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Rail bosses say Wokingham will be able to take pride in the £6 million train station when it opens next summer
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Wokingham station work on track for next summer

By Jon Nurse
November 15, 2012

Rail bosses say the town will be able to take pride in the £6 million train station when it opens next summer.

Work starts two weeks today on Wokingham station which will include a new footbridge to the platforms and an access road with a public transport interchange.

More than 40 people saw plans at an exhibition at Wokingham Town Hall on Wednesday.

Julie Worman, communications officer for contractor Spencer Group, said: “People recognise they need a new station and 99.9 per cent have been really positive about it.

“There have been concerns from Alderman Willey Close over noise levels but their fears have been allayed by the team.

“We are working very hard to inform interested people in the community and if we need to come back and hold a similar event again in six months we will.”

Preparatory works start on November 28 before substantive works begin in January.

Michael Bunker, 69, of Alderman Willey Close, said: “I think Wokingham needed a station years ago – it’s disgusting at the moment.

“The design is nothing like the old Victorian one they pulled down years ago but it serves a purpose.

“We overlook the back of the station car park and there’s always work going on there at night.

“My main concern is how much work will be going on at night and how disruptive it’s going to be. They say there will only be a small proportion of night work. I’m sceptical.”

The station promises passengers shops, improved waiting areas and new information screens.

Ian Moorhouse, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “It has the potential to bring more people to Wokingham and it will certainly encourage more people to travel by rail.

“By summer next year we will have a facility Wokingham can be proud of.

“A lot of thought has gone into the design and we want to use materials that compliment the existing buildings rather than going against them. There’s also going to be a lot of trees and greenery.”

Wokingham MP John Redwood said: “I’m encouraged by what I’m hearing but there have been so many false starts I’ll believe it when I see the bulldozers moving in.

“I look forward to a new station and it looks a lot better than what’s there now.”

Piermario Bonomi, 31, of Bracknell, who was at the exhibition, said: “It looks modern and I don’t know how much it will fit with Wokingham and its historic heritage but much better than what’s there today. With the link road added I think it’s a good overall project.”

He was particularly pleased to see the footbridge will include a lift.

“My parents come to this station from Gatwick when they arrive from Italy,” he said. “The current bridge is very slippy and has no elevator for their heavy luggage so it’s always been a pain for them to cross platforms.”

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Most recent user comments 8 of 8

There may actually be a small increase in the number of people using the station if there is an efficient working lift to allow the disabled to cross the tracks. Currently elderly and disabled people avoid the station as it is very difficult to get from the car park via the booking office to the Reading bound platform.

PoneRana, Wokingham
18/11/2012 at 14:22

If the work is on track, isn't the new building going to be hit by a train?

Typical Network Rail. They haven't thought this through.

Paul Daniels' reattached finger.
17/11/2012 at 09:14

(Oops fat fingers submitting too early) it wouldn't particularly increase passenger numbers. Just improve the environment and accessibility for the existing. So it's a great improvement and something Wokingham deserves and I'm looking forward to, but saying more people will travel is probably a bit of a stretch.

alex_f, Wokingham
15/11/2012 at 20:05

Yep the article is incorrect, and the guy from Network Rail I spoke to had no idea where this idea of new shopS came from. But I agree with all comments, one shops or a hundred shops, it wiuldn't increase

alex_f, Wokingham
15/11/2012 at 19:58

@alex_f yet the article states "The station promises passengers shops," plural. ie: more than we have.

Still won't bring more people to use it. In fact on my monthly trip to London I now drive to Maidenhead and pick up the express train into Paddington and then tube it. Much quicker than the snail train.

I Live Here!, Right Here!
15/11/2012 at 16:48

I agree with Damiano_Tommassi, a new station isn't going to encourage people to Wokingham, nor will it encourage more people to use the train. However good the station is, people actually look at the train service rather. The fact that the trains going to Gatwick have very little space for luggage and the fact that it takes about 3 days to get to Waterloo on the snail train are still always going to be the downside of getting the train from Wokingham.

Smiffy, Reading
15/11/2012 at 14:31

I have no objection to a new station. i do find this quote laughable, though:

"It has the potential to bring more people to Wokingham and it will certainly encourage more people to travel by rail."

No it doesn't, and no it won't.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
15/11/2012 at 14:05

The new rail station promises passengers A shop. Singular! After the fanfare last week about the desire to pile local businesses into the new station, someone at the exhibition confirm it was just one small unit - ie. as we have currently.