Reading station from the station car park at the north (rear) side of the station

Reading (formerly Reading General) is a railway station in the large town of Reading in south central England. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, some 5 minutes' walk from the main retail and commercial areas, and close to the River Thames. Adjacent to the railway station is a bus interchange, served by most of Reading's urban and rural bus services. Download high resolution version (1080x720, 140 KB)Reading station from the station car park at the rear Photograph taken by chris_j_wood on the 1st March 2005, with original filename DCP_3635. ... Download high resolution version (1080x720, 140 KB)Reading station from the station car park at the rear Photograph taken by chris_j_wood on the 1st March 2005, with original filename DCP_3635. ... Jump to: navigation, search St Marys Church and market Reading is a town and unitary authority in Berkshire in England, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, halfway between London and Oxford. ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK... Jump to: navigation, search The Thames (pronounced /temz/) is a river flowing through southern England and connecting London with the sea. ...

Reading is a major junction point on the National Rail system, and as a consequence the railway station is a major transfer point as well as serving heavy originating and terminating traffic. National Rail uses the BR double-arrow logo National Rail is a brand name describing the passenger rail service previously provided by British Rail, the now-defunct UK state-owned rail operator. ...

Railway services

The main rail route served by the station is the Great Western Main Line, which runs west from London's Paddington station before splitting to the west of Reading station into two lines, one serving the West Country, and the other Bristol, Bath and South Wales. Services on these lines are operated by First Great Western, and all services stop at Reading. Categories: Rail stubs | British railway lines ... The central (and longest) span of Paddington Station Paddington station or London Paddington is the name of a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of London. ... The West Country is an informal area of southwestern England, roughly corresponding to the administrative region South West England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Bristol is an English city and county and one of the three administrative centres of South West England (the others being Plymouth and Exeter). ... The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath. ... South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the East and South, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the North and West. ... Jump to: navigation, search No mobile phones are permitted in the Quiet Carriage First Great Western is a British train operating company owned by First Group and which operates services principally on the Great Western Main Line. ...

Other main lines connect Reading with Birmingham (serving both New Street and International stations), northern England and Scotland to the north, and with Winchester, Southampton and Bournemouth to the south. Through services from north to south on these lines are operated by Virgin Trains, and all services stop in Reading. Jump to: navigation, search The city from above Centenary Square. ... The tracks at the eastern end of Birmingham New Street station Class 390 no. ... Birmingham International railway station is located in the borough of Solihull, just east of the city of Birmingham in England. ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... Winchester Cathedral as seen from the Cathedral Close Arms of Winchester City Council Winchester is a city in southern England, and the administrative capital of the county of Hampshire, with a population of around 35,000. ... Jump to: navigation, search Civic Centre, Southampton Southampton is a city and major port situated on the south coast of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Bournemouth is a seaside resort in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. ...

A secondary line connects Reading with Guildford and Gatwick Airport. Services on this line, together with local stopping services to Basingstoke, Newbury, Oxford and London Paddington, are operated by First Great Western Link. An electric suburban line operated by South West Trains links Reading to London Waterloo station. An express bus service operated by First Great Western links Reading with Heathrow Airport. Jump to: navigation, search Map sources for Guildford at grid reference SU9949 Guildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as being the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gatwick Airport (IATA: LGW, ICAO: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second busiest airport in the UK after Heathrow in terms of passengers per year. ... Jump to: navigation, search Location within the British Isles View from Basingstoke railway station forecourt; the chrome yellow buildings stand on the site of older office buildings that have been demolished to build apartments. ... Newbury is the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in the United Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Jump to: navigation, search First Great Western Link is a train operating company owned by First Group that provides train services, on a franchise basis, from Paddington Station to destinations such as Slough, Reading, Didcot, Oxford, Basingstoke, Newbury, Bedwyn, Hereford, Worcester and Banbury. ... A Class 458 unit at Virginia Water station in April 2004. ... The main entrance of Waterloo Station. ... Jump to: navigation, search London Heathrow Airport (IATA: LHR, ICAO: EGLL), often referred to simply as Heathrow, is the United Kingdoms busiest and best-connected airport. ...

History

Reading station frontage, showing the old (1860) and new station buildings

Reading station opened on the 30 March 1840 as the temporary western terminus of the original line of the Great Western Railway. At a stroke the time taken to travel from London to Reading was reduced to one hour and five minutes, less than a quarter of the time taken by the fastest stagecoach. The line was extended to its intended terminus at Bristol in 1841. As constructed, Reading station was a typical Brunel designed single-sided intermediate station, with separate up and down platforms situated to the south of the through tracks and arranged so that all up trains calling at Reading had to cross the route of all down trains. Download high resolution version (970x575, 114 KB)Reading station frontage, showing both the old (1860s) and new station buildings. ... Download high resolution version (970x575, 114 KB)Reading station frontage, showing both the old (1860s) and new station buildings. ... Jump to: navigation, search March 30 is the 89th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (90th in Leap years). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... Jump to: navigation, search Buffalo soldiers guard a Concord style stagecoach somewhere in the American West, ca. ... Jump to: navigation, search Bristol is an English city and county and one of the three administrative centres of South West England (the others being Plymouth and Exeter). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Brunel before the launching of the Great Eastern Isambard Kingdom Brunel (April 9, 1806 – September 15, 1859) was a British engineer. ...

