Reading   | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aerial view of Reading station in October 2023 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Reading, Berkshire, England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°27′32″N0°58′20″W / 51.4590°N 0.9722°W /51.4590; -0.9722 | ||||
| Grid reference | SU714738 | ||||
| Managed by | Network Rail | ||||
| Platforms | 15 | ||||
| Train operators | |||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | RDG | ||||
| Classification | DfT category B | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| History | |||||
| Previous names | Reading General | ||||
| Original company | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 30 March 1840 | First opened | ||||
| 6 September 1965 | absorbedReading Southern station | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  17.081 million | ||||
| Interchange | 4.352 million | ||||
| 2020/21 |  2.963 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.680 million | ||||
| 2021/22 | 8.818 million | ||||
| Interchange | 2.216 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 12.401 million | ||||
| Interchange | 3.730 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 13.490 million | ||||
| Interchange | 3.411 million | ||||
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Reading railway station is a majortransport hub in the town ofReading inBerkshire, England, it is 36 miles (58 km) west ofLondon Paddington. It is sited on the northern edge of the town centre, near to the main retail and commercial areas and theRiver Thames. It is the busiest station in Berkshire, and the third busiest inSouth East England.[1]
Reading is the ninth busiest railway station in the UK outsideLondon[2] and the second busiestinterchange station outside London.[3]
The station is managed byNetwork Rail and is served by fourtrain operating companies:Great Western Railway,CrossCountry,South Western Railway and theElizabeth line.[4]
The first Reading station was opened on 30 March 1840 as the temporary western terminus of the original line of theGreat Western Railway (GWR). The time taken to travel from London to Reading was reduced to one hour and five minutes, less than a quarter of the time taken by the fasteststagecoach. The line was extended to its intended terminus atBristol in 1841. As built, Reading station was a typicalBrunel-designed single-sided intermediate station, with separate up and down platforms situated to the south of the through tracks and arranged so that all up trains calling at Reading had to cross the route of all down through trains.[5]
In 1844, theGreat Western Hotel was opened across the Forbury Road for people visiting the town. It is thought to be the oldest survivingrailway hotel in the world.[6] New routes soon joined the London to Bristol line, with the line from Reading toNewbury andHungerford opening in 1847, and the line toBasingstoke in 1848.
Between 1865 and 1867, a station building, built ofbuff bricks fromCoalbrookdale withBath Stone dressings, and incorporating a tower and clock, was constructed for the Great Western Railway. Sources differ as to whether this was a new building, or remodelling of an earlier Brunel building.[7][8] In 1898 the single sided station layout was replaced by four new island platforms and six bay platforms bringing the total number to ten. The old platform (Platform 1) served the down main line and was widened to 60 ft (18 m) to contain most of the station's amenities as well as three 400 ft-long (120 m) bay platforms at its western end that served Basingstoke and Newbury traffic. Platform 4 served the up main line as one side of a new 1,150 ft (350 m) island platform. The other side, platform 5, became the down line's relief platform. At 50 ft (15 m) across, the island was wide enough to contain refreshment, waiting and cloak rooms as well as a bay platform at each end. The bay at the eastern end (4 East Bay) was for stopping services to London while the west bay (5 West Bay) received Oxford trains. Separated by the down relief loop (fast through line), platform 6 served up relief traffic while its own bay (6 East) at the London end received traffic from the various Great Western branches in the Thames Valley. A string of offices for station staff were built on the other side of the 900 ft (270 m) island to shield passengers from the up and down goods lines that ran adjacent to them. For non-stopping trains, an up loop was laid between platforms 1 and 4 but this was used as a carriage siding until 1908. No down loop was laid for the main line so through trains either had to use the down relief loop or slow down to 40 mph (64 km/h) while passing through the station. A 240 ft (73 m) pedestrian subway was dug to connect these new platforms and at the other end, access was enabled from the north for the first time in the form of a booking office on Caversham road. Access to the platforms was provided by hydraulic lifts powered by water from a new pumping station opened by the Vastern Road bridge. In January 1899 a new booking office was opened in the main station building and all three of Reading's signal boxes were rebuilt.[9]
Access to the station fromBroad Street was not direct, untilQueen Victoria Street was built in 1903. This provided a route through toFriar Street and Station Road.[10]
The station was originally namedReading and becameReading General on 26 September 1949 to distinguish it from the neighbouring ex-South Eastern Railway station.[11][12] The "General" suffix was dropped fromBritish Rail timetables in 1973, but some of the station nameboards still stated "Reading General" in 1974.[13] The juxtaposition of the two stations meant thatthe town's buses showed the destination 'Stations'.
