Great Missenden railway station

Great Missenden railway station serves the village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire, England and the neighbouring villages of Prestwood, Little Hampden and Little Missenden. The station lies on the London to Aylesbury Line and is served by Chiltern Railways trains. It is between Amersham and Wendover stations.

Great Missenden
National Rail
General information
LocationGreat Missenden, Buckinghamshire
England
Grid referenceSP893013
Managed byChiltern Railways
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeGMN
ClassificationDfT category E
History
Opened1892
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 0.543 million
2020/21Decrease 88,124
2021/22Increase 0.288 million
2022/23Increase 0.376 million
2023/24Decrease 0.369 million
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Both station platforms have step-free access.

History

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The station was opened on 1 September 1892 by the Metropolitan Railway (Met), when its railway was extended from Chalfont Road to Aylesbury Town. The Great Central Railway served the station from 1899, linking the station with Leicester, Nottingham, and Sheffield.

When London Underground's Metropolitan line (the successor of the Met) was fully electrified in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a decision was made to run only as far as Amersham. This meant that Great Missenden was henceforth now only served by main line services; following the end of steam-hauled Metropolitan line trains in 1961 the service was provided by British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units until 1992 (which were then replaced by the line's current rolling stock). Responsibility for the station (and the railway north of Amersham to Aylesbury) was transferred from London Transport to British Railways on 11 September 1961;[1] British Railways signage gradually replaced that of the London Underground.

In 1966 as a result of The Reshaping of British Railways report, British Railways closed the line north of Aylesbury and the station is now only served by local commuter services. British Rail ran services until privatisation in 1996, when Chiltern Railways took over the franchise.

During the modernisation of the Met in the 1950s, the down (Aylesbury) platform buildings were demolished. In 1989-90 BR's Network SouthEast refurbished the station and the "up" (London) platform canopy was shortened slightly.

A Metropolitan Railway signal box used to stand at the south end of the down platform. It ended service in 1984, and was finally removed in 2010 to be used at the Mid Hants Railway as an exhibit.

Many Prime Ministers have used the station when travelling to and from their weekend residence, Chequers.[2]

Services

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At peak times there are up to four trains per hour to London in the morning, and returning from London (towards Aylesbury) in the evening. Some are express services that omit the stops shared with the Metropolitan line nearer London.

Journeys to Marylebone take about 45 minutes (35 minutes for express trains). Journeys to Aylesbury take about 15 minutes.

The normal service pattern is as follows:

  • 2 trains per hour to Aylesbury
    • 1 train per hour continues on to Aylesbury Vale Parkway
  • 2 trains per hour to London Marylebone
Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Wendover   Chiltern Railways
London to Aylesbury Line
  Amersham
Former Service
Preceding station   London Underground Following station
Wendover
towards Aylesbury
Metropolitan line Amersham

Onward Connections

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Station entrance

Buses operate from the station to High Wycombe and an infrequent service to Chesham (twice per week), run by Arriva Shires & Essex.

References

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  1. ^ "The Railway Magazine". August 2013. p. 47. ISSN 0033-8923. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. ^ House, Darren. "Great Missenden". Darren House Photography. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
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51°42′14″N 0°42′32″W / 51.704°N 0.709°W / 51.704; -0.709