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An artist's impression of the Wokingham station improvements
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Rail station plans hit new snag

By Caroline Cook
October 10, 2011

Detailed plans for the multi-million pound redevelopment of Wokingham railway station have been submitted to Wokingham Borough Council but town centre groups say extra work around the area will be needed to draw more visitors to the town.

Network Rail submitted plans to the council last week with detailed blueprints showing a state-of-the-art train station with retail areas and a large glass-fronted station building.

The council’s executive has pledged £1.5 million to the improvement of the station, which will be moved further down the track towards Reading, and £5m for a road linking Station Road and Reading Road.

Other funding is coming from the National Stations Improvement Programme, which aims to revamp 150 medium-sized stations in England and Wales.

But those living and working around the town centre say work will need to be done around the station area to improve traffic and pedestrian walkways.

John Piasecki, owner of Hudson Bay in Denmark Street, said: “I think the location of the train station will not have any major impact.

“The main difference will always be not just the location of things like a train station and the town centre but the key thing is the walk between the two.

“If you get off the train and the access to Elms Field is down Wellington Road the pavements are awful. It’s quite a busy road and that’s not conducive to encouraging lots of people to access Wokingham by train.

“You might do it once but you won’t do it again.”

Mr Piasecki also said improvements would need to be made to the pedestrian crossing in Wellington Road which is often cited as a cause for congestion alongside the level crossing.

In the plans submitted by Network Rail the company includes a vision of how the link road will run in front of the station with extra parking spaces proposed to create more than 150 spaces.

There will also be two taxi ranks, a 20-minute parking bay and a cycle parking facility along with a large ticket hall, seating and toilets inside the station.

In a letter submitted with the plans Network Rail says the existing station building is “problematic with an industrial appearance and cramped, under-sized internal entrance and layout”.

It is hoped the redevelopment will create a “noticeable and lasting” improvement with aims to provide a modern station with improved passenger flows.

Peter Must, from the Wokingham Society, also raised concerns about whether the station would have disabled access.

He said: “I am sure a major concern and one of many residents is, as far as I can see, there are no plans to put lifts in to give access to each platform and there will be all sorts of people who will be disadvantaged.

“Users would think Wokingham really does not have a friendly approach when they arrive. This seems to me one absolute necessity with a modern station.”

Councillor Keith Baker, executive member for transport, said the council would be looking at improving the area around the station with the link road designed to reduce traffic congestion.

He said: “As you know we are progressing the station link road. In addition to that as part of the Wokingham town centre regeneration we will be reviewing that whole area to see what improvements we need to make there.

“The new train station is not going to be there tomorrow, it’s going to take a while and so we are considering that development with our thinking about the town centre regeneration and that whole area is being reviewed.

“Things like not only lighting but a lot of people complain about the pedestrian crossing near the Molly Millar pub and it causing undue congestion because of it’s position.

“So that is one of the things we will be looking at to see if there is action we can take without reducing safety, that is absolutely critical.”

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Even better than this would be to pedestrianise Wokingham Town Centre and then build a new station at the site of the Phoenix Plaza (is it still called that ?) - that bowling place . .

Jon_Adams, Arborfield
09/12/2011 at 10:57

I have lived in Wokingham for 23 years and so far not one major thing that has been put forward has ever happened. (Apologies if I have forgotten something that has happened) First it was the distribution road, never happened, when I caught the train to work 20 years ago we were promised a new station then still waiting. New shopping centre still waiting, Elms Park again no decision. As LarryS said there is always an issue in Wokingham, there are too many committees, no decisions are made beacuse each committee is trying to keep everyone happy, Wokingham should remember that you cannot please everyone all of the time and we should stop trying to do so. Also people should remember that not everything can happen together, lets get the station sorted then push for pavements. Just please make a decision. A friend recently moved to Wokingham and I her that the wheels turn slowly in Wokingham and sometimes you actually think they have stopped moving all together. I hope Wokingham Planners will make a decision and accept the plans so that the poor commuters my husband included can arrive in Wokingham proudly.

The T's of Winnersh, Winnersh
13/10/2011 at 14:05

@Mark - WBC would say that your concerns are already being addressed. I would say they've certainly already considered them, but I don't think their solutions will necessarily work. Reading station is already subject to a massive upgrade of several hundred million pounds. As part of this, an extra platform is being provided for Wokingham bound services, and the line across the bridge into these platforms is being made two way. Access to the North of the station is also being provided through the reopening of the tunnel under the tracks (you can see this on your right as you come into Reading on the Wokingham line), and this provides yet another alternative platform(s) for FGW and Cross Country trains to use. This will massively decrease knock on effect of individual delays as trains out currently have to wait for delayed trains coming in before they can leave.

