Alok Sharma, the Member of Parliament for Reading West, on 26th September 2012, attended a community consultation event at Theale Station, organised by First Great Western, West Berkshire Council and the Theale’s Future group.

Theale Rail Station is set to see some changes and the introduction of significantly improved facilities thanks to a £2.9 million project due to start in October 2013. The project will see the station benefit from a new ticket office and refreshment area, a new footbridge, new cycle parking and associated lifts to improve access and a new pedestrian entrance. The rail station will be promoted as a park and rail facility with the aim of reducing congestion on roads into Reading and other urban areas served by the railway.

The purpose of the consultation event was to provide an opportunity for passengers to understand the plans for the development of the station over the coming months. West Berkshire Council provided a consultation vehicle which was set up as a stall in the station car park, allowing passengers to browse information and ask questions about the upgrade.

A partnership project between First Great Western, Network Rail, the Department for Transport, West Berkshire and Reading Borough Councils, the project is design to deliver a value for money scheme and an improved rail station for passengers, with the facilities to support future growth.

Alok Sharma, the Theale’s Future Group and Theale Parish Council have been instrumental in highlighting the need for improvements at the station and have been helping to shape the project on behalf of the local community.

Alok Sharma said: “Alongside the Theale’s Future organisation, the Parish Council and others, I lobbied hard to win funding for the upgrade to Theale Station and I was pleased to attend the community consultation event to help raise awareness amongst passengers of the changes that will be taking place over the next few months. Talking to commuters, many of whom are my constituents, they are certainly pleased with the upcoming improvements.”

First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “Over the course of our current franchise over £85 million has been invested across our network of 210 stations, by working with rail industry partners, the DfT and local authorities.
Mark Hopwood continued: “We are continually looking for ways to improve the customer experience. Whether that is through additional capacity or better facilities at our stations and this investment will ensure that we can continue to improve services.”

Photo: Alok Sharma with commuters at the Theale Station Community Consultation