Reading improvements milestones

[fgwrich]

Coming in from the Theale direction a week ago, we looked at the East end of the flyover as we pulled into the station and were amazed at how much progress has been made in the past few weeks.

They certainly have got on with it lately, I'm surprised about how much of the rise up to it has been built with spoil, certainly compared to the amount of concrete used further down the line with the new Crossrail structures.

I can relate to some of those observations.

Coming in from the Southern platforms, it does feel wrong to head towards another exit to go up the escalators to the new interchange - it seems like the chance to integrate the bay platforms was overlooked.

It is very angular with no "soft" features to create a more pleasant atmosphere. I would put that down to NR not wanting people to spend more time there than neccessary.

I will say though that it is a vast improvement on the old footbridge which was extremely cramped & not really fit for purpose anymore.

Oh I agree about the footbridge too, the Transfer deck is a vast improvement over the original 1980s built bridge, especially with the split down the middle for paying and non paying customers.

I am not sure of that, is there another thread called 'The inadequacies of Reading station'?

I know the following is anecdotal but I experienced the following on two separate visits.

1. I was totally uncertain about where I had to go to reach the Basingstoke and Newbury bays from the new footbridge. I felt as though I was leaving the station, even though I didn't want to.
2, The other way around, arriving in the bays, I could not see any big enough displays about where I should go to get my connection. Having reached the area (not easily marked out from the bay), there was just a distant display and it was not obvious that I had to go back on myself and go up the intimidating escalators..
3. The loo's on the 'change' platforms, lovely as they are once accessed, are almost impossible to locate and have strange doors that don't look like doors.
4. The footbridge is an intimidating and soulless place. I would hate to be an elderly person using this station.

Am I alone here?

There was a few on a few threads. Ok, well in my opinion:

1. The architecture design is poor - the canopies are a poor replacement for the original and now offer little protection to the passenger in the pouring rain, which is then aided by their poor design and quick fit construction which then allows the rainwater collected to fall through the middle and soak you further.

The canopies are also not joined to the main transfer deck either - certainly on platform 7 they are just tucked under so guess what, the rain get's underneath there too.

The choice of leaving the glass out of the towers for the transfer deck / along the escalators and alongside the main escalators is a poor one, which allows the transfer deck to get wet - it still leaks and get's windy in the winter! the escalators get wet and slippery, and the pigeons have flown in and out of it and left their mark on the beams going up escalators - I will admit no public building is immune to this as often seen in our local shopping centre, but at least some of those problems could have been avoided!

2. The layout in my opinion is odd - waiting rooms and shops at the western end of the platforms.

3. The design of the buildings to me feel like they went from something quite impressive to a let's do this on the quick and cheap - incidentally they have a feeling of a rehashed 1960s appeal to them - too squared off . And that shade of blue used on the underside of almost everything does bug me too for some reason!

4. That Transfer Deck, rather spacious beforehand and almost slightly empty, is now made annoying with several retail units plonked in the middle - which might not sound to bad for some but if you want to go down to the a/b end form the opposite side you've now got a frustrating detour around a large Boots and other retail outlets.

5. Platform Alterations - The habit of the old Reading station still refuses to die, but at least the old one had a flight of stairs and escalators to get up to the bridge or a subway to get down, now you can face a lengthy detour - especially if your train comes in on the other side of the station as I had a few weeks ago with a Basingstoke bound service - I've had them from the usual 2, 8, 10 & 11.

I would agree with you about the lack of clear signage as well - I did use the station previously and while it might have been slightly harder then unless you knew where you where going, the opportunity to add clearer signs to some parts of the station does feel like an oversight.

Overall I agree with the principle - As much as I loved Readings old station with it's lovely GWR Architecture, something needed to be done to create more capacity and handle more people, but the new one just feels cheap and rehashed, my mood wasn't helped yesterday by the amount of dry dust blowing around the station with what little wind there was in the heat, while waiting for my delayed XC service - most of these are also shared opinions it seems as the passenger next to me was also making similar points!


