Twickenham railway station is in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is in Travelcard Zone 5. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South West Trains.
The predecessor, a neo-gothic station, was built by the London and Windsor Railway on the west of London Road bridge, opening on 22 August 1848.
Preparatory work for rebuilding by the Southern Railway in its "Southern Odeon" style on the east of London Road was halted by the outbreak of the World War II, with most trackwork and the vertical edgings of the five planned through platforms in place. After the war some platforms were made level for rugby spectators' trains which were hand-flagged through the embryonic station. It was not until 28 March 1954 that the present station came into use with three through tracks inconveniently having the two up platforms facing each other. The track at platform 1 is disconnected in one direction and stops at a causeway which allows rugby crowds to reach platforms 2 and 3 without entering the cramped station building. The original station was demolished immediately after closure and there are no remains to be seen.
On 4 February 1996, South West Trains operated its first service which ran from Twickenham to London Waterloo, departing at 05:10. This was the first scheduled privatised train to operate in 48 years.
Platforms 1 and 2 can be reached by the entrance reserved for match days. With staff attendance platform 3 can be reached across the causeway from the car park and platforms 4 and 5 by a stairlift from the road-level footbridge.
London Buses route 267, 281 and school route 681 serve the station. King Street is a short walk away and is served by routes 33; 110, 267; 281; 290; 490; H22; R68; R70, school route 691 and night route N22.
The RFU has petitioned the government to improve the station to be ready to handle the increased use during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Network Rail has consented to a plan to improve the station and the rolling stock, but progress has stalled because of disagreement between the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames council and some local residents. A judicial review was carried out in December 2012 of the planning permissions that had been granted. These reviews are now complete and construction will start in 2014.