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From 6 September 1965, services from the formerReading Southern station were diverted into a newly constructed terminal platform (4A) in the General station.[14] This was long enough for a single eight coach train, which was later found to be inadequate,[15] and so a second terminal platform (4B) serving the same line was opened in 1975[16] for the commencement of the service from Reading toGatwick Airport.
In 1989 a brand new station concourse was opened byInterCity, including a shopping arcade named after Brunel, opened on the western end of the oldReading Southern station site, linked to the platforms of the main station by a new footbridge. At the same time a new multi-level station car park was built on the site of the former goods yard and signal works to the north of the station, and linked to the same footbridge. The station facilities in the 1860s station building were converted intoThe Three Guineas public house.Elizabeth II reopened the station on 4 April 1989.
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By 2007, the station had become an acknowledged bottleneck on the railway network, with passenger trains often needing to wait outside the station for a platform to become available. This was caused by limited number of through-platforms, the flat junctions immediately east and west of the station and the need for north–south trains to reverse direction in the station. TheGreat Western Main Line at Reading has two pairs of tracks – theMain ('fast') lines on the southern side and theRelief ('slow') lines on the northern side. Trains transferring between the Relief lines and the lines that run throughReading West (to Taunton andto Basingstoke) had to cross the Main lines. Those trains, especially slow-moving freight trains, blocked the paths of express trains.
In July 2007, in itswhite paperDelivering a Sustainable Railway, the government announced plans to improve traffic flow at Reading, specifically mentioned along withBirmingham New Street station as "keycongestion pinch-points" which would share investment worth £600 million.[17] On 10 September 2008Network Rail unveiled a £400 million regeneration and reconfiguration of the station and surrounding track to reduce delays.[18][19] The following changes were made:
The redevelopment was designed to provide provision for futureCrossrail andHeathrow Airtrack services at Reading station.
The improvements have allowed capacity for at least 4 extra trains in each direction every hour and 6 extra freight trains a day (equivalent to 200 lorries). The local council has also planned developments of the surrounding area in association with the developments at the station.
The cost of the project rose to £897m, but it was completed a year earlier than expected.[20] The rebuilt station was reopened byQueen Elizabeth II on 17 July 2014.[21]
Network Rail took over management of the station from First Great Western in April 2014.[22]
Electrification of the Great Western main line through Reading station was completed in time for electric trains to commence service between Paddington andDidcot Parkway on 2 January 2018.[23]
The GWR built a small engine shed in the junction of the lines toDidcot and those toBasingstoke in 1841. This was enlarged and rebuilt in 1876 and again in 1930. It was closed byBritish Railways in 1965 and replaced by a purpose-builtTraction Maintenance Depot.[24] This was subsequently relocated by Network Rail, during the redevelopment works in the early 2010s, to the northern side of the tracks to the west of the station.
Extreme weather was the cause of an early casualty in the station's history. On 24 March 1840, whilst the station was nearing completion, 24-year-old Henry West was working on the station roof when a freak wind (described at the time as a tornado) lifted that section of the roof, carrying it and West around 200 feet (61 m) away; West was killed.[25] On the wall of the main station building there is a brass plaque, commemorating the event.
On 12 September 1855, a light engine was dispatched on the wrong line. It was in a head-in collision with a passenger train. Four people were killed and many were injured.[26]
An accident occurred at Reading on 17 June 1914, and was witnessed by the railway historianO. S. Nock, then a schoolboy. The driver of a train toAscot moved off even though thesignal was at 'danger', and into the path of an oncoming train bound forLondon Paddington; the only fatality was the driver of the Paddington train.[27]
T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) lost the 250,000-word first draft of hisSeven Pillars of Wisdom at the station when he left his briefcase while changing trains in 1919. Working from memory, as he had destroyed his notes after completion of the first draft, he then completed a 400,000-word second draft in three months.