The new station link road and the road through Elms field will (allegedly) allow through traffic flow to be better managed, and remove hold-ups, although with all the new buildings proposed, WBC have already stated it isn't physically possible to remove the jams, but merely manage them at current levels (gee thanks!).

In my experience, trains from Wokingham to London normally run close to time, with the exception of disaster days when someone cuts through a cable to steel it, or when it snows heavily. Almost no amount of investment can stop that as distressing as those days are (and I've been caught in quite a few). As for reducing costs of travel - well, that's central government policy, but is one on which I absolutely agree with you - trains are stupidly expensive.

And as for the station being "well away from town"... where would you rather it be? It has to be on the railway line, and it is pretty much as close to town as it can be where it is now (and as I've said, it isn't moving more than a few yards when it is rebuilt). The only points on the line that are physically closer to Wokingham are *only* on the Waterloo stretch, not the Guildford stretch, are raised above ground level on bridges, and do not have any room for a station, let alone parking or a bus interchange. The station has to remain where it is, unless you want to spend a few billion putting the line underground.

mavdo, Wokingham
11/10/2011 at 17:40

@mavda: The question is whether the £6.5m of the WBC money invested will produce a positive return. We'll have a shiny building, still well away from the town, when everything else will stay the same: same delays, same trains, same hideously expensive travel costs. The old trick of saying 'Cheaper and more reliable travel by train is not in the Council's gift [but, by implication, a shiny new station is, so let's have one]' doesn't wash here. Network Rail's share is either public money or leveraged money from public money; the Council's is indisputably public money. I'd rather less public money went to building gleaming new white elephants and more went to making the trains run on time. Instead of the NR share being used for this feather in the cap of a Wokingham planning committee, I'd prefer it to use the money to improve signalling equipment so fewer trains were delayed from Reading. Instead of WBC money being used to build gleaming palaces, I'd prefer to see the money being used to improving parking and traffic flow in the town.

Mark Gray
11/10/2011 at 17:21

@BrianAtmore - this wouldn't work. The business case doesn't stack up. The demand vs cost and complexity (which add to cost) isn't feasilble.

To explain, firstly there is currently no direct route from Wokingham towards Paddington. You'd have to build it. Before that, the train would have to go into Reading, cross all the tracks (thus adding to congestion of trains at Reading while they wait), and then come back out again in the opposite direction. When the new tracks open at Reading, such a train would still have to go into Reading, but could at least cross under the tracks to reach the area where Platform 10 now is. Platforms 4a and 4b do not have access to the main tracks towards Paddington so cannot be used for this turnaround. If you are going to run the train into Reading, people might as well get off rather than block the tracks while it crosses and lets people on at Reading anyway.

As for coming from Ascot - there would be many hurdles to cover here because part of the track is run by FGW and the other by SWT. They don't own the track, but own the license to run trains in the area. Also, any train would have to be diesel because the line to Paddington isn't electrified, and SWT non-electric trains only really run to Salisbury and Exeter.

You'd also need to consider the capacity of the line from Reading to Paddington. The fast track is full and has been for years. Trains to Plymouth/Penzance, Cardiff/Swansea, Bristol, Oxford (semi-fast), Newbury (semi-fast), Worcester and Cheltenham/Gloucester/Hereford all use this line. The slow line is used by all the stopping services, freight, Heathrow Connect, Heathrow Express, and services off to the branch lines to Greenford, Marlow and Henley. Add in CrossRail, and both lines are full. Add a service from Wokingham, and you have to take away another service, thus not helping congestion at all.

So that idea isn't really a flier. A simliar, but perhaps more workable idea would be to lobby SWT to provide a faster service to Waterloo from the area, eg stopping only at Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell, Ascot, Staines, Twickenham, Richmond, Clapham Junction and Waterloo.

mavdo, Wokingham
11/10/2011 at 12:35

Perhaps WBC should be proactive and lobby Network Rail to include a rail service running from Wokingham to Paddington via Reading (non stop rdg to pad) which would remove the over crowding on trains from rdg to pad and the pad trains invariably missing the wkm connection at rdg. Whilst the station is revamped perhaps and additional train parking space could be introduced or alternatively trains could come from ascot where there are additional platforms. This would significantly reduce travel times and overcrwding at rdg.

BrianAtmore
11/10/2011 at 10:23

Honestly, some of you lot open your mouths before thinking. THE STATION IS STAYING WHERE IT IS... well, almost. It's moving about 50 yards up the track. @Mark - you said they should just extend the track towards Reading... well that's exactly what they're doing. They've already done it on the Reading-bound side. Stop thinking the station is moving halfway to Winnersh, and start commenting on the things that matter such as how we are all going to get there, and what the council are doing to reduce traffic on all approaches to the crazy level crossing. Our current station is an embarrasment to the town. A rebuild like this is much needed, but we must get it right and not build for the sake of building *something* to replace the mess that we've got. We must get it right.

