Windsor & Eton Riverside station is a station in Windsor in Berkshire, England. The station, close to the River Thames and Windsor Castle, is a Grade II listed building.
It is the terminus of the Staines to Windsor Line and is served by South West Trains from London Waterloo, some 25 1⁄2 miles (41.0 km) to the east. The station is also in close proximity to Windsor's other station, Windsor & Eton Central, which is served by Great Western Railway trains from Slough on the Windsor branch of the Great Western Main Line.
The station building was designed by William Tite as a royal station with a stone-faced frontage with a mullioned and transomed main window, gables and a multi-arch entrance. The main booking hall was decorative but is now a wine bar. There is a spacious concourse under the train shed at the head of the platforms. The two platforms extend a considerable distance beyond the train shed.
The wall on the south east (Datchet Road) side of the station forms a long curve, parallel with the platform, containing a series of arches with depressed heads. This wall links the station proper with the former Royal Waiting Room built for Queen Victoria. This is a small building of main room and ante rooms crowned by a turret with spirelet, and has Tudor arched windows. The interior of the main room has a ribbed ceiling with a pendant finial.
The route from Staines was authorised in 1847 and was opened by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway as far as Datchet, on the opposite side of Home Park from the town of Windsor, on 22 August 1848. Opposition from both Windsor Castle and Eton College delayed the completion of the line (there was similar opposition to the Great Western Railway line to Windsor Central), but eventually the Riverside station was opened on 1 December 1849.
In 1848 before Riverside station opened, the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway had been incorporated into the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which ran the services until 1923 when, under the railway grouping of the Railways Act 1921, the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway. In 1930 the line was electrified on the third rail system at a nominal 660 volts DC. In the 1948 nationalisation the line became part of the Southern Region of British Railways.
In 1974 the level crossing in the throat of the station giving access to Romney Lock was closed and replaced by a footbridge. Vehicular access to the lock was maintained by a road constructed on the north side of the station through the former goods yard which became the station car park.
As part of the privatisation of British Rail, the Stagecoach Group company South West Trains took over operation of the service and the station in 1996. Ownership of the line and station passed to Railtrack and subsequently to Network Rail.
The Windsor Link Railway is a proposed new railway, connecting the Great Western and South West Trains franchise areas and potentially linking both to London Heathrow Airport. Windsor & Eton Riverside and Windsor & Eton Central railway stations would be replaced with one through-route station in the Windsor Goswells.
The focus is on a short tunnel through central Windsor itself and a proof-of-concept on this is currently being supported by a major rail infrastructure company.
In June 2013 the company announced that Network Rail had given the green light to go ahead to the next phase of development and seek private investment.
On 22 May 2009, the end carriage of the 06:15 departure derailed as the train pulled out of the station causing disruption to services for much of the day. No trains ran the full route, with an hourly service terminating at Datchet and all other trains terminating at Staines.
On 11 October 2009 the bogie of a DEMU (vehicle 60118), on "The Eton Rifles" tour, derailed on arrival at platform 1. The tour could not continue and passengers were sent out on the next timetabled train.
There is usually a half-hourly service to London Waterloo seven days a week, taking just over an hour to reach Waterloo. The service is currently provided by South West Trains.