A new station?

On 17th October representatives of South West Trains and Network Rail came to see me in Westminster. We covered the following topics:

1. Ufton Nervet crossing. They do wish to replace and improve this crossing soon. They have done a preliminary study which suggests a bridge would be a better option. They will now consult with landowners and the Council.

2. Wokingham Station. They assured me the plans for the new station are now finalised, and the contract signed. They tell us to expect works to commence next month on site.

3. Frequency of services to and from London. They promised two extra trains early in the morning from Reading via Wokingham to Waterloo. I have been stressing the need for more peak capacity for some time, and think this is helpful but not the whole answer.

4. Tackling congestion caused by the Wokingham level crossings. I explained the Council’s wish to have a new bridge to take through traffic over the railway line to the east of the town. I asked them to co-operate, as they have been threatening  to make a charge for the privilege of briding their tracks! They made no promsies. They did say they were looking at whether they could improve existing bridge heights for traffic to reduce jams caused by the curent inadequate heights and spans.

1 Comment

  1. James Sutherland
    October 18, 2012

    For all the concern they profess about level crossings and their dangers, NR seem to show remarkably little interest in alternative crossings – but the idea of them charging the council to allow it to put in a bridge instead is almost beyond parody. Of course, *they* aren’t the ones inconvenienced by blocking traffic for the sake of trains: if they had trains sitting waiting for cars to clear the track instead, they might feel much more cooperative.

    Good to see you pushing in the right direction though, fingers crossed for it all.

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