Reading West Train station redevelopment enters next stage

Renovations to Reading's second train station, Reading West, are on the right track as the project enters its next stage. The £3.3m revamp to the neglected station on the town's Oxford Road has now been handed over to Great Western Railway after Reading Borough Council contractors completed all preparatory works.

The next phase will see construction of a new ticket hall and new ticket gates at both the Tilehurst Road and Oxford Road entrances, toilets, waiting room and a retail unit. A new bus interchange and improved cycle parking will follow in due course.

Ed Goose is GWR's Regional Growth Manager. He had this to say about the renovation: “We are delighted to be progressing to this next stage at Reading West. We work very closely with Reading Borough Council and it is great to see this partnership working delivering for both our customers and for our neighbours.”

Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said “With the Council’s preparatory works now complete, physical work on the modern new station building and ticket hall will begin imminently, which is where local residents and regular users of Reading West will really begin to see a difference."

"Those same people will of course be all too familiar with the regular instances of anti-social behaviour which have blighted the station over many years. This project will deliver a much safer station environment through its design and day-to-day operation, which includes new ticket gates to limit access to the station to paying customers, new lighting, CCTV, toilets, a retail facility and better waiting areas."

"There will of course continue to be some continued disruption to pedestrians as GWR’s element of the works progress, with the full closure of the pavement on the south side of the Oxford Road. We would ask people to bear with us as the new station building is constructed."

“I’m also pleased to say that the open trench, which was used to divert various utilities away from the new station building, will be positioned behind hoardings in the GWR construction zone going forward, and the pavement next to the entrance of platform 1 will be reinstated, which I am sure will be welcomed by residents living in the vicinity.”

The train station is set to be fully complete by July 2023.

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