The Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway was incorporated on 4th August 1845 to build a broad gauge line between the named places. In the light of the gauge controversy at the time, it was forced to construct it as a mixed gauge line but in practice it was only ever operated as a standard gauge route and after a struggle it opened throughout on 1st July 1854.
This company merged with the Worcester & Hereford and the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford to form the West Midland Railway in 1860, which in turn was absorbed by the Great Western Railway from 1st August 1863.
The route was served for many years by a 2 hourly service of expresses between Paddington and Hereford with water troughs installed near Charlbury in 1906. In the days of steam the ascent on to the Cotswold escarpment from Honeybourne to Chipping Campden was a major impediment to the flow of traffic with banking locomotives stabled at Honeybourne to assist freight trains up this climb.
With the closure of connecting branch lines during the 1960s and the run down in traffic generally, the line was singled over considerable lengths. Assisted by pressure from the Cotswold Line Promotion Group and its promotion as the Cotswold Line the situation has partially reversed itself, with Honeybourne station for instance, closed on 5th May 1969, reopened albeit as a basic facility on 22nd May 1981. In 2010 work has started in reinstating some sections of double track to provide paths for more trains.

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