THE NEXT phase of construction is set to begin on the Reading West Station as it undergoes modernisation.
Reading Borough Council has completed preparatory works on the site and handed it over to Great Western Railway.
The council is working in partnership with GWR and Network Rail on a £3.3 million project which will see the station on Oxford Road to transform the station.
Plans currently include a new station building under the bridge on Oxford Road, which will form the centerpiece of improvement works.
They also include the installation of new ticket barriers at both entrances, new toilets, a retail facility, and CCTV to combat anti-social behaviour.
Cllr 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.”
RBC conducted extensive works to prepare the site for further development, including the realignment of the highway to make space for the station and the diversion of utility services away from the site.
The next phase will now see GWR’s contractor, Nationwide Rail, begin digging the station foundations on site, resulting in the closure of the pavement on the south side of Oxford Road.
Platforms 1 and 2 of the station will still be accessible from Oxford Road, though the westbound bus stop has been moved further along to a temporary site.
Cllr Page said: “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.”
Ed Goose, regional growth manager East at GWR, said: “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.”
