Reading Station Just Gets Better!
Reading station is one of the best in the UK and rivals any second level station in Europe.
It first impressed me, when it opened and I wrote Is It Architecture, Engineering Or Art?
I took these pictures when I went to the Reading Ipswich match.
These changes were noted.
- The football buses are now parked by the station
- The Reading flyover is clearly visible from the massive footbridge over the station.
- The area in front of the station is now a plaza and not a building site.
The only problem I had was when returning after the match, It was difficult to find the first fast train to Paddington and I ended up on a stopping train to everywhere.
I did look around the station when I arrived, to see if there was any clue as to which will be the Crossrail platforms. The local services are currently served by Platforms 12 to 15 on the North side of the station. So it would probably be safe to assume that one island platform would be for Crossrail and the other is for services to places like Oxford, Newbury and Bedwyn.
It would appear that Rediung will not be served by Crossrail under December 2019.
A Ticketing Problem For Crossrail
Ipswich are playing at Reading tonight and as it’s an easy trip out from London, I bought a ticket in case I wanted to go.
I certainly won’t have a problem getting back, as there are fast trains to London after midnight.
But the match is on television and the weather looks to be pretty good, so I might just go and not waste my fifteen pound ticket.
As going to Reading in time for the match would mean a journey out restricted by the rush hour, I could go via any number of places like Windsor, Maidenhead or Slough to have a late lunch.
It got me thinking!
The Mayor has said, that when Crossrail opens, you’ll be able to use a Freedom Pass to Heathrow, just as you can now on the Piccadilly Line.
But how far will you be able to use a Freedom Pass on the branch to Reading?
The problem is complicated by the fact that there are three branches off the line between London and Reading; Henley, Marlow and Windsor.
To further complicate matters, direct peak-hour services operate between the Henley and Marlow branches and London.
Putting together snippets in the news and from Theresa May’s web site, led me to the conclusion which I talked about in this article, that all three branches will probably be served by new IPEMU trains (Class 387 or Aventra), as this would avoid the need for electrification.
So we’ll end up with a main line Crossrail service with a frequency of at least four trains per hour to Reading and shuttles and the occasional through trains from the branches.
The whole area will certainly end up with contactless ticketing using Oyster and bank cards, with perhaps a travel card or Ranger ticket thrown in.
But the real problem is organising the charging structure, as contactless will work well at collecting the fares, but how do you charge.
Crossrail will effectively link Windsor to Central London with a fast train and one change, so for tourists going to Windsor will be as easy as going to other important suburban venues like Wembley or the Olympic Park.
Get the ticketing right and the Thames Valley will get a lot of extra visitors.
To return to my earlier question, how far will my Freedom Pass get me in the West?
Crossrail’s journey calculator says that Bond Street to Shenfield, which will be the Freedom Pass limit in the East will take me 48 minutes.
Projected times from Bond Street for the West are as follows.
- Maidenhead – 40 minutes
- Twyford – 46 minutes
- Reading – 52 minutes
I do wonder if TfL and Crossrail will adopt the same rule as they have for Shenfield, as Reading is projected to only take four minutes longer than Shenfield.
This rule would mean that you can travel to Reading, provided you use Crossrail.
I can see an awful lot of protests, if passenger to Reading, got a worse deal than those going to Shenfield.
Which leaves us with the problem of the branches.
- Will the branches follow London rules on ticketing and be cashless and contactless, but still allow through paper tickets?
- Will direct trains to London still be run in the peak hours?
- Will the branches be part of the Great Western franchise or Crossrail?
- Will Booking Offices be closed on the branches?
I suspect that however the branches are managed, passengers from London will consider them part of Crossrail and will want to use contactless ticketing all the way.
The most contentious issue would be if it was decided that there would be no direct trains between Marlow and Henley and London.
All of these problems will hopefully be sorted before Crossrail opens.
Birmingham Gets A Big Snow Job
It is said by many in the regions of the UK, that London gets and eats all the pies.
At present there are four main rail projects on the go in London; Thameslink, Crossrail, the Northern Line Extension and the London Overground.
Thameslink is a government funded project, whereas Crossrail and the NLE are paid for wholly or in part by property developers and business.
The smaller Overgroundisation of London surface railways is more a methodology that is starting to be copied and expanded in places like Merseyside, the Cardiff Valleys and the West Midlands. Although you could argue that other railways in the UK have had the same idea of frequent clean and sometimes new trains, smart stations and good staffing levels, working for some time. Some of the stations on the Overground, have been or will be expanded, in conjunction with property development.
