The latest drone footage of Reading Green Park Station, captured this weekend, shows the new station facilities in their entirety from above.
Reading Green Park Station – the first station to open in Reading since Reading West in July 1906 – is scheduled to open in early 2023, once the necessary government commissioning process is complete.
The station, being delivered by Reading Borough Council, Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR), features:
- Two 150 metre platforms;
- A new fully accessible station building;
- A fully accessible overbridge, providing access to both platforms, via stairs and lifts;
- A bus interchange, taxi rank and cycle parking facilities;
- Two car parks, including 12 blue badge spaces and drop-off parking and long-stay parking for commuters.
It will sit on the Reading to Basingstoke line, providing a half-hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke through the day.
When open in the new year, the new station will help to alleviate queues on the busy A33 by offering an alternative, sustainable mode of travel. It will significantly 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. The new station will provide another sustainable way for Reading FC fans to travel to home matches.
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.
The next key milestone of this major project will come in January 2023, when the Application to Enter into Service is submitted to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR).
Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for strategic environment, planning and transport, said: “It is impressive to see the totality of what has been achieved at Reading Green Park Station, to date, in our latest drone footage. With the station construction complete, it now enters the commissioning period, which will come to fruition early next year.
“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 and we now turn our sights to early 2023, when the application to open will be submitted to the Office of Road and Rail.
“When operational, Reading Green Park Station will form an integral part of Reading’s ever-growing sustainable transport infrastructure with more homes, businesses and leisure developments planned in the south of the borough. It will also be another option for football fans heading to the Stadium on match days, again taking the pressure off our busy roads.”
GWR business development director, Tom Pierpoint, said: “We are working closely with the Council and Network Rail to deliver half-hourly services, better connecting the communities we serve.
“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.”
Joanna Grew, Network Rail industry programme director – Heathrow & 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 while reducing the level of traffic on the A33.
“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.”
In addition to Green Park Station, Reading’s public transport offer continues to go from strength to strength, with work on the transformation of Reading West Station continuing at pace and also due to complete next year and the recently completed Elizabeth Line now offering travellers to and from Reading modern trains, faster commutes and a seamless transition into central or east London without having to change to the tube at Paddington.
Reading Council has also submitted a £20 million transport bid for Government ‘Levelling Up’ funding to breathe new life into Reading’s transport network. The transport bid proposes investment in sustainable transport infrastructure, particularly for walking, cycling and public transport, focusing on South and West Reading. This funding would complement the £26 million Bus Services Improvement Plan investment that has also recently been secured.
