Didcot Parkway
The front of Didcot Parkway station in November 2020.
General information
Location	Didcot,District of South Oxfordshire England
Coordinates	51°36′43″N1°14′37″W / 51.61197°N 1.24348°W /51.61197; -1.24348
Grid reference	SU525905
Managed by	Great Western Railway
Platforms	5
Other information
Station code	DID
Classification	DfT category B
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1844	Opened
1962	Line to Newbury closed to passengers
1985	RenamedDidcot Parkway
Passengers
2019/20	3.339 million
Interchange	0.596 million
2020/21	0.584 million
Interchange	0.101 million
2021/22	2.024 million
Interchange	0.361 million
2022/23	2.330 million
Interchange	0.546 million
2023/24	2.546 million
Interchange	0.545 million
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from theOffice of Rail and Road

Didcot Parkway is a railway station servingDidcot, a town inOxfordshire, England. The station was opened asDidcot on 12 June 1844^[1] and was renamedDidcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 byBritish Rail,^[1] to reflect its role as apark and ride railhead. It is 53 miles 10 chains (53.13 mi; 85.5 km) down the line fromLondon Paddington and is situated betweenCholsey to the east andSwindon to the west.^[2]

The station is a stop on local services operated byGreat Western Railway betweenReading andOxford, and by main line services from Paddington to the south-west of England and south Wales.

Just to the north of the station is theDidcot Railway Centre, which is accessed through the station. The centre is a comprehensive exhibition of originalGreat Western Railway rolling stock, with demonstration running tracks and including a reconstructed station namedDidcot Halt.

The railway has run through Didcot since 1 June 1840, when the Great Western Railway extended its main line from Reading toSteventon. During this period, astagecoach transported passengers toOxford from Steventon. A few weeks later, the line was extended toFaringdon Road station nearWest Challow, and eventually toBristol Temple Meads. On 12 June 1844, the line from Didcot to Oxford was opened and Didcot station was opened at the junction. The original intended route would have taken a line from Steventon to Oxford viaAbingdon, but Abingdon's townspeople objected to this idea.^[3] Otherwise, it is unlikely that Didcot would have evolved into the town it is today, as its initial growth was prompted by the coming of the railway.

TheDidcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&S) linked the town withNewbury, carrying services toSouthampton Terminus viaHighclere,Winchester andEastleigh. In its latter years, it was reduced to a rural backwater before its closure just before theBeeching cuts. The DN&S was closed to passengers on 10 September 1962 and to freight in 1967. At the eastern end of Platform 1, there is a raised section of the east car park, which used to be the bay platform for the DN&S line.

On 7 December 1964, local passenger services between Didcot and Swindon were withdrawn; the stations at Steventon,Wantage Road,Challow,Uffington,Shrivenham andStratton Park were closed.^[4][5]

The station was formerly the junction for the Great Western Railway's line toBirkenhead Woodside, viaBirmingham Snow Hill. The majority of express services between London and Birkenhead via this route ceased to operate via Reading and Didcot in 1910 with the opening of theGreat Western and Great Central Joint line, as well as the Bicester cut-off. This new route was 18 1/2 miles shorter and, with the electrification of theWest Coast Main Line, these express services ceased to run in 1967;New Street became the favoured station in central Birmingham.

In 1985, a new main building for the station was built along with a new 600-space car park on the site of the former provender store to the west of the station forPark and Ride use. These were opened on 29 July 1985 byDavid Mitchell MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, and on that date the station was renamed Didcot Parkway.^[6]

In 2018, a multi-storey car park was opened, costing £20 million and increasing the number of spaces by 65% to 1800. The car park also has a sheltered footbridge.^[7]

In 2021, a new cycle storage hub was constructed, providing 600 covered spaces, LED lighting, CCTV cameras and a bike repair station. The project cost £1m, and was completed by a partnership of GWR, DfT and Network Rail.^[8]

Didcot Parkway was served by some CrossCountry services until 2003, whenVirgin CrossCountry ceased to call at the station, with all services using the Didcot East curve to and from the Oxford line. As at December 2018, one late nightCrossCountry service from Reading to Birmingham New Street passed through Didcot Parkway to allow drivers to retainroute knowledge. Passenger services on the West Curve ceased for a time afterThames Trains' Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads service was withdrawn in 2003 but has been reinstated on Saturdays in 2024.^[9]

• On 13 February 1861, a passenger service ran into the rear of a freight train at Didcot Junction. The guard of the freight train had failed to adequately protect the rear of his train.^[10]
• On 26 September 1873, a freight train was derailed whilst being shunted to allow a passenger train to pass.^[11]
• On 6 January 1932, a milk train and a freight train collided at Didcot East. The locomotive of the milk train,GWR 2800 Class2-8-0 no. 2808, was derailed and six tankers were slightly damaged. Ten wagons of the freight were wrecked and seventeen more were damaged. The milk train had overrun a danger signal.^[12]
• On 14 August 1964,LMS Stanier Class 8F locomotive 48734 collided with a train of tank wagons at Didcot North Junction. Eleven of them were derailed and caught fire. The locomotive was severely damaged by the fire and was consequently scrapped.^[13]
• On 1 January 1966, a freight train was derailed.^[14]
• On 3 February 2007, a passenger train caught fire. All 400 passengers were evacuated.^[15]
• On 31 May 2018, the station was evacuated after heavy flooding.^[16]

The station is located just to the north of the town centre in Didcot. It can only be accessed by car from Station Road itself on the south side of the railway, although passengers may park in Foxhall Road long-staycar park, situated on Basil Hill Road, and cross a footbridge to the station. The station entrance is at road level; platforms 2-5 may be accessed by lifts, while platform 1 may be accessed from the ramp to the left of the station building near the taxi rank.