But other projects where co-operation between Network Rail, rail companies.local government and property developers are starting to be proposed and implemented, Often these projects are led by a major redevelopment of a station.
1. Leeds Station
Leeds station was rebuilt and extended a few years ago, but little use was made of the space above the station.
Leeds Station And City Centre
This Google Earth map shows the central location of the station and also its closeness to the main Trinity Shopping Centre at the top right of the map. Walking routes between the two are not good and the station should have been improved with development on the northern side to link it to the city centre. According to Wikipedia. future plans are in place to add much needed extra platforms and develop the south side of the station.
I believe, that you should walk out of a station into an open space, from where you can get your bearings of the city. This has been done well at London Kings Cross, Liverpool Lime Street, Huddersfield and Cardiff Central and some station rebuilding and expanding, is embracing such a concept.
I hope that Leeds develop the concept to a new level, when they create a new southern entrance. Perhaps on a personal level, they could create an easy way to get a bus to Elland Road.
2. Reading Station
Reading station has also been rebuilt and is surrounded by development, as this Google Earth map shows.
Around Reading Station
In the future it will be getting Crossrail,the new western link to Heathrow and probably more offices around the station. Network Rail, who now manage the station, have already created entrances on both sides of the station and I hope that development in the next few years, will make what is a spectacular station, a true gateway to the City.
3. Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street station is approaching the end of its rebuilding, which is now Gateway Plus. It includes a lot of retail including a new John Lewis. The station will also be connected to the Midland Metro. This Google Earth map shows the station and it’s surroundings.
Birmingham New Street
It shows the problem that the station suffers, when compared to many. It is in a deep dark hole surrounded by busy roads, with the buses some way away. I don’t think you would design a station like that these days, as they did in the 1960s.
The station has a problem, as does Leeds, that there is not enough lines and platforms, but whereas at Leeds space is available, it would appear that at Birmingham New Street, it will be difficult to find.
The design of the station means that natural light on the platforms is difficult to provide. Hopefully, though by providing that light on the concourse and lots of lifts and escalators to get to the trains, the architects may have improved things. At present, it’s a bit like a bad Underground station experience arriving and departing at the station. One of the reasons, I generally travel between London and Birmingham by Chiltern Railways, is that Moor Street is a light and airy station, that has been tastefully updated for the modern age.
One of the biggest problems at New Street, is getting onward connections around the City Centre. On my visits to Birmingham, I often walk to Brindley Place to have a drink or lunch with friends. It’s not a difficult walk, but in a few years time, I’ll be able to do this sort of journey on the Midland Metro from the stop in Stephenson Street. When HS2 opens, this tram will be used as the connection between all four Birmingham city centre stations.
4. Manchester Victoria Station
The updating of Manchester Victoria station is the centrepiece of two big projects in Manchester; the Northern Hub and the extensions to the Manchester Metrolink like the Second City Crossing. This Google Earth map shows The station and the surrounding area.
Manchester Victoria
This image is quite old and doesn’t show the new roof, but it does show the roof of Manchester Arena next door, how the tram lines call at the station, the nearby green space and the river. All the station needs now is completing, the Metrolink extensions and new electric train services to Liverpool, Preston, Blackpool, Bolton, Leeds, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Newcastle and Hull.
I would also personally, like to see an hourly service to the South and Euston, so that I can avoid, the mostly dreadful Piccadilly. This will be possible once the Ordsall Chord is opened, although some might say that it is a real pity, the Picc-Vic tunnel was never built. Perhaps Virgin will get permission to run a service to Huddersfield via both main Manchester stations.
5. Newcastle Station
Newcastle station is a station that I don’t remember as anything special from my last visit some yeas ago, although it is a Grade I Listed Building. But since then, several millions have been spent according to Wikipedia, mainly on internal and retail facilities and on opening up the area round the station. So perhaps I should pay the city a visit. This Google Earth image shows the unique position of the station.
Newcastle Station
It is high above the Tyne on the edge of the city centre and uniquely the station is on a curve. It must be a very difficult to add extra tracks and platforms, which seem to be needed, as both through and local services are going to increase significantly.
I have only given five major examples, but they show how stations are becoming the focus of development.
One of my manual searches on the Internet picked up this article on Modern Railways entitled Snow Hill ‘transformation’ plan. This is the first paragraph.
Birmingham City Council has released its Snow Hill Masterplan, which outlines plans to grow the business district surrounding the station and includes proposals for the ‘transformation’ of the station into a transport hub.
