In 1852 construction started; the first section to be built was between Maidenhead and High Wycombe, and opened for passenger services on 1 August 1854.

[3] The GWR converted the entire line to standard gauge in one week, between 23 August and 1 September 1870.

In 1963, British Railways closed the section between Princes Risborough and Kennington Junction to passenger traffic.

The line between Kennington Junction and the former Morris Cowley station is open for freight traffic to and from the Mini (BMW) factory.

The railway originally crossed the Thames at Bourne End on a 12-span wooden bridge but this was replaced in 1895 by a 3-span steel structure.

It approached Cores End, crossed the A4094 road and entered the agricultural areas of Wooburn Green.

Although the M40 was built after the dismantling of the track, the alignment was preserved with an overbridge, which can be viewed today from the A4094 past The Dreams Store, towards Wycombe Marsh.

At Loudwater railway station, as at Wooburn Green, the original layout was a single platform.

The line then progressed towards The Rye area, and at what is now the Willow Court housing estate, turned sharply northwest towards Oxford Road.

In 2008, Parliament passed the Crossrail Act 2008 (c. 18) to build a new cross-London line with its services terminating at Maidenhead.

[citation needed] In 2017, Wycombe District Council approved a two-year study into the feasibility of the route.

[8] In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line was listed as Priority 2 for reopening.