {{Railway stations in Berkshire Railway stations in Berkshire DfT Category F2 stations Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1900 Railway stations served by Great Western Railway