Snow Hill is Birmingham’s station that is ignored by visitors from around the country, although it is important for commuters and others brought into the city on the Snow Hill Lines.
The Snow Hill Masterplan is here on the Birmingham Post website. Some of those who have commented don’t like it and they could be right. But the principles behind the plan of creating high quality offices, retail and apartments over a well-connected station is one that has been proven to work at Canary Wharf. After all it does actually make double use of the same piece of land. This is a Google Earth image of the Birmingham Snow station and its location.
Birmingham Snow Hill
You don’t see much of the actual station, as it is covered by a multi-story car park. As someone who can’t drive and manages well without a car, I can’t see why cities don’t do what London, Cambridge and Oxford have done and discourage people from driving in by providing top quality public transport.
The Snow Hill Masterplan would need an updated Midland Metro and also extra trains and routes through Snow Hill station.
I think that if I could get trains direct from Marylebone to Snow Hill, then that would be my preferred way of going. Snow Hill is in a much friendlier and welcoming part of the City than New Street.
I think on balance it is a good plan.
Before Crossrail – Reading
A Magnificient Station In Most People’s Opinion – Rating 9/10
Reading ranks with some of the best stations in Europe and probably the wider world. There are pictures in this post entitled Is it Architecture, Engineering Or Art?, which show how spectacular the station is.
Wikipedia says this about adding Crossrail to the station.
Crossrail could also be accommodated at the new station with little work beyond electrification, as new sidings have been planned to the west of the station.
So it looks like adding Crossrail to Reading isn’t a difficult problem, if Wikipedia is correct.
Logically, I feel strongly that Crossrail should go to Reading, as Reading is a large city that has twice the population of the original terminus of Maidenhead.
Reading station also has fifteen platforms, and can probably be configured so that passengers arriving on Crossrail could walk across the platform to get their train to Wales and the West Country, with other passengers doing the reverse in the other direction.
If they do provide this sort of change at Reading, I might well go to and from the West by changing at Reading rather than Paddington, as it will be as easy to get to Reading as Paddington, if I take Crossrail from Whitechapel. But at Paddington, I’ll have to get from the Crossrail station deep under Paddington to the main line platforms.
If Reading does have a problem, about its integration into Crossrail, it’s that it’ll put the other terminals into the shade. By any scale Shenfield looks small and outdated against the beauty, size and passenger-friendliness of Reading.
Will This Become One Of The Iconic Photographs Of the Queen?
Last week, the Queen opened the new Reading station. It’s reported here on the BBC.
The picture of her sitting amongst Network Rail’s orange army, will surely become one of the most iconic photographs of the Queen.
The Queen With The Orange Army
I wonder how many mantelpieces, it’s already sitting on.
Is It Architecture,Engineering Or Art?
I heard good reports on the television of the rebuilt Reading station, so today, as I hadn’t anything specific to do, I decided to go to the town and have a look at the work that has been done.
I think Isambard would have been proud of what has been done, as he rarely did boring! And the new Reading station is certainly not that!
The concept of the station is very simple. The thirty metre wide overbridge is connected to all the platforms by escalators and lifts. Then at one end there is another set of four escalators and lifts to take people to the main south entrance.
But in all my life, I’ve never seen so many people walking wide-eyed in awe around a new building or even an art gallery. One guy told me he’d come into the station specifically to photograph the building and had taken fifty pictures. Even railwaymen who’d probably seen it all, were walking around giving the new station a critical look.
There was also the teacher, who’d travelled with me from London. She was amazed at it all, especially as she had left on Thursday from the old Reading station.
Very little has been reported on the media about the design and quality of this new station. The only news seems to be stories pointing out the fact that the handover is a few days late and there’s a bit of chaos. None of the stories mention, that the project will be completed a year ahead of the original plan.
I do wonder if Reading is the shape of stations to come.
The wide overbridge concept is used in a similar, but smaller and less dramatic form at Leeds and Derby, but how many other stations could benefit from this type of design?
In the pictures, you’ll see some of Inter City 125 trains, that are used on all services from London to the West and Wales. They are genuine high speed trains capable of 200 kph, ride as smooth as silk and they are now forty years old. I doubt they’ll all ever be retired, as for running through the Highlands of Scotland and from Bristol to Cornwall, where electrification is virtually impossible, there is no other fast train, that can handle the route.
So at last, these trains have got a modern station, to complement their design.
The Anonymous Widower 