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Reading West Revamp

CarltonA

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The new building will have new ticket gates at the Tilehurst Road and Oxford Road entrances, new toilets and a cafe.
Currently there is only a ticket office and canopies to provided shelter on each platform.
Reading Borough Council, who along with Network Rail are jointly working with GWR on the project, said it was expected to be considered in the coming months.
A large investment for Reading West is planned by GWR. Amusingly, the BBC have got one image the wrong way round (at time of posting). Tsew Gnidaer will have 3.3 million pounds spent on improving the facilities. The building looks vulnerable to road accidents that close to the road IMO. Sorry if this already appears somewhere else on the forum.
 
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killer_clank

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There's been a lot of Value Engineered horror shows of station 'upgrades' recently, but this one is the absolute pits. Literally some shipping containers bolted together.

Appreciate it's hard to do much with the site, but there must be something better than this? Look how narrow the pavements are!
 

RPI

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I see the article makes reference to ticket gates being installed, that'll annoy a few passengers from Hungerford when they turn up at Reading Station asking for tickets from Reading West!
 

MarkyT

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Reading West was my local station until a decade or so ago. Visually, this 'site hut compound' design is truly awful, and narrowing the pavement to that extent should be unacceptable. The separate down side entrance from Oxford Road is a new thing that must have been built to replace the footbridge for electrification. I guess the purpose of the street level building is to get access to both platforms behind a common gateline.
 

JonathanH

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Wow, ticket gates at a wayside station like Reading West? I wonder if it will have first to last staffing and whether the exit to Tilehurst Road will be shut.

Quite a narrowing to Oxford Road as well.
 
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MarkyT

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Wow, ticket gates at a wayside station like Reading West? I wonder if it will have first to last staffing and whether the exit to Tilehurst Road will be shut.
I guess that, being only a short distance away in the urban area, and having a frequent service, they see it as an unacceptably easy way to get to Reading General and it's myriad connections while avoiding inspections. When I lived nearby and used the station regularly, the TOC set up ad hoc revenue inspections there frequently. I support the intention but not the 'Portakabin' design, which is only really acceptable if they claim it's 'temporary' until the section between here and Southcote is reconfigured, something that's been talked about for a while now and might require a more comprehensive rebuild of this station. So probably 'temporary' for 30 years or thereabouts!
 

JonathanH

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I guess that, being only a short distance away in the urban area, and having a frequent service, they see it as an unacceptably easy way to get to Reading General and it's myriad connections while avoiding inspections. When I lived nearby and used the station regularly, the TOC set up ad hoc revenue inspections there frequently. I support the intention but not the 'Portakabin' design, which is only really acceptable if they claim it's 'temporary' until the section between here and Southcote is reconfigured, something that's been talked about for a while now and might require a more comprehensive rebuild of this station. So probably 'temporary' for 30 years or thereabouts!
Yes, it makes you wonder why something similar at, say, Dorking Deepdene, isn't done. Perhaps it needs external money. If the purpose of ticket gates is partially to dissuade anti-social behaviour they need to be staffed from first to last trains.

There is also news about work at Theale and Tilehurst but they don't seem to be getting ticket gates. https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-stations-set-18m-revamp-19091074

The Berkshire stations set for £18m revamp - what they'll look like and when work will start

Theale, Reading West and Tilehurst stations will all get much needed improvements

An £18 million project will see two distinctly disabled-unfriendly train stations given new access for passengers.

But Reading West station will still not have lifts installed despite being included in an £18 million government refurbishment plan.

While details have been released of some improvements for passengers using Reading West station, lifts for disabled people are still not included. BerkshireLive revealed in January 2019 disabled lifts had been deemed unaffordable by Network Rail.

But it is better news for passengers using Theale and Tilehurst stations, where lifts will be installed.

Reading West MP and Business Secretary Alok Sharma has been working with Network Rail and the Department for Transport over improvements to Theale station for a number of years, and is delighted to see the much-needed improvements finally announced.

He said: "I recently met with representatives from the partner organisations at Theale station to discuss the planned improvements and to see the newly developed ticket office at the site.

