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Reading West railway station set for £3.3m revamp

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Reading West railway station was in need of a "major facelift", the council's transport lead said

A planning application has been submitted for £3.3m worth of improvements to Reading West railway station.

Great Western Railway (GWR) plans to build a new station building to "improve safety and security", Reading Borough Council said.

There will also be an improved bus interchange and cycle parking outside the station in Oxford Road.

If approved, work will start in March 2021 and take a year to complete.

Reading Borough Council Visualisation of new stationReading Borough Council
The station is on the Reading to Basingstoke and Reading to Newbury line

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.

Reading Borough Council Reading West visualisationReading Borough Council
Reading Borough Council say work could start as early as March if plans are approved

Councillor Tony Page, Reading Borough Council's lead for transport, said the station had been in need of a "major facelift for many years" and the new station would deter anti-social behaviour.

Nicola Scott, interim regional development manager at GWR, said: "These changes will not only improve the station for our customers, they will support the local and regional economy once it starts to recover, and will mean a cleaner, greener environment from better transport integration."

The project is being mostly funded by £3.1m funding from Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.