Haddenham (Bucks)\ Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway stations

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Haddenham and Thame Parkway railway station 1 — The station, looking north west before the renovations in 2015. Attribution: David Hawgood.

Haddenham station 2007. — Site of Haddenham station in 2007.

Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Princes Risboro, Quainton Road & Verney Ashendon RJD 146 — A 1911 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Haddenham.

Overview[]

This article is about both the former Haddeneham station closed in 1963 and it's replacement, Haddenham and Thame Parkway, that opened in 1987. Haddenham railway station was on the former Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway between Princes Risborough and Ashendon Junction. It was closed in 1963.

History[]

Pre-beaching cuts[]

The Great Western & Great Central Joint Committee was created on 1 August 1899 with the dual objective of providing the Great Central Railway with a second route into London, bypassing the Metropolitan Railway; and of providing the Great Western Railway with a shorter route to the Midlands. The line ran from Northolt Junction to Ashendon Junction; the central section of its route was an existing GWR line. North of Princes Risborough a new line was constructed, which opened for goods on 20 November 1905, and for passengers on 2 April 1906. The only station originally provided on that new line was Haddenham, which was built on the western side of Haddenham village, on the north side of the present-day Station Road.

During the Beaching Cuts[]

It had been slated for closure as both under used and unnecessary when bus services were taken in to consideration, despite of some residents' protests in the local newspapers.

Closure[]

The station was closed on 7 January 1963 and the track was soon singled (it became a 1 track line).

Reopening and re-double tracking[]

Twenty-four years later, a new station was opened about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the north-west, named Haddenham and Thame Parkway.

Haddenham & Thame Parkway railway station is a station in Buckinghamshire serving the village of Haddenham and town of Thame in the neighboring county, Oxfordshire, England. The station is on the western edge of Haddenham, about 2 miles (3 km) north east of Thame, and is served by Chiltern Railways.

There used to be a Haddenham railway station at the village and a Thame railway station on the Princes Risborough to Oxford line, but British Railways closed both stations in 1963. The old Haddenham station was on a different site about 0.5 miles (800 m) south-east of the present one, and traces can still be seen where a bridge carries Station Road over the line.

The current station was opened on 5 October 1987 to serve Haddenham and Thame. The British Rail station was built on the north side of Thame Road, Haddenham, and was originally single platform, with the platform sited on the former down line, long since removed. However, in 1998 as part of "Project Evergreen", Chiltern Railways re-doubled the Princes Risborough – Bicester line and re-modelled (re-designed and re-located) the platforms so that from 24 May 1998, there are now two, one on either line. Since then the platforms have also been lengthened and the station building has been expanded to include a coffee shop following the removal of the newsagents based in a temporary building.

In recent years passenger traffic at Haddenham and Thame has grown rapidly. In the eight years 2003–11 the number of passengers using the station increased by 53%.

The village playground that covered the car-park[]

There was (as if 2007) a large ridge of earth in the village playground nearest the line. It got steeper toward the track side of the playground. The ridge is the remains of the footbridge's base and the playground was built on top of the car-park that was grassed over in the mid 1960's.

Renovations[]

In 2014/15, major renovations took place. A larger ticket was built and some platforms were extended. The plans were funded by Chiltern Railways, Network Rail, Buckinghamshire County Council and Sustrans. The original port-a-cabin ticket hall was soon replaced by a larger prefab building and finally a more permanent structure has been erected around 2010.

Future developments[]

Train numbers have steadily increased since 1987 and may rise a bit more if passenger numbers permit it to.

Train services[]

The station is served by two main routes, both starting from London Marylebone. One of these runs to Bicester North and hence to Banbury and Birmingham Snow Hill, whilst the other goes to Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway (using a recently constructed chord from the Chiltern Main Line to the Oxford to Bicester Line). Both lines have a basic hourly service in each direction all week, with weekday peak extras. Peak variations see trains starting/terminating at one of Bicester North, Banbury, Birmingham Moor Street or Kidderminster and there is a limited through service to Stratford-upon-Avon on weekdays and Sundays.

Through trains to/from Oxford will begin at the December 2016 timetable change.

Bus services[]

This service operates 7 days a week, as of 2015, at a frequency of up to every 20 minutes and is branded as Sapphire bus services. The service is operated by Arriva.

280 (Oxford station - Oxford - Wheatley - Thame - Haddenham - Aylesbury).

These services operate irregularly and are operated by Z&S International and Red Rose Travel.

111 (Aylesbury - Haddenham - Thame - Long Crendon - Oakley).
112 (Aylesbury - Haddenham - Thame - Waddesdon).
270 (Haddenham - Thame - Oxford).