My opinions, but given that I've used bot the new and old Reading Stations every other week for the past 8 years, the new one does leave a lot to be desired - I still put part of that blame on NRs architect Grimshaws - Famous for other rail related problems such as Newport's new snail footbridge too, But also Network Rail themselves - I attended a few of their project session at the station and each time they appeared to have brought out a new set of Graduates, who knew little each time other than of the briefing packs (similar to what was on the website!) and said they would pass on all suggestions. Which felt more like a NR Shrug of the shoulders.

 

[HowardGWR]

I reckon if you used the station before the improvements and were able to find the west end bays OK then it is quite ridiculous to claim they are more difficult to find now...

Well, I hadn't.
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Quite, it's shorter and quicker now if you knew where you were going before. As for new passengers I can't comment as havent noticed or need new signs.

Well therefore the comment is not appropriate. Of course a commuter would have no difficulty. If you are a commuter, you can even find a quicker way through tube tunnels that are signed the wrong way, as I have done years ago in central London.
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My opinions, but given that I've used bot the new and old Reading Stations every other week for the past 8 years, the new one does leave a lot to be desired - I still put part of that blame on NRs architect Grimshaws - Famous for other rail related problems such as Newport's new snail footbridge too, But also Network Rail themselves - I attended a few of their project session at the station and each time they appeared to have brought out a new set of Graduates, who knew little each time other than of the briefing packs (similar to what was on the website!) and said they would pass on all suggestions. Which felt more like a NR Shrug of the shoulders.

Yes, that is a not untypical experience of 'consultation' sessions I have attended. It would be better if such were not held, as they are attended by folk who are really interested, who then have their intelligence insulted.

I wonder if you had the sessions with the 'brainstorm' postits, led clearly by some young person who doesn't understand a thing about railways, transport, or the subject in hand.

There, that felt better.

Yes I have used Newport, another passenger unfriendly disaster zone. I did say that the platform toilets were nice but not easy to find - signage poor again. You get this sign pointing to them at the foot of the stairs, but then there is no sign at right angles at the toilets, so it just looks like part of a row of station offices, until you reach the entrance door.

 

[MarkyT]

2. The layout in my opinion is odd - waiting rooms and shops at the western end of the platforms.

Perhaps a passenger psychology measure to encourage waiting commuters to spread out along the platform rather than congregate towards the London end?

5. Platform Alterations - The habit of the old Reading station still refuses to die, but at least the old one had a flight of stairs and escalators to get up to the bridge or a subway to get down, now you can face a lengthy detour - especially if your train comes in on the other side of the station as I had a few weeks ago with a Basingstoke bound service - I've had them from the usual 2, 8, 10 & 11.

Platform allocations should be a lot more consistent once the final layout with the flyover is in full use.

I would agree with you about the lack of clear signage as well - I did use the station previously and while it might have been slightly harder then unless you knew where you where going, the opportunity to add clearer signs to some parts of the station does feel like an oversight.

As someone who both knew the old station intimately and who has followed the redevelopment closely I had no problem navigating the new layout, although I have only visited it twice since the changes began and clearly didn't need to look too closely at the fixed signage. I understand the final arrangement in all its size and complexity could be very daunting to new and occasional users, including those using the station for interchange, so I agree good signage is extremely important. Luckily, unlike anything more structural, signage is something that can be changed fairly quickly and cheaply if it's found wanting, and I hope the station operator will be open to improvements.
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Yes I have used Newport, another passenger unfriendly disaster zone.