There are five platforms:

• Platform 1:Down (westbound) express services toBristol Temple Meads,Cheltenham Spa,Cardiff Central and Swansea, limited services toWeston-super-Mare,Exeter St Davids andCarmarthen
• Platform 2:Up (eastbound) express services to London Paddington
• Platform 3: Down (northbound) local services to Oxford,Hereford andBanbury
• Platform 4: Up local services to Reading and London Paddington
• Platform 5: Down (northbound) local services to Oxford, Banbury andMoreton-in-Marsh.

v t e Railways around Didcot
Legend
Great Western Main Line toPaddington Moreton Junction Main to relief line crossovers Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway Didcot East Junction Didcot Parkway Didcot Railway Centre Didcot West Junction Cherwell Valley line toOxford Didcot North Junction Foxhall Junction Didcot Power Station Milton Park Great Western Main Line toSwindon

Didcot is a junction between the Great Western Main Line (GWML) and the route to Oxford and the Midlands. A marshalling yard is opposite platform 5^[25] and another was once provided at Moreton, a little to the east. Moreton is still a junction, allowing trains to pass between the main lines on the south, and the relief and Oxford lines on the north. An avoiding line runs from Didcot East Junction, behind the marshalling yard and the Didcot Railway Centre, allowing trains to Oxford to run through without blocking the station platforms.^[2] There also used to be another line at the East Junction which led to Newbury on the former DN&S railway. The track was lifted in 1967.^[26]

The junction at the west end of the station which is accessible from platforms 3, 4 and 5 (Oxford-bound) is known asChester Line Junction-.^[2][27]

West of the station is Foxhall Junction, which allows freight trains from Oxford to travel towards Swindon. Immediately beyond this, two goods lines diverge on the north side of the line. The first served a loop for Merry-go-round trains that used to deliver coal^[28] toDidcot Power Station. The second serves the Milton Freight Terminal, though this line is not in regular use.^[29] Beyond this, the four main and relief lines merge into three at Foxhall Junction and after a small loop just before Steventon, the four lines pass under the A34 and become two lines as far as the old station at Wantage Road.^[29]

An improvement programme for the forecourt of the station began in September 2012 and ran for two years.^[30]

Key features include:

• Larger taxi rank with covered waiting area
• Dedicated drop-off and pick-up area
• Short-stay waiting bays
• Disabled parking with step-free access
• Secure cycle parking and motorcycle parking
• Pedestrian piazza with seating and a glazed atrium and walkways
• Extra bus stops with electronic real-time information
• An improved East car park
• Better security with CCTV and new lighting
• New drainage to alleviate flooding
• Completion of a cycle route serving the station.

As part of the21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, the line was electrified to just west of Didcot Parkway in January 2018;^[31] it was extended west to Swindon in November 2018. It was originally proposed that the Oxford line also be electrified; however, cost overruns resulted in this being deferred.^[32] As a result, Didcot Parkway has seen an increase in the number of terminating services withClass 387electric multiple units connecting at Didcot withClasses 165 and166diesel multiple units.

Didcot is a major junction, with regular Great Western Railway services on the following routes:^[33]

• London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads or Cardiff Central, via Swindon,Chippenham andBath Spa
• London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa, via Swindon andGloucester
• London Paddington to Great Malvern, via Oxford,Evesham andWorcester Shrub Hill
• London Paddington to Didcot Parkway
• Didcot Parkway to Oxford or Banbury.

A few trains, generally in the early mornings on weekdays and Sunday services, call at Didcot for theCotswold Line to Hereford. Infrequently, trains to Weston-super-Mare and further south-west call at this station.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Reading		Great Western Railway Cotswold Line		Oxford
		Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line Fast Services		Swindon
Cholsey		Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line Stopping Services		Terminus
Terminus		Great Western Railway Cherwell Valley Line		Appleford
	Historical railways
Moulsford Line open, station closed		Great Western Railway Great Western Main Line		Steventon Line open, station closed
		Great Western Railway Cherwell Valley Line		Appleford Line and station open
	Disused railways
Terminus		Great Western Railway Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway		Upton and Blewbury Line and station closed

• List of Parkway railway stations

• Butt, RVJ (1995).The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd.ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.

• Didcot Parkway information page on National Rail website
• Train times andstation information for Didcot Parkway station fromNational Rail

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDidcot Parkway railway station.

• Railway stations in Oxfordshire
• DfT Category B stations
• Great Western Main Line
• Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1844
• Former Great Western Railway stations
• Railway stations served by Great Western Railway
• Didcot

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