Reading West railway station

Reading West National Rail
Location
Place Reading
Local authority Borough of Reading
Grid reference SU702733
Operations
Station code RDW
Managed by Great Western Railway
Number of platforms 2
DfT category E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2009/10 Increase 0.469 million
2010/11 Decrease 0.444 million
2011/12 Increase 0.559 million
2012/13 Increase 0.573 million
2013/14 Increase 0.611 million
History
Key dates Opened 1 July 1906 (1 July 1906)
Original company Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping GWR
Post-grouping GWR
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Reading West from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Reading West is a railway station in Reading, England. It is in West Reading, about 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the town's main retail and commercial areas. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway.

History

A 1909 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (left) railways in the area of Reading West (shown here as WEST STA.)

The line through Reading West station opened on 21 December 1847, as part of the route from Reading to Newbury. However the station did not open until 1 July 1906, originally to serve trains between the north of England and the south coast which could thus avoid a reversal at Reading.[1][2]

Description

The station has two platforms linked by a footbridge. Small canopies provide some shelter on each platform. There is a ticket office on the Reading-bound platform but is open only in the morning. Access to the station is from Oxford Road and Tilehurst Road.

Immediately north of the platforms is a railway bridge over the Oxford Road, followed by a double track junction (Oxford Road Junction) which is the southern apex of a triangle of tracks. The tracks to the west curve round to join the Great Western Main Line towards Bristol at Reading West Junction, and are largely used by freight trains between Southampton Docks and points to the north. The tracks to the east lead to Reading station and are mostly used by passenger services.[3]

To the south of the station the line enters a cutting, crossed by high level bridges carrying the Tilehurst Road and, further to the south, the Bath Road. Beyond the cutting is Southcote Junction, where the line to Basingstoke diverges from that to Newbury.

Services

The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway between Reading and Basingstoke or Newbury. During weekday daytime the station is served by two trains an hour on the Basingstoke route, plus one on the Newbury route. Trains are less frequent on Sundays and in the evenings. Trains take some 3 minutes to reach Reading, 20 minutes to reach Basingstoke, 25 minutes to reach Newbury and just over 30 minutes to reach London.[4]

Passenger services on Great Western Railway's route to the West Country via Taunton, on CrossCountry services from the North of England to Southampton and Bournemouth, and on some local services, pass through the station without stopping.

South West Trains previously ran services from Reading to Basingstoke, which occasionally ran to Brighton.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Reading   Great Western Railway
Reading to Newbury
Local services
Reading to Taunton line		   Theale
  Great Western Railway
Local services
Reading to Basingstoke Line		   Mortimer

Incidents

On 28 December 1965, the 08:30 passenger service from Reading General to Penzance derailed near the station. The 10-coach train was travelling at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) when it struck a broken rail, derailing at the fifth carriage (with the wheels of the following coaches also derailing). The train stayed upright, and the application of the locomotive's vacuum brakes saw the train stop in approximately 110 yards (100 m).[5] An investigation found that the rail had suffered a transverse fracture at the site of wheelburns.[6] None of the passengers sustained serious injury.[5]

In October 2011, an elderly lady survived after she jumped from the station overbridge. The woman was critically injured and had her legs amputated.[7]

In January 2013, emergency services were called to the station at 11:56 after reports a 50-year-old man had died after he jumped in front of a train.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Basingstoke Railway History in Maps". Christopher Tolley. 2001. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Waters, Laurence (1990). Rail Centres: Reading. Ian Allan Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 0-7110-1937-1.
  3. ↑ Horn, Graham (6 January 2010). "Reading West station". Geograph. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Table 116 & 122 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  5. 1 2 Olver, Major Peter (11 November 1966). "Report on the Derailment that occurred on 28th December 1965 between Reading General and Reading West Stations in the Western Region British Railways". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Derailment at Reading". Reading Gazette. June 1967. p. 433. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Satherley, Jessica (29 October 2011). "Woman pensioner has both legs sliced off in fall in front of train from bridge". Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Person killed after being hit by train in Reading West". Reading Chronicle. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Middle-aged man killed after being hit by a train at Reading West". Reading Evening Post. 28 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
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Coordinates: 51°27′19″N 0°59′26″W / 51.455142°N 0.990516°W / 51.455142; -0.990516

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