I don't think Reading comes anything close to that extremely poor design which fails in a number of fundamental ways. At Newport the access from the car park definitely needed improvement, but the resultant design has degraded the experience for every other user of the station, quite apart from the quality of the new buildings. Walking distance from platform to the city centre has increased appreciably, but perhaps equally importantly deposits the incoming passenger opposite an incoherent range of buildings and convoluted back streets, rather than the clearly commercial Cambrian Road pedestrian boulevard leading directly into the heart of the city. The new entrance is also twice as far from the bus station than the old one. The capital cost of the scheme could have been reduced considerably if the new west end entrance had been built only to serve the three northernmost platforms from the car park, with the old entrance and footbridge at the eastern end retained for city centre access. Newport has suffered a decrease in passenger usage in recent years. I wonder if this can be wholly accounted for by local economic conditions or if the poor station design and in particular its degraded relationship with the city centre has also played a part.

 

[HowardGWR]

I note what has been written, especially the architectural design standards, which are poor at both Newport and Reading. At the former, it looks like a tin shed tacked on at the other (west) end of what is (was) a fine station. At Reading, whilst it was all shiny and new, it was distinctly bare and intimidating to me as a stranger. I didn't want to stay there for very long. Perhaps the retail opportunities may actually make it more friendly. I contrast with Clapham Junction, which we used recently while changing from / to Gatwick. The new lifts were appreciated,as we had cases, and the food retail outlets also. The signage, although basic, is great. You get off the train and there is a big wooden board, on which the stations you can connect with, are reported. You just look for e.g. Gatwick and it tells you to which platform you should go. This displays the confidence of the operators that they will not mess you about (except in extremis perhaps). I did not appreciate having to pay through turnstiles to use their loos however, as we had no UK loose change anyway. That may be a layover from problems with junkies. At Newport they had anti-junkie lighting in the forbiddingly basic loo, which does not make one feel safer.

 

[swt_passenger]

2. The layout in my opinion is odd - waiting rooms and shops at the western end of the platforms.

That is only temporary due to the phased build programme, which ran from west to east on the main islands. There are designated waiting and retail spaces at the east ends as well, when I last visited a couple of weeks ago the retail space at the P8/9 'A end' was unoccupied, but it is obviously there awaiting fitting out, in the matching location to the WH Smiths at the 'B end'.

It all looks fairly symmetrical to me...

 

[HowardGWR]

That is only temporary due to the phased build programme, which ran from west to east on the main islands. There are designated waiting and retail spaces at the east ends as well, when I last visited a couple of weeks ago the retail space at the P8/9 'A end' was unoccupied, but it is obviously there awaiting fitting out, in the matching location to the WH Smiths at the 'B end'.

It all looks fairly symmetrical to me...

Thanks for the diagram. Perhaps we should await the final picture. I just described my initial experiences. One would hope that pax are being interviewed and reactions logged.

 

[FenMan]

I'm a frequent user at offpeak times, normally arriving on the Southern platforms and then transferring to the island platforms. The transfer deck can be bloomin' freezing and the escalator access to the platforms can be an unpleasantly wet and breezy experience.

The flow management leaves plenty to be desired too. The significant number of passengers who've arrived in the east or west-facing bay platforms and are transferring to the island platforms have to cut across the flow of passengers trying to leave through the main exit at the base of the escalators. That must be fun at peak times.

Ho hum.

 

[LexyBoy]

It is very angular with no "soft" features to create a more pleasant atmosphere. I would put that down to NR not wanting people to spend more time there than neccessary.

On the contrary, I bet NR want people to spend plenty of time there shopping! I don't find it too "hard" - the shops have broken up the space quite a bit and the wall-to-floor windows help. I know what you mean though, it's very metal-and-stoney - it would be nice to have some more wood as on the ceiling.

Quite, it's shorter and quicker now if you knew where you were going before.

Agreed, and there's space to pass people going the other way (especially important once P3 is back in use). An escalator going direct from the deck to P1-3 would be much better though.

The canopies are also not joined to the main transfer deck either - certainly on platform 7 they are just tucked under so guess what, the rain get's underneath there too.

