Bourne End railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Bourne End
code = BNE


manager = First Great Western.
locale = Bourne End
borough = Wycombe
usage0405 = 0.254
usage0506 = 0.240
usage0607 = 0.238
platforms = 2
start = 1873

Bourne End railway station serves Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated on the line between Maidenhead and Marlow 4½ miles (7 km) north of Maidenhead.

Services are provided by First Great Western. The ticket office is open on weekday and Saturday mornings. There is a customer car park to the south of the station.

History

It was originally named Marlow Road station, with the name of the village not being adopted as the station name until 1874. The station has two platforms and is relatively small compared to others in the area.

The station was originally created as part of an Act of Parliament [http://www.mmpa.org.uk/history.html] authorising the creation of a single line broad gauge railway from the Boyne Hill station in Maidenhead. To reach the station, a wooden viaduct had to be built across Cockmarsh, and a wooden bridge was built across the River Thames. From there, the trains ran to High Wycombe. The line was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Wycombe Railway Company.

In 1873, a line linking Bourne End with Marlow was opened to the public, with 1700 tickets being sold in the first week. One notable early train was the no. 522, a locomotive which became known as the Marlow Donkey, and which has inspired the name of a pub in Marlow. Originally the branch line was served by a third platform on the west side of the station.

Partial closure

Trains continued to run from Bourne End to High Wycombe until 1970, when the line was closed. However, they still continued to run between Maidenhead and Marlow, although in recent years concerns have been expressed that the railway may have to be run voluntarily due to a lack of funding. There was local opposition to the creation of a Community rail partnership because of fears that this would isolate the line from the main railway network.

ervices

Services on this line are unusual, in that Bourne End is set up like a terminus but effectively acts as a through station, with the driver having to change ends to continue to the next station. The exception is during peak hours, when two trains operate the line, using Bourne End as the terminus. One runs Marlow - Bourne End and one Maidenhead - Bourne End, with passengers changing at Bourne End, this setup allows for an increased service frequency. Railway route diagrams show it as one continuous line.

External links