Bourne End railway station

Bourne End railway station serves Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the line between Maidenhead and Marlow, about 4.5 mi 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 south of the station. The station has two platforms.

History
The station was originally named Marlow Road station. In 1874 Marlow Road station was renamed Bourne End to obviate confusion with the newly opened Marlow station.

The station was opened in 1854 as part of the Wycombe Railway Company line between Maidenhead Boyne Hill station and High Wycombe. To reach Bourne End, a wooden viaduct was built across Cockmarsh and a wooden bridge was built across the River Thames.

In 1873 a line linking Bourne End with Marlow was opened to the public, with 1700 tickets being sold in the first week. Originally the branch line was served by a third platform on the west side of the station.

One notable early locomotive was no. 522, which became known as the Marlow Donkey and has inspired the name of a public house in Marlow.

Partial closure
British Rail closed the line between Bourne End and High Wycombe in May 1970. Trains are still run between Maidenhead and Marlow, but 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.

Services
Bourne End is a terminus but effectively acts as a through station, with the driver having to change ends to continue to the next station. During peak hours service frequency is increased by having two trains work the line, each using Bourne End as the terminus: one runs Marlow – Bourne End and one Maidenhead – Bourne End, with passengers changing trains at Bourne End. About 2–3 trains per day operate between Bourne End and Paddington in the morning peak and coming back in the evening peak.