The choice of leaving the glass out of the towers for the transfer deck / along the escalators and alongside the main escalators is a poor one, which allows the transfer deck to get wet - it still leaks and get's windy in the winter!

I think this is done to avoid the wind tunnel effect. It will be a nightmare in winter when it snows though - the snow will blow in much more than the rain does (which to be honest, it doesn't), and combined with the smooth floor and heavy footfall it'll be... interesting.

The flow management leaves plenty to be desired too. The significant number of passengers who've arrived in the east or west-facing bay platforms and are transferring to the island platforms have to cut across the flow of passengers trying to leave through the main exit at the base of the escalators. That must be fun at peak times.

This is probably my biggest gripe. It's as if nobody simulated passenger flows or (especially) envisaged what passengers would be looking for at various points:

• Departures boards opposite the escalators, which is where people would naturally head, and also too small to read from any distance
• Departures boards just past ticket barriers
• Immediate 90 degree turn at the top of the stairs requiring a tacky barrier to be put in within days of opening
• Escalators which are barely adequate for the current demand, in a station designed for double the passenger numbers
• Confusing use of "departures" and "next fastest" displays (I get confused as a regular user)
• Lack of clear wayfinding from top of escalators

Most of these are easily fixable, fortunately.

Obviously also the architecture could have been much better (personally I think an overall roof rather than individual canopies would have been merited, and a "V" shaped bridge linking the positions of the three entrances) but it's not terrible and certainly much more usable and smarter than the station it replaced.

 

[Y186520]

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...ew/reading-viaduct-ready-for-tracklaying.html


Railway Gazette short article says Balfour Beatty has handed the viaduct over for tracklaying by Carillion.

 

[Ironside]

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...ew/reading-viaduct-ready-for-tracklaying.html


Railway Gazette short article says Balfour Beatty has handed the viaduct over for tracklaying by Carillion.

Great news!

 

[swt_passenger]

Some signals have now been switched on on the flyover sometime since last week, at least a couple of reds are visible from the station, one on the down main and one on the festival line, I assume they are the signals protecting the high level junction.

 

[Tirov]

Has anyone got any up to date photos of the track on the flyover?

 

[swt_passenger]

Has anyone got any up to date photos of the track on the flyover?

People have been adding them, and links to others, in the Reading electrification thread here: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=83452&page=47

 

[Engineer]

Noticed yesterday while staff coped professionally with rugby, football and Newbury Races inebriated crowds, platform indicators still miss directing passengers. I like the slow single speed lifts to the over bridge, they are more reliable than hi speed lift s ( BAA assured me regarding Heathrow lifts ). Does anyone know what happened to the original passenger and GPO under platform tunnel, is it still there closed up, or filled in?

 

[swt_passenger]

Noticed yesterday while staff coped professionally with rugby, football and Newbury Races inebriated crowds, platform indicators still miss directing passengers. I like the slow single speed lifts to the over bridge, they are more reliable than hi speed lift s ( BAA assured me regarding Heathrow lifts ). Does anyone know what happened to the original passenger and GPO under platform tunnel, is it still there closed up, or filled in?

The original subway which was split 50/50 passenger and post office was left intact, opened up at the south end and then extended northwards to be remodelled into the current public subway. From the planning drawings it is now divided roughly into 75% public and 25% service tunnel on the west side; the latter contains building services cables and pipework for the island platforms.

 

[causton]

This displays the confidence of the operators that they will not mess you about (except in extremis perhaps).

That's more due to the layout I think... it is good for passengers who only have to remember a platform once (Brighton, platform 13, great!) but that is because at Clapham Junction there is only one platform per particular line (i.e. fast Southern services heading out of London can use platform 13... and that's about it except in disruption or severe engineering works). There are a few exceptions over on the Windsor lines and 1/2/16/17 which could be interchangable in some circumstances.

Whereas in Reading you only have 2 or so tracks heading in from each direction and lots of points and track to get them into a wide variety of platforms which they could all equally use. So more flexible, but less consistent for passengers.