New routes soon joined the London to Bristol line, with the line from Reading to Newbury and Hungerford opening in 1847, and the line to Basingstoke in 1848. In 1849 the South Eastern Railway reached Reading with a line from Guildford and Reigate, initially serving a temporary station at North Forbury before moving into its own separate permanent terminal station, just to the south-east of the Great Western station, in 1855. In 1856 the London and South Western Railway opened a line from its London terminus at Waterloo to Wokingham, with its trains continuing over the South Eastern line to that railway's terminus in Reading. Newbury is the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see: Hungerford (disambiguation) Hungerford is a market town by the River Kennet in the English county of Berkshire. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Location within the British Isles View from Basingstoke railway station forecourt; the chrome yellow buildings stand on the site of older office buildings that have been demolished to build apartments. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The London and Greenwich Railway (LGR), together with the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway (CWR) in East Kent were the earliest railways to serve the then county of Kent: eventually both became parts of the South Eastern Railway (SER). ... Jump to: navigation, search Map sources for Guildford at grid reference SU9949 Guildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as being the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region. ... Grid reference: TQ253503 Reigate is a historic market town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search The London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) was a railway company in the England from 1840 to 1923. ... The main entrance of Waterloo Station. ... Wokingham is a small town in Berkshire in the south east of England, close to Reading. ...

At some time between 1859 and 1865, the Great Western Signal Works were constructed on lower ground to the north of the station. These works grew until by 1872 they were employing 500 men and producing most of the signalling equipment used by the Great Western Railway. The signal works continued in existence until 1984. 1859 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search This page is about the year 1984. ...

In 1860 a new station building, in Bath stone and incorporating a tower and clock, was constructed for the Great Western Railway. In 1898 the single sided station was replaced by a conventional design with 'up', 'down' and 'relief' platforms linked by a pedestrian subway. 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1898 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1965 Reading Southern, the South Eastern station, was closed, and the services using it diverted into a newly constructed terminal platform in the General station. A second terminal platform serving the same line was opened in 1975 for the commencement of the service from Reading to Gatwick Airport. Jump to: navigation, search 1999-The Bomb 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Gatwick Airport (IATA Airport Code: LGW, ICAO Airport Code: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. ...

For some years the site of the South Eastern station was used as the station car park. However in 1989 a brand new station concourse, included a shopping arcade named for Brunel, opened on the western end of the old South Eastern station site, linked to the platforms of the main station by a new footbridge. At the same time a new multi-level station car park was built on the site of the former goods yard and signal works to the north of the station, and linked to the same footbridge. The station facilities in the 1860 station building were converted into the Three Guineas public house. Jump to: navigation, search 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An amusingly named pub (the Old New Inn) at Bourton-on-the-Water, in the Cotswold Hills of South West England A pub in the Haymarket area of Edinburgh, Scotland A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada...

On October 23, 1993, an IRA bomb exploded at a signal post near the station, some hours after 5 lb (2 kg) of Semtex was found in the toilets of the station. The resulting closure of the railway line and evacuation of the station caused travel chaos for several hours, but no-one was injured. Jump to: navigation, search October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Jump to: navigation, search IRA is an acronym with several different meanings. ... Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive. ...

Future developments

To serve the traffic described above, Reading station currently has four through platforms and eight terminal platforms. The limited number of through platforms, together with flat junctions immediately to the east and west of the station, and the fact that north-south trains need to reverse direction in the station, mean that the station is a choke point with trains often having to wait outside the station for a platform to be available.

Plans were produced by Railtrack for a major redevelopment of the station, with rail track on two levels. Since the demise of Railtrack and its replacement by Network Rail, the status of these plans is unclear. There is sufficient space for extra through platforms on the north side of the station, and even a disused rail underpass at the junction to the east, and there have been suggestions in the press to use these for a quicker and cheaper solution. In the meantime the problems have been somewhat reduced by the introduction of more frequent but shorter trains on Virgin Trains' routes, which are able to use the shorter terminal platforms rather than using a through platform to reverse in. Railtrack was a group of companies which owned the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and some stations of the British railway system from its privatisation in 1996 until 2002. ... Network Rails logo Network Rail is a British not for dividend Company limited by guarantee that owns the fixed assets of that part of the British railway system that formerly belonged to British Rail, the now-defunct UK state-owned rail operator. ...

Irrespective of railway developments, local authority plans show a comprehensive redevelopment of the area between the town centre and the river, including the station, by 2020. 2020 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

External links

• Train times and station information for Reading railway station from National Rail
• Street map and aerial photo of Reading railway station from Multimap.com
• One traveller's personal view with a number of photographs

National Rail uses the BR double-arrow logo National Rail is a brand name describing the passenger rail service previously provided by British Rail, the now-defunct UK state-owned rail operator. ... Multimap. ...

Sources

• Lawrence Waters (1990). Rail Centres: Reading, Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0711019371
• Daphne Phillips (1980). The Story of Reading, Countryside Books. ISBN 0905392078
• Stuart Hylton (2004). Reading - Events, people and places over the last 100 years, Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 0750939060

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Paddington or Slough		First Great Western (Great Western Main Line)		Didcot Parkway
		First Great Western (Paddington-Exeter via Newbury)		Theale
Twyford		First Great Western Link (Great Western Main Line)		Tilehurst
		First Great Western Link (Paddington-Bedwyn)		Reading West
Terminus		First Great Western Link (Basingstoke branch)		Reading West
Terminus		First Great Western Link (North Downs Line)		Wokingham
Terminus		South West Trains (Waterloo-Reading)		Earley
Terminus		South West Trains (Guildford service)		Earley
Oxford		Virgin Trains		Basingstoke
		Virgin Trains		Olympia
		Virgin Trains		Guildford