It opened in 1850 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's branch line to Verney Junction which provided connections to Banbury, Bletchley and Oxford and closed in 1963.

[5] The Buckinghamshire Railway's station was built at the southern end of the main high street and was constructed of a yellow-grey coloured stone.

A water tower for locomotives was positioned on the roof of a stone shelter situated on the up platform, slowly refilling from a nearby spring.

The Great Central provided a faster and more direct route to London; its station enjoyed seven trains a day from Marylebone, including an express which took 84 minutes, compared with the line's infrequent sparse service to Euston via Bletchley.

[10] On 13 May 1950 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at Brackley station en route to the first official British Grand Prix held at Silverstone.