No firm date yet for new Reading station
Green Park should open next year but no official date has been given.
Reading’s new train station in Green Park is now set to open next year after coronavirus slowed down the preparations.
Green Park Station, near the Madejski Stadium, is now expected to open in late summer 2021 “at the earliest”, according to Reading Borough Council’s Transport and Planning chief Tony Page.
While construction of the station has continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the health crisis has been blamed for the delays.
The council has now revealed the current timeline, which expects construction to be complete in late spring or early summer next year.
Once complete, the station will go through a period of testing before it can open for public use.
Councillor Tony Page:
“The testing period will determine when it opens, as well as the need to co-ordinate with a new timetable. There are many variables.”
Green Park Station will be on the Reading to Basingstoke line, improving accessibility and connectivity to this part of south Reading where large-scale developments are planned.
These include Green Park Village, the expansion of Green Park Business Park, Reading Football Club, and the Royal Elm Park development.
The scheme is being progressed by Reading Borough Council (RBC) and West Berkshire Council (WBC) in partnership with Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR), who will ultimately own and operate the station respectively.
Funding for the scheme has been secured from the Local Growth Fund (£9.15m), Section 106 developer contributions (£5.6m) and the New Station’s Fund 2 (£2.3m), with planning permission granted in 2015.