Windsor & Eton Central railway station
Windsor & Eton Central 
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The end of the branch line from Slough: the truncated Platform 1, with the towers of Windsor Castle visible in the background
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| Location | |
| Place | Windsor |
| Local authority | Windsor and Maidenhead |
| Grid reference | SU966769 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | WNC |
| Managed by | Great Western Railway |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| DfT category | D |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 1.830 million |
| – Interchange |
48,803 |
| 2012/13 |
1.849 million |
| – Interchange |
53,844 |
| 2013/14 |
1.879 million |
| – Interchange |
 48,460 |
| 2014/15 |
1.885 million |
| – Interchange |
50,024 |
| 2015/16 |
1.873 million |
| – Interchange |
43,195 |
| History | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | GWR |
| Post-grouping | GWR |
| 8 October 1849 | Opened as Windsor |
| 1 June 1904 | Renamed Windsor and Eton |
| 26 September 1949 | Renamed Windsor and Eton Central |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Windsor & Eton Central from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Windsor & Eton Central station is one of two terminal stations serving the town of Windsor, Berkshire, England. Although a small part is still a railway station, most of the station building has been converted into a tourist-oriented shopping centre, called Windsor Royal Shopping. It is situated on the High Street, almost immediately opposite Castle Hill, the main public entrance to Windsor Castle.
Originally named simply Windsor, the station was renamed twice: first to Windsor & Eton on 1 June 1904; and then, following nationalisation of the railways, to Windsor & Eton Central on 26 September 1949.
The station is the terminus of the Slough to Windsor & Eton line and is served by a shuttle service of trains from Slough operated by Great Western Railway. Windsor's other station, Windsor & Eton Riverside, is the terminus for the South West Trains service from London Waterloo.
Windsor Station opened on 8 October 1849 on the completion of the branch line from Slough, but only after considerable opposition from the powers at Eton College who were convinced that the proximity of a railway would lead the Eton boys astray.
An extension of the branch was planned in 1871–72 to connect to the south via Dedworth and Ascot. It was planned to diverge west from the viaduct, just to the south of the river bridge. Despite reaching an advanced stage of design, and with some property purchased plus the construction of a possible station building, the plans were never completed and were abandoned completely by 1914.
At one time, trains ran to various destinations including Basingstoke and London Paddington.
When, in 1863, the Metropolitan Railway opened the world's first underground railway, between Paddington and Farringdon Street in the City of London, the Great Western Railway ran regular through services to Windsor from Farringdon. Initially these were broad gauge trains, as the original Metropolitan was laid for mixed standard and broad gauges and, for some months, the engines and coaches were hired from the GWR. By 1865 there were ten trains daily on this route.
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Wikipedia