"Having raised these issues on behalf of constituents over many years, I am delighted that passengers at Reading West, Theale and Tilehurst stations will benefit hugely from the improvements that are underway and I am delighted that funding has been made available by the Department for Transport to ensure this has been possible.”

Mike Gallop, western route director at Network Rail, added: "Following our meeting with Alok Sharma MP and the minister last year I am really glad to see the funding being made available by the Department for Transport so we can deliver these improvements. An enhanced travel experience is at the heart of us welcoming passengers back to the railways.”

Disabled campaigners have repeatedly revealed their frustrations at the lack of facilities at the three stations, which meant passengers in wheelchairs or who had difficulty walking would have to go to the main station in Reading if they wanted to catch a train.

Below are the improvements set to be made and how the stations will look.

Theale Station will see improvements including:
* A new, fully accessible footbridge with lifts
* A station building with a new ticket office, toilets and possibly a café
* Twice as many car spaces in a new decked car park
* Improved access for buses and taxis with a turning circle and drop-off area

Reading West station
* A new station building with improved facilities
* Ticket gates to help dissuade anti-social behaviour
* Improved accessibility

Tilehurst station
* New lifts will be connected to the footbridge at the station which was installed as part of a recent electrification programme.

When will the work start?

Work will be done in phases and will start at Theale and Reading West early in 2021.

What does it mean for the area?

Alison Webster, chief executive at Thames Valley Berkshire local enterprise partnership, explained: "The LEP has already invested nearly £30m of its Local Growth Funds directly into rail projects across the county – building on Berkshire’s already strong connectivity.

"We are delighted to be partners in the Theale station project and have provided £4m towards this important upgrade.

"As part of our planning for a green economic recovery from Covid-19, LEP funding is also supporting other sustainable transport options which will further enhance local connectivity and encourage people to have confidence to get back onto public transport and away from individual car use.”

Cllr Richard Somner, executive member for transport and countryside at West Berkshire Council, added: “West Berkshire Council is delighted with the upgrades to these stations. In particular at Theale and Tilehurst as this will improve connectivity and access for our residents to the east of the district, adding to the user’s experience and enhancing our public transport options.

"These developments are encouraging, and we can build on the improvements already made, to further enhance our public transport capability.”
 

Non Multi

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Yes, it makes you wonder why something similar at, say, Dorking Deepdene, isn't done. Perhaps it needs external money. If the purpose of ticket gates is partially to dissuade anti-social behaviour they need to be staffed from first to last trains.

There is also news about work at Theale and Tilehurst but they don't seem to be getting ticket gates. https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/berkshire-stations-set-18m-revamp-19091074
Theale already has a brand new station building, but it has sat unused in the middle of the car park, surrounded by Heras type fencing for at least 2 years. Unfortunately it's located nowhere near the existing combined public road and station footbridge. Presumably it would have been near the accessible bridge had it actually been built as intended back in 2018.

The proposed design for Reading West rightly received a pasting today on Twitter. I can't muster up anything positive to say about it other than it's deliciously dreadful.
 
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Alex27

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Working on the gateline at Reading, I can definitely say that Reading West is a major fare evasion hotspot, many people just go to Reading West rather than Reading to avoid the barriers. So barriers there will certainly pick up a lot of fare evaders, but I can't really comment on the rest of the station design ;)
 
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“ There will also be an improved bus interchange and cycle parking outside the station in Oxford Road.”

Laughable claim. Any advances on a bus stop and a cycle rack?
 

Bletchleyite

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A pig-ugly tin shack blocking the road[1]. How on earth did that get as far as being featured on BBC News without the designer being sacked?

[1] Before anyone shouts about trains vs cars, the narrowing would, for example, preclude cycle lanes being provided.
 

fgwrich

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Working on the gateline at Reading, I can definitely say that Reading West is a major fare evasion hotspot, many people just go to Reading West rather than Reading to avoid the barriers. So barriers there will certainly pick up a lot of fare evaders, but I can't really comment on the rest of the station design ;)

Reading West & Fare Evasion. Now that brings back some nightmares, as does revenue blocks there. Personally, the best thing that could happen to Reading West would be total demolition and starting from scratch, both allowing new platforms to be constructed and a new fit for purpose station building (than two shipping containers "accidentally left" on the pavement. Of course the fare evasion issues wont entirely go away until Newbury Racecourse is either gated or modified either.