German aircraft tried to bomb the lines into the station during the beginning ofWorld War II.
On 1 August 1990,Class 119diesel multiple unit L576 collided with a passenger train comprising4VEPelectric multiple units 3508 & 3504, and4CIG unit 1304 due tooverrunning signals. Forty people were injured.[28]
On 23 October 1993, anIRA bomb exploded at a signal post near the station, some hours after 5 lb (2 kg) ofSemtex was found in the toilets of the station. The resulting closure of the railway line and evacuation of the station caused travel chaos for several hours, but no-one was injured.
The station is on the northern side of central Reading. Since its most recent redevelopment, it now has two principal entrance facades, one facing south to the town centre and the other north to theRiver Thames. These are linked to each other and to the platforms for passengers by a transfer bridge (a broad covered overbridge with shops). Outside the ticket barriers they are also linked by the former station subway, which has been converted into a public pedestrian and cycle route.[29]
The southern facade hosts two entrances, one either side of theThree Guineas pub that occupies the original 1860s station building. These provide access to a multi-level streetscape, with a pedestrianised Station Square at the higher level and the taxi rank at a lower level. This streetscape is surrounded by the newStation Hill development,Thames Tower and theMalmaison Hotel.
The northern facade has a single entrance, providing access to a second taxi rank, a bus interchange used by buses heading across the river to and fromCaversham, and to the stationmulti-storey car park. These in turn connect to the town'sInner Distribution Road.
In thechainage notation traditionally used on the railway, the station's location on the Great Western main line is 35 miles 78 chains (35.98 mi; 57.90 km) from Paddington.[30]
The station has fifteen platforms. The nine through-platforms are numbered 7–15, each split into "a" (eastern end) and "b" (western end) sections. Platforms 7–11 are on the main (fast) lines, whereas 12–15 are on the relief (slow) lines. Relief line platforms 13–15 have access to the underpass for services to London Waterloo and Gatwick Airport.
| Platform(s) | Type | Facing | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| bay | west | Local Reading to Taunton line services to and from Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn |
| 3 | bay | west |
|
| bay | east |
Third-rail electrified |
| 7 | through | — |
|
| 8 | through | — |
|
| 9 | through | — |
|
| through | — |
|
| through | — |
|
| — | Main (Bristol-Paddington) lines | ||
| — | Westbury lines | — | Goods lines |
| — | Relief lines | — | Other lines |
Between 1975 and 2011, Reading station had four through-platforms and eight terminal platforms.
| Platform(s) | Type | Facing | Used by | 2011 renumbering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bay | west | Westbound Reading to Taunton line local services to Basingstoke, Newbury and Bedwyn | — |
| 4 | through | — | Westbound Great Western Main Line from London Paddington services | 7 |
| bay | east |
Third-rail electrified |
|
| 5 | through | — | Eastbound Great Western Main Line services to London Paddington | 8 |
| 6 | bay | east | Great Western Main Line local services to and from London Paddington (terminus) | 16, later removed |
| 7 | bay | west | Cross Country services to and from the north (terminate at Reading) | removed |
| 8 | through | — |
| 9 |
| 9 | through | — |
| 10 |
| 10 | bay | east |
| 11, later converted to through platform |
On 27 December 2011, the new platform 4 was opened, with all higher numbered platforms re-numbered:[31]
Platform 5 (old 4b) opened on 23 April 2012,[32] with platform 6 (old 4a) following on 12 July.[33] The Easter 2013 blockade resulted in the opening of new platforms 12 to 15 and the closure of the old east bay platform 16. Work then commenced to rebuild platform 11 into a through platform, following which the adjacent platform 10 was rebuilt to match.
