The original plans for the line were promoted by an independent company; the "Birmingham, North Warwickshire and Stratford Railway", which received Royal assent in August 1894. The company failed to raise the necessary funds to build the line, and the powers to build it were taken over by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in July 1900. The GWR incorporated the line into their own scheme to build a new Birmingham to Cheltenham via Stratford main line. Construction began in September 1905, the line was opened to goods traffic on 9 December 1907, and to passengers on 1 July 1908.