swt_passenger
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“Reading or Reading West” started in 2015 according to a post a couple of days ago. (#234)
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Reading Green Park Station
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Source?
RDW and RDG are part of the same group, so the tickets are valid for interchange between them. The price is the same regardless of whether you specify RDG, RDW or explicitly the group.
Reading stations has been renamed to Reading and Reading West, a move that is apparently very expensive At least according to Network Rail when Colchester wanted to rename), it’s unlikely they’d do that if it was going to be removed.
The ticket you had marked to Reading is a quirk of the fares which has been around for years. GWR Has set identical fares to the group and individual stations, and journey planners choose one fairly randomly.
Looking in my "old tickets" heap for recent examples, there are not many these days since the gateline at Wokingham eats most of them. Today's said just "Reading", as did one last month. The last one before than was last June, and that said "Reading or Reading West". So there has been another change.
Nothing has changed! It depends if you buy a ticket to RDG or the group. Tickets to RDG are valid to RDW for interchange purposes (vice versa) as established in NRCoT.
What changed is what was printed on my return tickets from Wokingham to Reading, all bought just before departure. That's all I reported.
As I mentioned upthread, these are two separate destinations, but a lot of local routes have flows to both which are priced exactly the same. It is very random which destination ticket a journey planner will give you when you buy a fare to Reading, and likely chewed on your tickets because of an update to the app you use. You can ensure you get a ticket to both by explicitly selecting the Reading or Reading W destination when you search for the journey.
SargeNpton
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Changing the name of a "Group Station" in retail systems is easy and cheap to do once all the relevant parties have agreed to it.
Changing the name of an actual station is very expensive in terms of the sheer number of systems that need to be updated, and the signage on the station itself.
Bread & cheese
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Some time ago:
There were no tickets from Wokingham to 'Reading' (3149) or to 'Reading West' (3160), only to 'Reading Stations' (0403).
What has changed (the changes were not all made at the same time):
'Reading Stations' was renamed 'Reading or Reading West'.
Tickets from Wokingham to 'Reading' (3149) were introduced, at the same price as tickets from Wokingham to 'Reading or Reading West' (0403).
Tickets from Wokingham to 'Reading West' (3160) were similarly introduced.
Tickets from Wokingham to 'Reading or Reading West' (0403) were later discontinued.
And they removed the only ticket machines at Reading station capable of issuing tickets from alternative stations, so you now have to use the ticket office or buy online if you're starting at Reading but later returning to Reading West via Reading.
All tickets were bought from the station ticket machines.
No I was there yesterday and some GWR staff were about so I spoke to them and they said the fencing is due to be removed on Friday ready for Saturday
Part of a plan to remove all Worldline machines from GWR stations. Mighty annoying for that reason though.
Ah!! Any reason why?? They quite new…
Looking at the Rail Delivery Group Accredited Suppliers list, it appears that the venerable Worldline/Shere FAST machines are no longer accredited for use.
Doesn't say how long ago it expired, however.
DylanThomas
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New, but slow response times and unreliable.
Went down Tuesday afternoon and nothing much has changed for weeks - other than GWR posters having gone up in station front.
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ChewChewTrain
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While I tended to prefer them where available and it seems wasteful to can them already, they did indeed have a “Windows 11 on an aging PC” feel.
Going forward, I’d be surprised if any new machines sell tickets from other stations, given that the likes of doughnutting, short-faring, and open return reuse are easier to detect if one does such things through apps or ticket windows.
I wonder how Green Park’s usage levels will compare to those of Reading West, Tilehurst, and Earley. I used to live near Makro, and would probably have experimented to see whether walking to GP and getting the train to Reading station was in practice less bother than just walking straight there.
DylanThomas
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Reading West has a high level of fare evasion and is currently having gateline barriers installed. Expect passenger numbers there to shoot up over the next year (even if they are just buying child singles to the main Reading station)
Green Park could attract some of the football crowds, but will be tempered by lower crowds from Reading being relegated to League one. Also, still a 20 minute walk.
Or Adult singles, GWR gatelines are always manned when closed, so child singles will flag up to staff and be far easier to detect.
DylanThomas
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Revenue Protection will only really heavily man Reading West & Reading Green Park in the first few weeks or for football matches. They will put child locks on and check ages.
After that, the child monitor (just an alarm) will be switched on but rarely do gateline staff challenge these people (Reading main station is a revenue protection depot so Inspectors do hang around there and challenge).
Cleaners (Servest) and landscaping teams were at Green Park preparing for the opening yesterday.
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Depends on the station and staff. In Bath I’ve seen them challenge it quite often.
mangyiscute
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I honestly don't think it'll be used by football fans except those coming from Basingstoke or on that line. Would I rather wait for a crowded train to take me a mile from the stadium or hop on one of the buses that run literally every couple minutes and take me right to the stadium?
swt_passenger
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Looking at Google satellite view I think it’s possibly a longer walk from Makro to Green Park than to Reading. I guess it depends on your exact address, but it’s definitely a bit of a long way round.
Mikey C
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New
The walk between the station and stadium looks fairly pleasant with the lake to walk past, though sadly lacking a pub
mangyiscute
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maybe other fans will see it different, but i am planning to go to all of the reading matches and i will be taking the bus (except maybe once cause i like trains and i wanna see what its like)Newstadiumstation syndrome
The walk between the station and stadium looks fairly pleasant with the lake to walk past, though sadly lacking a pub
Baxenden Bank
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Official opening ceremony today (Thursday 25th).
Mikey C
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I'd be an away fan, so have only one opportunity to try the new station!
Opens Saturday after official opening on Thursday morning, with Tony Page, new mayor of Reading unveiling a plaque inside the building. Competitive day return fare from Reading of £2 with railcard. Women's match on Saturday at Majeski stadium will hopefully provide some additional traffic.
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