Temporary Closure of Tilehurst Road Entrance as Reading West Station Transformation Continues
- Tilehurst Road entrance to Reading West Station will be closed to passengers for a number of weeks as GWR carry out improvement works
- Only Oxford Road entrance will be accessible during the work which starts on Monday
- Reading West is being refurbished and modernised by the Council and its partners
RESIDENTS and regular commuters are being advised that the Tilehurst Road entrance to Reading West Station will be temporarily closed from Monday (Sep 26) next week, as work to transform the station continues.
The introduction of new ticket barriers are a key feature of the refurbished Reading West to allow only rail users to access the station platforms, which is not currently the case. This will help significantly improve safety and security at the station which has been blighted by anti-social behaviour in the past.
The Council’s partner in the transformation of Reading West, Great Western Railway (GWR), will also be installing new lighting at the Tilehurst Road entrance.
Rail users are being asked to access the station via the Oxford Road entrance instead and to allow extra time to catch their train while the Tilehurst Road entrance is closed. The temporary closure is currently expected to run until mid-November.
As well as the closure of the Tilehurst Road entrance, GWR will need to close the footbridge over the railway at Tilehurst Road in order to undertake the works. A temporary footway for pedestrians, complete with safety barrier, will be provided on Tilehurst Road, which will also require temporary traffic signals.
Reading Borough Council is working in partnership with GWR and Network Rail on a £3.3 million project to transform Reading West. A new station building on the Oxford Road forms the centrepiece of the improvements, which also include new ticket gates at the Tilehurst Road and Oxford Road entrances, new toilets and a retail facility, all of which will significantly improve safety and security. A new bus interchange and improved cycle parking are also part of the scheme, as are the improvements to the Tilehurst Road entrance.
Following preparatory works carried out by the Council, it handed the site over to GWR in July ahead of the next phase of work which sees the construction of the brand new station building and the improvements to the Tilehurst Road entrance.
Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport, said:
“The necessary temporary closure of the Tilehurst Road entrance to Reading West by GWR means it is important that residents and regular rail commuters build in additional time to their journeys. They will now need to walk around to the Oxford Road entrance to access both platforms while the improvement works take place over the coming weeks. As well as the usual publicity there are posters at the entrance giving advance notice, which hopefully will mean no-one will be caught out.
“We would ask people to bear with us during this temporary inconvenience, including the temporary traffic signals on Tilehurst Road. The end result will be a safer station environment, delivered through the design and day to day operation of Reading West, which includes new ticket gates to limit access to the station to paying customers, new lighting, CCTV, toilets, a retail facility and better waiting areas.”
GWR’s estimate for completion of Reading West is early 2023.