Berkshire Town’s Stations Report Significant Increase in Train Journeys

New figures indicate that a Berkshire town has seen hundreds of thousands more train journeys. Reading central station was identified by the Office of Rail and Road as the ninth-busiest in the country outside of London. Approximately 13.5 million passengers used the town’s main station between April 2023 and March 2024, an 8.8% increase from the previous year. The borough’s three other smaller stations also experienced a rise in usage. Reading West recorded the largest boost in passenger numbers within the borough, increasing by 16% to more than 336,000. About 357,000 people traveled to or from Tilehurst station, marking a 12% increase. Reading Green Park station, which opened in May 2023 as the town’s first new station in almost 120 years, was utilized by just under 141,000 passengers. This increase follows a campaign by Reading Borough Council to encourage greater use of public transport. The authority introduced a new bus service, the Buzz 9, in January, facilitating easier access to Green Park station. A multimillion-pound initiative to upgrade Reading West station was completed in March. These upgrades included a new station building equipped with an information counter, customer toilets, staffed ticket gates, new lighting, and CCTV. At Tilehurst station, new passenger lifts are currently being installed to provide step-free access to all four platforms for the first time. John Ennis, the council’s lead for climate strategy and transport, stated that it was wonderful to observe more people using trains. He added, “The council will continue working with our railway partners to improve station facilities as part of our ongoing commitment to provide realistic sustainable transport alternatives for people travelling into and around Reading.”