A pig-ugly tin shack blocking the road[1]. How on earth did that get as far as being featured on BBC News without the designer being sacked?

[1] Before anyone shouts about trains vs cars, the narrowing would, for example, preclude cycle lanes being provided.

We seem to be in competition this year for who can design the ugliest "carbuncle" new station building - I would have thought the designers would have learnt their lessons after the recent new designs for Perry Barr's "Drive Thru Starbucks / Shoebox dumped on the Pavement" were released, and similarly received a heavy pasting online.

Also, is it just me or, does that design bare a passing resemblance to the old and thankfully long demolished Kings Cross ticket office?
 

northernbelle

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Interesting to read the design v. functionality discussion here.

The problem with Reading West is that the area is prone to vandalism and any structure that is built will need to be resistant to that - that probably rules out a fair number of materials and probably what's resulted in the 'functional' look seen here.

Whatever you views on how it looks, it will bring a desperately needed upgrade to the station facilities at Reading West and play a part in improving security and reducing the antisocial behaviour seen at the station.
 

davetheguard

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The problem with Reading West is that the area is prone to vandalism and any structure that is built will need to be resistant to that

Isn't there supposed to be an argument that if something looks awful, brutal, and rundown it's more likely to be vandalised? I can't offer any evidence to support that argument, but certainly Reading West station has looked pretty grim for most of the 40 years I've known it.

To put in my pennyworth, I think the proposed new architectural design is the worst I've seen for a station anywhere, ever. Reading West needs an improved station; not this.
 

Dr Hoo

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Can someone clarify if it actually is the outgoing 'franchise' GWR (as postulated by the OP) or the DfT behind what is later described up-thread as a 'government refurbishment plan'?
 

Tw99

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Can someone clarify if it actually is the outgoing 'franchise' GWR (as postulated by the OP) or the DfT behind what is later described up-thread as a 'government refurbishment plan'?

I'm not sure of the exact details, but Reading Borough Council have some "spare" transport money as a result of their ludicrous East Reading Mass Rapid Transit system being torpedoed by Wokingham DC. So I believe that money is going into these railway "improvements" instead.

The proposal looks horrible, and building out into the existing roadway will make traffic on an already congested part of the Oxford Road more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.
 

30907

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Leaving aside aesthetics, is there a realistic better option? I only know the location from Streetview etc.
 

coppercapped

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I'm not sure of the exact details, but Reading Borough Council have some "spare" transport money as a result of their ludicrous East Reading Mass Rapid Transit system being torpedoed by Wokingham DC. So I believe that money is going into these railway "improvements" instead.
Not quite. The money for the capital investment in the MRT scheme would have only been made available by central government if the MRT had gone ahead, so in that sense there is no 'spare' money floating around.
The MRT was dropped in December 2018. If you look at the documents concerning the Reading West developments published on the RBC's web site you will find drawings dated November 2015, three years earlier.

There is no direct linkage between these events.
The proposal looks horrible, and building out into the existing roadway will make traffic on an already congested part of the Oxford Road more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.
Leaving aside aesthetics, is there a realistic better option? I only know the location from Streetview etc.
Assuming the desire is to have one gateline feeding both platforms,[1] it would be possible to set the station building further back from the road - but only by shifting the railway bridge abutment southwards by a few metres. Alternatively some land could be acquired from the shops' car parks to the west of the bridge (private housing is very close to the eastern side of the line) and some means of access to the southbound platform created through the embankment.

Anyone care to guess how much that would cost?

Practically all of Oxford Road is congested, partly due to the Council's traffic calming initiatives and partly due to it being a main artery westwards from the Reading town centre, and the Council would like to restrict the use of cars still further - so the proposed narrowing of the roadway fits Council's policies.
Over the aesthetics of the proposed building one can have some heated debates... :)

[1] According to the documents there is an agreement with the appropriate trades unions that a minimum of two staff members should be present at each gateline when it is in operation. A separate gateline for each platform would therefore require four members of staff so doubling staffing costs which - giving the volume of passengers - would be unaffordable.
 
