Reading Green Park Station

[BayPaul]

But

If the accessible toilet was inside the building it would be inaccessible when the station was unstaffed.

But the same is true for the regular toilets! Surely they should either all lead onto the platform or all inside?

 

[Wychwood93]

But
But the same is true for the regular toilets! Surely they should either all lead onto the platform or all inside?

I would struggle to think of any stations in my local area where the toilets would be accessible to the public when no staff were present! To drift back to the topic - Green Park would appear to have more than adequate provision for toilets/baby change and, in my view, they would all be better off within the building. I have always felt that there are too few cubicles for ladies - not only on the railway.

 

[43021HST]

As mentioned in the calendar thread, here’s a screen grab of the station building plans from the Reading Council planning site:

That's got far more amenities than I would've thought, I always imagined it to be a Winnersh Triangle type job. I'm from Whitley (South Reading) and there's been murmerings about this for years, at least since late NSE days when Madejski stadium was in the planning. My only concern is it'll give an excuse to knock up house prices in the area. Sure Whitley ain't pretty but you can get a reasonably large good quality house at lower than average prices.

 

[swt_passenger]

That's got far more amenities than I would've thought, I always imagined it to be a Winnersh Triangle type job. I'm from Whitley (South Reading) and there's been murmerings about this for years, at least since late NSE days when Madejski stadium was in the planning. My only concern is it'll give an excuse to knock up house prices in the area. Sure Whitley ain't pretty but you can get a reasonably large good quality house at lower than average prices.

It’s fair to say the station building includes a lot more than many expected. Of course the station was originally a much simpler affair, for some reason the building was a separate and later planning application to the basic platforms. I guess it shows how the local authority can get a better result where there’s a will.

 

[Jimini]

That's got far more amenities than I would've thought, I always imagined it to be a Winnersh Triangle type job. I'm from Whitley (South Reading) and there's been murmerings about this for years, at least since late NSE days when Madejski stadium was in the planning. My only concern is it'll give an excuse to knock up house prices in the area. Sure Whitley ain't pretty but you can get a reasonably large good quality house at lower than average prices.

Comes with a complimentary whiff as well

 

[coppercapped]

Some comments about the previous comments...!

One of the reasons that the facilities in the new station are more generous than many on here would have expected is that there is a great deal of building going on in the area on what used to be Smallmead Farm; not only office buildings but also various forms of residential accommodation. When the station is completed it is planned that the express bus route from the Mereoak Park and Ride just south of the M4 to Reading town centre will be re-routed via the new station to offer connections to and from both Reading and Basingstoke.

As a result of all these changes business offered by the Madeski (now 'Select Car Leasing') Stadium - one football match every couple of weeks for part of the year - will be negligible in the great scheme of things.

I attended the Planning Application Committee meeting when the Reading Borough Council approved the application for the new station building. I didn't take notes as I was there in connection with another application but I recall there was some debate about access to the disabled toilet. If I remember correctly it was the RBC Councillors who insisted on out of hours access to the disabled toilet on the grounds that not all disabilities are visible and require the use of a wheelchair and that the station should still be welcoming for disabled people even if they have to wait for longer than expected if their train was delayed. Access is controlled through a RADAR key which was thought to provide sufficient deterrence against vandalism. The normal toilets could not be so protected and as it is not acceptable to place CCTV cameras in toilets they were designed not to be accessible out of hours. The external areas are to be continuously monitored.

When stations are opened (or re-opened) property prices in the area go up anyway - it's one of the ways Crossrail was funded. There's nothing odd or sinister about - when the facilities are better people are prepared to pay for them.

Regarding the poster who travels from Fleet to, I presume, Green Park I would point out that Reading Buses route 7 runs seven through buses a day from Fleet to Reading Station. They take about 45 minutes from Fleet to the Basingstoke Road in Whitley.

...and the 'Whitley Whiff' went years ago when the anaerobic digesters were built in Island Road and the old sewerage works de-commissioned. The 'Kennet Island' housing development now occupies the site.

(And as a matter of historical interest the whole area known as Whitley Park was once owned by Reading Abbey - founded by Henry I in 1121 - and the Abbot used it for R&R, deer hunting and the like...!)

 

[fgwrich]

That's got far more amenities than I would've thought, I always imagined it to be a Winnersh Triangle type job. I'm from Whitley (South Reading) and there's been murmerings about this for years, at least since late NSE days when Madejski stadium was in the planning. My only concern is it'll give an excuse to knock up house prices in the area. Sure Whitley ain't pretty but you can get a reasonably large good quality house at lower than average prices.

To be honest, having working in Reading for a number of years and finding my jobs leading me to semi regular visits to Whitley Wood & Southcote, a rise in house prices in those areas might not be a bad thing at all! A visit to Whitley wood in the evening on your own wasn't an enjoyable experience!

Good to finally see some progress with this station at last. I was going to upload some photos taken from a passing XC voyager last month but there's not much point now that they've got the bridge in!

 

[43021HST]

To be honest, having working in Reading for a number of years and finding my jobs leading me to semi regular visits to Whitley Wood & Southcote, a rise in house prices in those areas might not be a bad thing at all!

