Slough to Windsor & Eton Line

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Legend


		Great Western Main Line
		Slough
		Windsor & Eton Central

The Slough to Windsor & Eton Branch Line is a short railway line from the Great Western Main Line at Slough to Windsor and Eton Central Station at Windsor in Berkshire, England. Trains along this line are operated by First Great Western and run every 30 minutes in each direction for most of the day, increasing to roughly every 20 minutes in the peaks.

All services terminate at Slough and passengers wishing to travel to onward stations should change there. Despite the need to change, passengers taking this route enjoy considerably faster journey times between Windsor and London than those using the 'Southern' line between Windsor and Eton Riverside and London Waterloo (between 30-40 minutes compared almost an hour for the direct, but stopping service).

[edit] Rolling Stock

A 2-car Class 165 DMU, as used on the Windsor Branch.

Like the rest of the Western Region, the Windsor Branch has not (yet) been electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.

Services are currently provided using Class 165 and Class 166 2- and 3-car diesel multiple units.

In the 1970s and 1980s, 'First Generation' DMUs like the Class 117 and Class 121 ('Bubblecars') were used.

[edit] History

The line opened on 8 October 1849, despite opposition from Eton College as a broad gauge line. Dual gauge track was lain in 1862.^[1]

Between 1 March 1883 and 30 September 1885 the branch was also served by the District Line.

An intermediate halt was opened in Chalvey in 1929, but closed in 1930^[2].

[edit] References

^ Windsor Branch workings in the Postwar Years, abstracts from Great Western Railway Journal Volume 4. Accessed 10 February 2007
^ p53, Around Slough in Old Photographs, Judith Hunter & Karen Hunter, Alan Sutton Publishing 1992, p69, The Changing Face of Slough, Slough Museum, Breedon Books, 2003

v • d • e Railway lines in South-West England and the "Great Western" zone :
Main lines:	Cross-Country Route • Great Western Main Line Bristol-Taunton line • Cherwell Valley Line • Cornish Main Line • Gloucester-Newport Line • Exeter-Paignton "Riviera" Line • Reading-Plymouth line • South Wales Main Line • Wessex Main Line • West of England Main Line
Commuter lines:	Severn Beach Line Slough-Windsor & Eton Line
Rural lines:	Exeter-Barnstaple "Tarka" Line • Exeter-Exmouth "Avocet" Line • Golden Valley Line • Heart of Wessex Line • Henley Branch Line • Looe Valley Line • Marlow Branch Line • Par-Newquay "Atlantic Coast" Line • St Ives Bay Line • Tamar Valley Line • Truro-Falmouth "Maritime" Line

v • d • e Railway lines in South-East England:
Main lines:		Arun Valley Line Ashford via Maidstone East Line Ashford-Ramsgate via Canterbury Line Brighton Main Line Chatham Main Line East Coastway Hastings Line Channel Tunnel Rail Link Kent Coast Line North Downs Line Portsmouth Direct Line South Eastern Main Line South Western Main Line Thameslink West Coastway West of England Main Line
Commuter lines:		Alton Line Ascot-Guildford Line Bexleyheath Line Caterham Line Catford Loop Chessington Branch Dartford Loop Eastleigh-Fareham Line Eastleigh-Romsey Line Greenwich Line Hayes Line Hounslow Loop Mid-Kent Line New Guildford Line North Kent Line Nunhead to Lewisham link Oxted Line Sheerness Line Slough-Windsor & Eton Line South London Line Staines-Windsor & Eton Line Staines to Weybridge Line Sutton Mole Valley Line Tattenham Corner Line Waterloo-Reading Line West London Line
Rural lines:		Brockenhurst-Lymington Line Henley Branch Line Island Line Marlow Branch Line Marshlink Line Medway Valley Line Redhill-Tonbridge Line