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DerekC

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Leaving aside aesthetics, is there a realistic better option? I only know the location from Streetview etc.

There might be room to tuck a ticket office + gateline into the space between the railway and McDonalds, at street level on the up side. It would need some fairly serious civil engineering with a new retaining wall for the railway line above and behind and a subway through the embankment to the down side. I reckon you could get a 10 x 20m building in, which ought to be enough. It would depend on whether you could do that without rebuilding the bridge, though. A new south side abutment with the ticket office built in, or under an extended span, is probably the right answer. Could make the bridge a bit more of an ornament rather than an eyesore at the same time!
 

Dr Hoo

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Thanks to those who are helping to make the confusing announcement clearer.

Can anybody shed any more light on the 'Tilehurst Road' entrance? I have only ever used the Oxford Road approach and appreciate that Tilehurst Road is 'at the other end'. This would appear to require an entirely distinct barrier line, duplicate staffing and even 'building' to be effective.

Allowing for usual levels of cover for shifts, leave, meal breaks, weekends and so forth double-staffing of two barrier lines implies around a dozen staff based at Reading West, with lockers, mess room and other facilities. Quite a big commitment for a modest station.
 

David Goddard

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I see as usual they are pedalling "safety and security" and "deter anti-social behaviour" as a reason to install ticket gates, as opposed to the real reason which is revenue protection, but they can't use that as it doesn't appeal to the public as it would appear as a money grabbing exercise. Yes gates do improve security a bit, but if the perpetrators of the issues are that committed they will just buy the cheapest ticket to get through the gates anyway

Its easy to see why Reading West has become a problem for revenue, as its only a ten minute walk into the town centre, and for some parts actually closer than Reading General, plus on the cross town no17 bus route so with the opportunity for fare evasion its no wonder it gets abused (even when travelling from the East).

Could not believe these images when I saw them. Narrowing of the road under the railway bridge will add to the congestion through it. There are busy bus stops on both sides of the road (just after the bridge outbound and under the bridge inbound, which require traffic to move out to overtake when a bus calls, ad the present arrangement is reasonable without causing too many delays. Narrowing the road (especially during construction but ongoing once complete) will cause a bottleneck which will create tailbacks back to Norcot in one direction and the IDR in the other.
Interesting to see in the report that "There will also be an improved bus interchange and cycle parking outside the station in Oxford Road" Cant imagine where they will find space for this, unless that's a way of jazzing up "a couple of new shelters"

The proposed building is an ugly monstrosity which will soon become vandalised. Can't see the need for a café (even if they actually mean an AMT coffee kiosk), that will probably go within a year and as for the toilets if they are not vandalised will probably be constantly out of order, like the new ones were when SWT rebuilt Wokingham. The recently added new access to the down platform has a distinct temporary feel to it (about the same as the scaffolding steps in use while they built it), no word whether this will be improved further.

If they really want to improve Reading West to satisfy the statements made in the article then they need to demolish McDonald's (no loss there!) and construct a proper building and bus facility on that site, with a new subway to access the down platform via a proper ramp like on the Up side.

No images of what is planned for the Tilehurst Road end, I assume a bus shelter type structure with remotely monitored gateline.

Sorry if I am being radical or controversial.
 

RichT54

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A plan of the proposed ticket office can be found here (pdf).

Plus elevation views here (pdf).
 
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coppercapped

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Some of these suggestions should be in the Speculative Ideas forum as they have not a hope in hell of happening. It is expected that the rebuild will cost something less than £4 million - which for a station with a footfall of some 430,000 per year is probably justifiable.

Anything more than that is off with the fairies. Owners and operators of any commercial sites to be taken over will need to be compensated for loss of business and probably an alternative site offered to them. Digging holes through embankments will not come cheaply and neither will setting the southern abutment back by a few metres. In the latter case it becomes necessary to make and install longer bridge beams which will involve a closure of the railway.

