West Drayton station is on the original line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened on 4 June 1838 at the same time as the line. However the original station was located slightly to the west of the current station, and was relocated to its current position from 9 August 1884 when the branch to Staines was opened. From 1 March 1883, the station was served by District Railway services running between Mansion House and Windsor. The service was discontinued as uneconomic after 30 September 1885. West Drayton was the junction station for both the Staines branch, and an earlier branch to Uxbridge Vine Street that opened in 1856. The Uxbridge branch closed to passengers in 1962, but part of the line was retained for freight traffic until 1979. The Staines branch closed to passengers in 1965