Alok Sharma, the Member of Parliament for Reading West, has welcomed the Government’s £18 million investment in West Berkshire and Reading Borough train stations.

Passengers at Theale, Tilehurst and Reading West stations are set to benefit from major upgrades after the funding has been approved and work is set to start.

Across the three stations, 1.5 million passengers are handled each year, and improvements will take place at all three stations. The work includes:

Theale

• New fully accessible footbridge with lifts
• Station building brought into use with new ticket office, toilets and potential café concession
• Doubling of car parking spaces with new decked car park
• Improved access for buses and taxis with turning circle and drop-off area

Reading West

• New station building with improved facilities
• Ticket gates to help dissuade anti-social behavior
• Improved accessibility

Tilehurst

• New lifts to be connected to the footbridge which was installed as part of the electrification programme

The total investment of over £18 million has been awarded by the Department for Transport and shared across the partner organisations, including Network Rail, Great Western Railway, Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, West Berkshire Council and Reading Borough Council.

The improvement works will be completed in phases, with teams on site from early next year at Theale and Reading West.

Alok Sharma 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, said: “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.”

Alison Webster, Chief Executive at Thames Valley Berkshire local enterprise partnership, said: “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, West Berkshire Council, said: “West Berkshire Council are 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.”