Good to finally see some progress with this station at last. I was going to upload some photos taken from a passing XC voyager last month but there's not much point now that they've got the bridge in!

I'm alright Jack as long as house prices keep inflating forever.

If overnight, road developments increased land values greater than the development of railways, priorities will quickly change, regardless of the social and ecological benefits of railways.

Remember folks a house is a home firstly and an investment opportunity second, there's something deeply wrong with the culture of this country and its obsession with property values.
(Yours sincerely an exceedingly frustrated first time buyer.)

A visit to Whitley wood in the evening on your own wasn't an enjoyable experience!

I was a Whitley Wood resident of 17 years and never had a problem, what a snobbish thing to say.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I'm alright Jack as long as house prices keep inflating forever.

Remember folks a house is a home firstly and an investment opportunity second, there's something deeply wrong with the culture of this country and its obsession with property values.
(Yours sincerely an exceedingly frustrated first time buyer.)

There is a most stupid TV advert that shows couples in their home speaking in fondest terms of their life there, then someone sees the large value increase in their property and stupidly thinks "Sell..and we'll make a big profit". Of course, being low in the intelligence stakes, they completely ignore the fact that a replacement home will also have similarly increased in value, so all they will have achieved is the hassle of moving home and all that entails.

 

[AlbertBeale]

To be honest, having working in Reading for a number of years and finding my jobs leading me to semi regular visits to Whitley Wood & Southcote, a rise in house prices in those areas might not be a bad thing at all! A visit to Whitley wood in the evening on your own wasn't an enjoyable experience!

Good to finally see some progress with this station at last. I was going to upload some photos taken from a passing XC voyager last month but there's not much point now that they've got the bridge in!

I don't really understand - is the idea that it's a less enjoyable experience being in an area where poorer people live? Is "less enjoyable" is a euphemism for "feeling unsafe"? In my experience, any correlation that there is (if there's any at all) tends to be the other way round. I find places where rich people don't live are often more fun to be in, and have less of a feeling of threat.

 

[The Ham]

I don't really understand - is the idea that it's a less enjoyable experience being in an area where poorer people live? Is "less enjoyable" is a euphemism for "feeling unsafe"? In my experience, any correlation that there is (if there's any at all) tends to be the other way round. I find places where rich people don't live are often more fun to be in, and have less of a feeling of threat.

Indeed, however there's often a significant number of people who live in high value locations with much below regional levels of crime (which are also below national levels of crime) who are significantly worried about crime (and probably more so than those who live in the higher crime areas).

I live in such a location and there has been a consultation on of the local population dear crime a of they want something done about it. There was majority support for an increase in the very local element of the Council Tax to pay for local patrols.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Indeed, however there's often a significant number of people who live in high value locations with much below regional levels of crime (which are also below national levels of crime) who are significantly worried about crime (and probably more so than those who live in the higher crime areas).

I live in such a location and there has been a consultation on of the local population dear crime a of they want something done about it. There was majority support for an increase in the very local element of the Council Tax to pay for local patrols.

You are not alone in the views you have stated so succinctly above.

 

[ewsclass]

Does that really mean you go from Fleet to Farnborough, change stations, and then go all the way round to Basingstoke via Reading?? Seems hardly much faster than waiting for the next hourly direct train...!

Nah I commute to Reading. I meant it would be easier to go via BSK

An update on the station for everyone. The footbridge is in now, the metal framework has been completed and brickwork has begun.

 

[swt_passenger]

Nah I commute to Reading. I meant it would be easier to go via BSK

An update on the station for everyone. The footbridge is in now, the metal framework has been completed and brickwork has begun.

There was a photo posted a few days ago showing the footbridge in place, unfortunately it was put in the “new stations calendar“ thread:

New Station calendar

According to Get Reading, Reading Green Park station is now expected to open some time between April and June 2022. Covid and Brexit blamed, there's a surprise :E

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[The Ham]

I spotted that the real time train screens at Reading show Green Park as a station.

 

[Snow1964]

The latest GW service requirements have just been published by DfT

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1013738/great-western-train-service-requirement-2020.pdf

Page 43, route D7 (Reading-Basingstoke)
Route Definition
Services shall be provided between Reading and Basingstoke calling at Reading West, Reading Green Park, Mortimer and Bramley.

So services need to call at Reading Green Park, (doesn’t appear to be a forward introduction date, so seems trains have to stop already)

page 43 includes details of minimum service frequency (half hourly during the day) with Reading-Basingstoke taking a maximum of 27 minutes, max 26 minutes Basingstoke-Reading.

 

[3973EXL]

20/09

 

[Kite159]

That little road bridge has never been so popular

 

[73128]

Any updates on progress? Was this weekend's (Sunday 10th) Reading to Basingstoke closure connected with work here?

 

[fgwrich]

Any updates on progress? Was this weekend's Reading to Basingstoke closure connected with work here?

I don't think so (certainly Reading to Basingstoke was open yesterday), there was a fair number of Network Rail vans around Basingstoke Station earlier so it seems they've been doing a lot of work at this end.

