The first station to open in Reading in more than a century has been completed, drone footage shows.
Reading Green Park Station comes 116 years after Reading West in July 1906, and is scheduled to open in early 2023 after the government officially commissions it.
The stations sits on the Reading to Basingstoke line, providing a half-hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke.
“It is impressive to see the totality of what has been achieved at Reading Green Park Station, to date, in our latest drone footage,” said Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport.
“As with any project of this scale, we have faced many challenges on the schedule - early on from material shortages and, more recently, with unforeseen power supply issues
The completion of the building work is a significant step forward.”
The application to open for service will be submitted to the Office of Road and Rail in January, meaning the station should open in the same year that the Reading West Station is upgraded.
Two car parks, a bus interchange, taxi rank and cycle parking facilities will service the station, which consists of two 150m platforms and an overbridge.
GWR Business Development Director, Tom Pierpoint, said: “Reading is a key destination on our network and this new station will help to secure the economic prosperity of the region as we seek to build back better from the pandemic.”
When open, the new station aims to alleviate queues on the A33 by offering an alternative mode of travel and give Reading FC fans another way to get to home matches.
It will improve accessibility to the south Reading area where large-scale development is taking place, including the expansion of Green Park Business Park and Green Park Village.
A detailed commissioning and safety validation process has now commenced and must be completed and approved by the Office of Rail and Road before the station can welcome its first trains and serve passengers.
Joanna Grew, Network Rail industry programme director in Heathrow and Thames Valley said: “Once in service, Reading Green Park Station will play an important role in connecting communities between Reading and Basingstoke through regular and reliable sustainable transport.
“The safety of passengers and our staff is our number one priority and now construction is complete, we will be working closely with GWR to complete a detailed safety evaluation to ensure the station is safe and ready to welcome its first trains and passengers next year.”
The news comes as Reading Council submits a £20m transport bid for Government ‘Levelling Up’ funding for Reading’s transport network, focusing on walking, cycling and public transport in the south and west of Reading.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel