Green Park Station Takes Shape

READING'S Green Park Station is taking shape with a new footbridge linking the two platforms now in position.

Construction on the new £20 million station began in Spring 2019 and is now progressing well despite initial delays to the project caused by the pandemic.

Reading Borough Council is leading on the construction and work is expected to be completed by November this year. A commissioning period involving the train companies and Network Rail then follows, where the Council needs to wait four to six months for the station to receive authorisation to be entered into service. Green Park Station is expected to be open for public use by June 2022.

The 15-meter bridge spanning the double tracks and weighing approximately 24 tonnes was lifted over the railway using a 200-tonne mobile crane.  The full installation of the 2 lift shafts, 2 stair flights and support towers and the overbridge were lifted in over four consecutive weekends, and work was completed on Sunday 8 August 2021.

The completion of this significant milestone follows the practical completion of two 150m platforms and the completion of the main steelwork for the Station Building.

Over the coming weeks, works will continue onsite to complete the blockwork associated with the station construction and will conclude with the fit out of the necessary equipment within the station building and platform.

Green Park Station will sit on the Reading to Basingstoke line and will be served by a half-hourly service north to Reading and south to Basingstoke through the day. It will consist of two platforms with disabled access and a multi-modal interchange with a surface level car park, bus stops, taxi rank and cycle parking.

When complete, the new station will help to alleviate queues on the busy A33 by offering an alternative sustainable mode of travel. It will significantly improve accessibility to the south Reading area where large-scale development is taking place, including the expansion of Green Park Business Park and Green Park Village. The station will also be served by buses operating on the Council’s South Reading Mass Rapid Transit route between Mereoak park & ride and Reading town centre.

Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport, said: “It is good to see real progress on the construction of the new Green Park Station with the new passenger footbridge in position.

“As with all major construction projects, the health emergency did cause some initial delays but, all being well, we are now around 3 months away from construction being complete. The station will then be commissioned by Network Rail and GWR before it can open for public use next year.

“When operational, Green Park Station will form an integral part of Reading’s ever-growing 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.”

GWR Business Development Director Tom Pierpoint said: “It’s exciting to see Reading Green Park Station starting to take real shape with the installation of the new footbridge. We are working closely with the Council and Network Rail to deliver a project which will provide even better connectivity for customers.

“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.”

The Green Park Station scheme was granted approval by the Berkshire Local Transport body in November 2014 with £9.15m funded through Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s Local Growth Fund. A further £5.6m will come from s106 developer contributions. In July 2017 the Department for Transport announced the further £2.3m 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 £2.477m from the Government’s New Stations Fund, and £550k from Thames Valley Berkshire LEP’s (Local Enterprise Partnership) Local Growth Fund, for Green Park Station,  bringing the overall budget for Green Park to £20.077m.

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