 

[kevin_roche]

I tried to visit the nearby bridge this morning to see what was happening. Unfortunately, the road over the bridge is closed and I wasn't able to see anything. I'm not sure why the road is closed or if it has anything to do with the railway or the new station.

 

[3973EXL]

I tried to visit the nearby bridge this morning to see what was happening. Unfortunately, the road over the bridge is closed and I wasn't able to see anything. I'm not sure why the road is closed or if it has anything to do with the railway or the new station.

BALFOUR BEATTY

Information for Road Users​

Cause:	Streetworks
Closure in force:	All the time
Name:	Kirtons Farm Rd - Closure
Description:	KIRTONS FARM ROAD, BURGHFIELD will be closed from 8th November 2021 to 28th February 2022.The closure extends a distance of 200 metres each side of the railway bridge, this is so contractors can carry out barrier and kerb installation.

 

[kevin_roche]

KIRTONS FARM ROAD, BURGHFIELD will be closed from 8th November 2021 to 28th February 2022. The closure extends a distance of 200 metres each side of the railway bridge, this is so contractors can carry out barrier and kerb installation

Thank you.

 

[73128]

I tried to visit the nearby bridge this morning to see what was happening. Unfortunately, the road over the bridge is closed and I wasn't able to see anything. I'm not sure why the road is closed or if it has anything to do with the railway or the new station.

Road closed for (I recall) c 3 months from mid November. Reason is unclear although the road could do with being widened.

 

[Bread & cheese]

The Reading Borough Council news website has some drone footage of the station building.

https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/b...e-shows-latest-progress-on-green-park-station

 

[73128]

I can report from a visit 8 March early afternoon that the road bridge is open again and there has been some progress.

What’s happened since I was last there?

Firstly, the work at the road bridge - the road has not been widened. Certainly not several weeks work - it could have been done in a weekend. South side of the bridge - the short tarmac area has been extended and kerb ramps (why?) put in both sides.

On the north (station) side more has happened. A high kerb has been installed, and a three-bar fence across the top and out to each side, with the crash barriers bent downwards into the ground. Makes crossing the road for photography much more difficult currently as the bridge can only be accessed on the east owing to temporary railings.

Off the road on the station side, two concrete staircases have been constructed down towards platform level. This includes an expensive embankment on the north east side, which may well be publicly accessible as it is linked to footpaths towards the station building and entrance. The use of that on the up side seems unclear – if it is an evacuation route it seems excessively engineered given that there is street access possible from that platform (i.e. through the current work site). That on the down side has extra wire fencing between the poles to eliminate the risk of anyone falling through, whereas the upside flight does not.

Both flights are obviously still shut off by temporary barriers by the road at present.

Turning to the station itself, the down platform appears to have been tarmacked, although the up side has not been. The down platform has a high level canopy outside the station building coupled with a lower level one under the footbridge – you can just see a drain but no wind break in between!! The building appears to be glazed on at least the platform side.

On the upside there is a canopy and waiting area south of the footbridge steps. Whether there is to be an enclosed waiting room there is unclear as it all appears open right now. There is what is probably an elevated staff footpath all the way along the back of that platform, reason unclear. There is a help point visible at the south end of that platform, again well away from where anyone is likely to be waiting unless there is an incident near the footbridge.

 

[swt_passenger]

…Turning to the station itself, the down platform appears to have been tarmacked, although the up side has not been. The down platform has a high level canopy outside the station building coupled with a lower level one under the footbridge – you can just see a drain but no wind break in between!! The building appears to be glazed on at least the platform side.

On the upside there is a canopy and waiting area south of the footbridge steps. Whether there is to be an enclosed waiting room there is unclear as it all appears open right now. There is what is probably an elevated staff footpath all the way along the back of that platform, reason unclear. There is a help point visible at the south end of that platform, again well away from where anyone is likely to be waiting unless there is an incident near the footbridge.

There will probably be a marked “refuge area” at that end for passengers who would require assistance in such emergency conditions. I think the latest standards require help points in these areas, you can also see them at the ends of the new platforms at Reading.

Without checking the planning drawings again, I’m pretty sure there’s no up side waiting room.

I can’t really explain the need for separate walkway, and I can’t think of another recent example built like this. I do remember the new Market Harborough platforms had what looked like an excess of emergency gates, and various dedicated but fenced off emergency walkways, between platform and car park. All looked a bit OTT really…

 

[fgwrich]

A few passing photos from my Turbo this afternoon. The downside platform didn’t look like it’s had its final tarmacking yet.

 

[Bread & cheese]

Reading Green Park is now expected to open by the end of 2022.
https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/green-park-station-to-open-by-the-end-of-this-year

 

[Snow1964]

Reading Green Park is now expected to open by the end of 2022.
https://media.reading.gov.uk/news/green-park-station-to-open-by-the-end-of-this-year

Can anyone explain the thinking behind 2 platforms each 150m long

Not long enough for an 8car EMU (if line is ever electrified), but far longer than a Voyager (if cross country were ever to call) and rather longer than a pair of 165 or 166 DMUs. Almost feels like a round number regardless of length of trains