As for getting Network Rail to reduce fares... (a) that's got absolutely nadda to do with the council, and (b) Network Rail have nadda to do with fares anyway. But as I've always said, why let facts get in the way of a damn good rant.

mavdo, Wokingham
11/10/2011 at 09:36

I have to agree - do we need a new station? Why not just refurb the toilets and the office while keeping the way it looks now.

This new station may look good now but in 10 years it will look old and dated. Our current station is timeless - same with the town centre. Re-do the town centre and in 10 years it will look like Bracknell - a dump.

Mr Wokingham, Wokkers
11/10/2011 at 09:06

Wokingham Borough Council has an obsession with 'regeneration' which would only be appropriate were the town in the backstreets of Toxteth in Liverpool or St Pauls in Bristol. I want my town protected from the silliness of planners, not exposed to more of it - and the 'new station' is a prime example. At a cost of millions we are going to build a concrete and glass thing even further from the centre of town. There will be little or no economic benefit to Wokingham - although I suppose the worthy Councillors will have something to open officially. I regularly use the train station sited where it is currently. Why not rebuild that, extending down the platform toward Reading on the Station Road side if you must, sort out the junction with a bigger roundabout and leave the rest alone? Then get Network Rail and the train companies to concentrate on the things we REALLY want - make the trains run on time and reduce the excessively high fares. Is it much to ask to have the Council made sensible plans for the improvements we want rather than ruinously expensive, pointless pipedreams?

Mark Gray
11/10/2011 at 08:49

@Mr Wokingham - why not? The station is being moved all of about 50 yards. The main building will be sited just next to the current bridge so you'll still be able to neck your pint and leg it.

@LarryS - so any disabled visitors to the station from London or Guildford don't want to visit Wokingham at all? Or will they all have a car ready and waiting for them? There really isn't room on that side of the station to provide lots of disabled parking bays anyway. And just because Farnborough North doesn't have good disabled access is no reason to build a completely new station without it (note that Farnborough Main has lifts and therefore does have excellent disabled access). What about people who want to use the kiosk and speak to a real person? It isn't fair that disabled people have to use a ticket machine on their own when they might required even more help (although the current kiosks are too high for wheelchair use anyway).

Twyford station has the provision of the main road over a bridge and down again, and yet they still provide a lift. Their problem is that they switch it off when the station is closed, so disabled people have to go to Maidenhead to cross the track to go back Westwards, which is simply not good enough. But that's a separate issue. Fundamentally, it is against the law to discriminate against the disabled by not considering them when designing access to any building or service. If you are unable to provide ramps/lifts etc you must provide an action plan so that disabled people are not significantly inconvenienced or put in any danger (ie the station would have to be premanently manned, which it isn't). Personally I think that Twyford breaks that law, but I'm not a lawyer. I would think that maintaining the current status quo, ie forcing wheelchair users to cross a railway line as part of a busy road and where there is no pavement, at a crossing that is closed for 12 minutes per hour anyway (more at peak), would probably break that law in a new build. A lift must be provided. I'm not disabled, and I hope I never will be, so this lift wouldn't be for me, but I still believe that not providing a lift would be a disgrace.

mavdo, Wokingham
10/10/2011 at 17:51

What about a bridge/lifts.

- more use than a new station or a new road. I wouldn't get held up as much

woodley lad
10/10/2011 at 17:44

Poor use of the word snag in the title and a bit annoyed that you'll no longer be able to keep an eye on the Station from the Molly's and neck your pint as the train pulls in before darting over to catch the train.

Mr Wokingham, Wokkers
10/10/2011 at 16:35

Not sure I agree about the disabled/elderly need to cross from the north to the south. Additional disabled parking is being provided adjacent to the southern (Reading bound) platform and, presumably, there will be a machine, as at present, on that platform or tickets can be bought on the train. This is far better than other stations locally, e.g. Farnborough, where there is no disabled access whatsoever to one side of the station.

LarryS
10/10/2011 at 15:55

This is ridiculous. The station needs to be moved closer to my house, not further away.

I am appalled.

HatsOfDoom
10/10/2011 at 15:35

The disabled access problem is very simple. Currently the elderly and disabled who are travelling via Reading can purchase their tickets at the ticket office and then cross to the other side using the level crossing. Once the station is moved, this option will no longer be practical. Another method of reaching the other platform is essential.

PoneRana, Wokingham
10/10/2011 at 14:37

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