The cost of either of these alternatives would, I guess, increase the cost by an order of magnitude. This is not justifiable for fewer than half a million passengers per year.

Oxford Road already has many traffic calming measures along its length and the footways under the bridge were widened some years ago so narrowing the carriageway. I suggest that the proposed changes in road width under the railway bridge will, in practice, have a negligible effect on traffic speeds and journey times as the Council has also in many places along the road and for many years been building out the kerbs and adding humps and traffic islands to narrow the carriageway to one lane in each direction in accordance with Council and Government policies to reduce car use.

I would have thought that posters on a railway enthusiasts forum would have approved!
 
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CW2

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Most of the properties along the Oxford Road were built using local brick. Obviously with the passage of time some properties - notably the commercial outlets - have gone for more modern materials. That still doesn't excuse this attempt to dump what appears to be a misshapen Portakabin into the scenery. It deserves better than that.
 

fgwrich

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Not only that, but given that Reading West is a notorious hotspot for fare evasion (Trust me, I work in Reading and covered Reading West), I would not entirely say that those figures for the entrance / exits at the station will be at all accurate. Let's face it, while there is absolutely no doubt that the current station needs improving, the proposed design is ugly, it is a cheap design, and I could happily place a bet that it will not entirely solve the anti-social behaviour excuse that has been provided. Give it until early evening, or weekends, when the ticket office is likely to be closed, and the same problems will remain - just with a tarted up portacabin and additional coffee shop on the pavement.

I took a look at those designs linked above earlier. I am certainly not impressed at the narrowing (and resulting Kink) in the already busy Oxford Road, as well as the rather narrow pavement entrance. If they dropped the idea of having another pointless coffee shop, then perhaps the design could be improved.

And the Tilehurst Road entrance will be interesting to see as well. One of Reading West's problems is that it is also used as a thoroughfare by the locals - more so since the removal of the footbridge and additional entrance for the platform on the Oxford Road end. Any designs for Reading West really should take this into account and perhaps, with council support, allow for a path to be put in alongside the station.
 

coppercapped

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I'm also a cyclist, and putting that monstrosity there will prevent cycle lanes being installed unless it is made one-way.

Add to that that it's sow-ugly. Why not make it look nice?
Well, good for you! :) However it would be very difficult to add effective and safe cycle lanes in the Oxford Road, at least at that end. There may be room west of the Norcot roundabout along the grassy 1920s and 30s verges towards Tilehurst but in the Georgian and Victorian areas - forget it. Unless you mean painted lines on a narrow road...

Making Oxford Road one way wouldn't work - the 15, 16 and 17 bus routes do good business with all the closely packed houses in the area - diverting the buses in one direction away from them - even it it were physically possible - would not help either the bus company nor the local residents.

About the surface finishes shown in the artists impressions - I agree with you.
 

fgwrich

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Thanks to those who are helping to make the confusing announcement clearer.

Can anybody shed any more light on the 'Tilehurst Road' entrance? I have only ever used the Oxford Road approach and appreciate that Tilehurst Road is 'at the other end'. This would appear to require an entirely distinct barrier line, duplicate staffing and even 'building' to be effective.

If you haven't seen it before, this is the Tilehurst Road entrance. In my professional opinion, this is the end where most of the Anti Social Behaviour takes place. In part because it is quite a lengthy walk down from the Tilehurst Road, and in part because it is far way from the main part of the station. It is also rather well covered by the tree's and the fencing / lighting is pretty poor. All in all, it makes for a pretty grim path to walk down. I've had numerous calls over the years to this end of the station, so should be in the priority list.

The Oxford Road certainly is busy - it can often be a bit of a nightmare to drive along, with the volume of traffic, speed humps, poor road condition and number of crossing points all not helping. Something I fear that, by narrowing the road under the bridge, will be made worse by this proposal. What Reading Borough Council really needs to do is find a better way to divert some of the sheer volume of traffic away from the Oxford Road, be-it improvements to the Tilehurst Road or sending more traffic via Cow Lane / Richfield Avenue & the duel carriageway Caversham Road, but that's for a different thread.


 

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