 

[Class 170101]

Whereas in Reading you only have 2 or so tracks heading in from each direction and lots of points and track to get them into a wide variety of platforms which they could all equally use. So more flexible, but less consistent for passengers.

But at least platforms can be closed for engineering works without closing the entire station or employing Rail Replacement Buses.

 

[FenMan]

Noticed yesterday while staff coped professionally with rugby, football and Newbury Races inebriated crowds, platform indicators still miss directing passengers.

Not to mention hordes of well dressed women heading to the Christmas Market in Winchester. The 09:46 XC service to Bournemouth was full and standing on departure from Reading.

 

[Y186520]

A quick heads up for tonights BBC South Today.

They have a report from Paul Clifton previewing the Christmas works, with film from the viaduct site and aerial shots.

 

[BananaRepublic]

The Christmas and New Year blockade has been completed in good time and the Reading viaduct became operational this morning.

 

[Ironside]

The Christmas and New Year blockade has been completed in good time and the Reading viaduct became operational this morning.

Hooray. I hope the viaduct makes the difference it is expected to do and commuters notice and value the difference.

 

[D1009]

The Christmas and New Year blockade has been completed in good time and the Reading viaduct became operational this morning.

Does anyone know what the speed over it is at the moment?

 

[BananaRepublic]

Does anyone know what the speed over it is at the moment?

Initially there will be speed restrictions.
The line speeds on the main lines will stay at 50 and 60mph until the final stage of the project in September 2015.
From this date the line speed will increase to 125mph to the new High Level Junction in the Up direction and to Reading New Junction in the Down direction, and 95mph through the station area between these points.

 

[D1009]

Initially there will be speed restrictions.
The line speeds on the main lines will stay at 50 and 60mph until the final stage of the project in September 2015.
From this date the line speed will increase to 125mph to the new High Level Junction in the Up direction and to Reading New Junction in the Down direction, and 95mph through the station area between these points.

My understanding of the previous speeds between Reading station and Whitehouse Jn was 50 on the mains and 40 on the reliefs, subject to various lower restrictions over temporary crossovers etc.

 

[BantamMenace]

Initially there will be speed restrictions.
The line speeds on the main lines will stay at 50 and 60mph until the final stage of the project in September 2015.
From this date the line speed will increase to 125mph to the new High Level Junction in the Up direction and to Reading New Junction in the Down direction, and 95mph through the station area between these points.

Will the few trains that dont stop at Reading be passing through the platforms at 95mph then?

 

[Nippy]

If they get a clear run.......

 

[MarkyT]

The flyover - It is complete!

http://youtu.be/PybspgUevoI

 

[r1_biker]

If anybody has a photo of the first turbo over the reading flyover in either direction then please let me know.

I noticed one person taking pictures at Loverock Road industrial estate and plenty of people taking pictures at Didcot in the fog and the mist.

The departure time from Didcot was planned to be 0911 and it was in Platform 3. The turbo number was 166211.

Many thanks

 

[Starmill]

The flyover - It is complete!

http://youtu.be/PybspgUevoI

Well isn't that one jolly soundtrack!

Although I've had a look and am still a little confused - I can't see in this thread either. So where does the flyover carry trains roughly to and from, and which are the conflicting moves that it removes? Thanks.

 

[Nippy]

Carries the Main Lines from Westbury Line Jn to Scours Lane (currently known as Whitehouse Temporary Jn) over the current West Curve Lines. At Easter there is a big shut down again to attach the new feeder lines from Oxford Road Jn to Reading station that comes under the viaduct and in to the middle of the station at the west end between the Mls and Rls and to extend the festival line from High Level Jn on the viaduct that then drops down and goes under the viaduct to come out on the RLs. As said above, in September the final piece of the work is to upgrade the line speed to 95mph through platforms 9 and 10 at Reading.