Green Park station is finally due to open by the end of the year
READING’S newest train station is expected to open before the end of the year, after the council announced the construction of the site is nearing completion.
The Green Park station will have two 150m platforms, and be fully accessible, enhancing links from the town centre to the site, which is home to a business park and a growing housing complex, as well as the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
There will also be a bus interchange, two car parks and cycle parking facilities.
Now that the station is nearly constructed, work can beg in of preparing it for daily use. This includes a safety validation process which has to be completed before the station can welcome its first trains and serve passengers. The new station is expected to be open by the end of the year.
It will operate a halfhourly service to Reading and Basingstoke throughout the day, and it is hoped that the station will reduce traffic on the A33.
Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said he was delighted that the construction of the new Green Park Station will be completed this month.
“We have faced challenges on the schedule from material shortages, but the completion of the building work is a significant step forward,” he explained.
“When operational, Green Park Station will form an integral part of Reading’s evergrowing 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.”
It has been a long journey to get the station to this point.
It was originally announced in July 2007 – 15 years ago – and approved by the Office of Rail Regulation in 2009. It had originally been expected to be in use by 2010.
Planning permission for the station was granted again in 2015, and had then been expected to open in 2018.
However, construction did not start until 2019, and the intended opening date of summer 2019 had to be put back.
Such delays are common with large infrastructure projects like this. The Elizabeth Line has also undergone delays before it was ready.
However, the end date is now in sight, and it will not be long before Reading can take advantage of the new service.
GWR Business Development Director, Tom Pierpoint, said: “It’s exciting to see Reading Green Park Station taking shape. 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.”
And Joanna Grew, Network Rail industry programme director – Heathrow & Thames Valley, said: “The safety of passengers and our staff is our number one priority and following the completion of the construction, 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 by the end of the year.”
The Green Park Station scheme was granted approval by the Berkshire Local Transport body in November 2014 with £9.15 million funded through Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s Local Growth Fund.
A further £5.6 million has come from s106 developer contributions.
In July 2017 the Department for Transport announced a further £2.3 million of funding to ensure the station keeps pace with demand expected from proposed major new developments in the area.
In November 2019 the Council secured an additional £2.477 million from the Government’s New Stations Fund, and £550 thousand from Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s (Local Enterprise Partnership) Local Growth Fund, for Green Park Station bringing the overall budget for Green Park to £20.077 million.
The project received additional funding of £1.25 million from GWR and £2.015 million from Network Rail in March.