Town's stations see more people travelling by train

There are four railway stations in the borough of Reading

Hundreds of thousands more journeys are being made by train in a Berkshire town, according to new figures.

Reading central station was the ninth-busiest in the country outside of London, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

About 13.5 million passengers used the town's main station between April 2023 and March 2024 - an 8.8% increase on the previous year.

The borough’s three other smaller stations also saw an increase in usage.

Reading West saw the biggest boost in passenger numbers in the borough, up by 16% to more than 336,000.

About 357,000 people travelled to or from Tilehurst station, an increase of 12%.

Reading Green Park station opened in May 2023, becoming the town's first new station in almost 120 years. It was used by just under 141,000 passengers.

Work to refurbish the underpass below Reading central station was finished in August

The increase follows a drive by Reading Borough Council to encourage more people to use public transport.

A new bus service, the Buzz 9, was introduced by the authority in January, making it easier to get to Green Park station.

A multimillion-pound project to revamp Reading West station was completed in March.

Upgrades included a new station building with an information counter, customer toilets, staffed ticket gates, new lighting and CCTV.

At Tilehurst station, new passenger lifts are 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, said it was wonderful to see more people using trains.

“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.”