It is 53 miles 10 chains (53.13 mi; 85.5 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Cholsey to the east and Swindon to the west.

The centre is a comprehensive exhibition of original Great Western Railway rolling stock, with demonstration running tracks and including a reconstructed station named Didcot Halt.

On 7 December 1964, local passenger services between Didcot and Swindon were withdrawn and the stations at Steventon, Wantage Road, Challow, Uffington, Shrivenham and Stratton Park were closed.

[4][5] The station was formerly the junction for the Great Western Railway's line to Birkenhead Woodside, via Birmingham Snow Hill.

This new route was 18 1/2 miles shorter, however, these express services ceased to run in 1967 with the electrification of the WCML, and New Street becoming the favoured station in central Birmingham.

These were opened on 29 July 1985 by David Mitchell MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, and on that date the station was renamed Didcot Parkway.

[7] In 2021, a new cycle storage hub was constructed, providing 600 covered spaces, LED lighting, CCTV cameras and a bike repair station.

[20][dubious – discuss] West of the station is Foxhall Junction which allows freight trains from Oxford to travel towards Swindon.

[23] Key features include: As part of the 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, the GWML was electrified to just west of Didcot Parkway in January 2018.

However, a proportion of the main line services to Bristol and South Wales do stop here, with the remainder passing through the station non-stop.

A few trains, generally early morning weekday and Sunday services, call at Didcot for the Cotswold Line to Hereford.

As at December 2018, one late night CrossCountry service from Reading to Birmingham New Street passes through Didcot Parkway to allow drivers to retain route knowledge.