Reading Remodelling

Network Rail is working closely with Reading Borough Council on the Government funded programme to tackle the bottle neck at Reading, one of the most critical rail hubs in Britain. Reading’s current track layout and signalling severely limits the number of services that can travel through the station. The £425m funding will deliver a 37% improvement in train service performance reliability in the Reading area by 2015.

Reading will benefit from this project as will the many destinations that Reading serves, including London Paddington, Bristol, South Wales and Oxford, along with London Waterloo, Gatwick Airport and the south coast.

The scheme will optimise capacity and provide flexibility in timetabling along and across the Great Western Mainline routes.   The scheme’s benefits include:

• Five additional 10-car platforms will be introduced to increase passenger and freight capacity on routes from London to the South West and Wales
• An increase in the number of through platforms of 75% to allow faster and more reliable services
• A new underpass at the West End of the station for the Main Lines will further increase capacity and prevent delays to both passenger and freight trains crossing the main lines
• A new northern entrance for passengers from the Caversham area, supporting regeneration to this side of Reading

The Government has pledged £425m to the project, while Network Rail and Reading Borough Council have invested considerable sums to start the planning of the scheme. A further £35m has been earmarked by Network Rail to continue the development of these plans. Once the local community has been consulted thoroughly, and detailed designs have been developed and approved, work to upgrade the route will begin.

Preliminary works are expected to start in 2009 with the main programme of work beginning in spring 2010. Work will continue at Reading until 2015.