In March 2013 the subway reopened as a public right of way from the north to the south of the station, with no platform access. This enabled removal of the old footbridge to commence, starting with the two sections nearest the car park which were lifted out in the first two weeks of that month. On 29 March 2013 the new transfer deck was opened, ready for the opening of the new platforms on 2 April. By 7 April 2013 the old footbridge had been completely removed.[34][35]
During the station's major reconstruction, and the associated moving of locomotive stabling and the servicing depot from south of theGreat Western Main Line to its north, a number of major components either became redundant or were no longer needed.[clarification needed] Network Rail offered these to museums and the railway preservation movement, for a zero price, but subject to the cost of delivery being recompensed. In April 2011, the pair of 17-metre (56 ft) former road bridges to the west of the station were delivered toLoughborough Central on theGreat Central Railway for future use on theirbridging project.[36] In January 2014 one of the 22,500-imperial-gallon (102,000 L; 27,000 US gal) water tanks was moved toBishops Lydeard on theWest Somerset Railway.[37]
The station plays a key role in serving theGreat Western Main Line, the line which runs west fromLondon Paddington station to Reading. To the west of Reading station, the line splits into two branches, allowing it to serve a variety of communities in the West and South West of England and onward into South Wales. The main branch proceeds toBristol Temple Meads, viaBath Spa,Chippenham andSwindon. TheSouth Wales Main Line diverges from the main branch at Swindon with trains running viaBristol Parkway,Newport,Cardiff Central,Bridgend,Port Talbot Parkway, andNeath to and fromSwansea. Some services on theGreat Western Main Line terminate at Bristol, while others continue on theBristol to Exeter line towards theWest Country. The other branch to the west of Reading station is theReading to Taunton line (the "Berks and Hants" line), which serves communities in Berkshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. High speed services on this line do not normally call at all stations along the route (except sometimesNewbury andHungerford), and some express services from the South West operate non-stop between Paddington andTaunton. The Reading to Taunton branch joins services travelling south from Bristol on the Bristol to Exeter line atCogload Junction, to the north ofTaunton. The line proceeds to serve the stations of Taunton,Exeter St Davids,Plymouth and onward to stations inCornwall such asPar where the branch toNewquay diverges where some trains terminate whilst most terminate at the terminus ofPenzance. Both high-speed intercity services and local services are operated byGreat Western Railway. Nearly all services are timetabled to stop at Reading.
Other main lines connect Reading withBirmingham New Street,Birmingham International and northern England, and withBasingstoke,Winchester,Southampton Central andBournemouth to the south. Through services from north to south on these lines are operated byCrossCountry, and all services stop at Reading, which requires the trains to reverse in the station. The main routes offered by CrossCountry are toNewcastle andManchester Piccadilly to the north and Southampton Central andBournemouth in the south.
The Elizabeth line operates a service toAbbey Wood, stopping at most stations to Ealing Broadway. On Sunday mornings and Sunday nights, trains terminate atLondon Paddington instead.
The secondaryNorth Downs Line connects Reading withGuildford,Reigate,Redhill andGatwick Airport. Services on this line, together with local stopping services toBasingstoke,Newbury,Bedwyn,Didcot Parkway and London Paddington, are also operated byGreat Western Railway. An electric suburban line operated bySouth Western Railway links Reading toWokingham,Bracknell,Ascot,Staines,Richmond,Clapham Junction andLondon Waterloo.
Pending the construction of thedirect rail route to Heathrow Airport, an express bus service,RailAir, links Reading toLondon Heathrow Airport, as do suburban services viaHayes & Harlington.
Reading station was intended to be the western terminus for the proposedHeathrow Airtrack rail service. This project, promoted byBAA, envisaged the construction of a spur from theWaterloo to Reading Line toHeathrow Airport, creating direct rail links from the airport to Reading, London Waterloo,Woking andGuildford. Airtrack was cancelled by BAA in April 2011[38] but, in October 2011, Wandsworth Council announced a revised plan called Airtrack-Lite.[39]
More recently[when?], the Government has committed to the construction of a rail route from Heathrow Terminal 5 to the GWR main line between Iver and Langley, with a west-facing junction there, thus providing for a direct route from Heathrow to the West. Great Western Railway will run this route when completed in 2027, connecting up with the Elizabeth Line branch and replacing the Heathrow Express. SeeWestern Rail Link to Heathrow.
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