READING Borough Council has announced that use of Reading’s train stations has continued to grow amid a sustained push towards public transport.
According to official figures released by the Office of Rail and Road for April 2023–March 2024, Reading Central station is the 9th busiest in the country outside of London.
They also show that the borough’s 3 other smaller stations have also seen a growth in usage.
Figures showed that an estimated 13.5 million passengers passed through Reading central station, constituting an 8.8% increase on the previous year.
Reading West saw the biggest increase in passenger numbers in the borough, up by 16% to 336,050.
More than 357,380 people travelled to or from Tilehurst station, constituting an increase of 12% over the previous year.
Reading Green Park station opened on the Reading to Basingstoke line in May last year and was used by 140,948 passengers up to March 2024.
The news follows a number of initiatives by the council to increase public transport use and improve facilities.
These improvements included the introduction a new station building containing an information counter and customer toilets at Reading West, as well as staffed ticket gates, new lighting, and CCTV.
The improvements saw the council work with rail partners and were concluded fully in March this year.
New passenger lifts, currently undergoing installation, are set to bring step-free access to Tilehurst station, and a new bus service, Buzz 9, has improved public transport access to the station at Green Park.
The Green Park station is the first new station to be opened in Reading for more than a century.
Reading Green Park station opened on the Reading – Basingstoke line in May 2023 and was used by 140,948 passengers up to March 2024. The Council worked with Great Western Railway and Network Rail to open Reading’s first new station in nearly 120 years.
Cllr John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said: “It is wonderful to see that more and more people are using the railways in Reading.
“We are lucky enough to now have four stations in the borough which have all benefitted from recent investment.
“The Council will continue working with our railway partners to improve station facilities as part of our ongoing commitment to provide realistic sustainable transport alternatives for people travelling into and around Reading.”
