Three lift shafts have been installed at Tilehurst station in Reading, as part of Network Rail's project to improve station accessibility.

The lifts are being added to the footbridge that was built in 2013 during the Great Western Electrification programme.

Once finished, the work will provide step-free access to all four platforms for the first time.

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Dyer and Butler, the contractor for Network Rail, aim to complete the project by this winter.

The 12-metre high shafts, each weighing seven tonnes, were lifted into place by a 350-tonne crane.

They were carried from the station car park to platforms one, the island platform two and three, and platform four.

Steel spans are being installed to provide a walkway between the lifts and the current bridge.

Construction of clad the lift shafts and spans have started, and soon install the lifts into the shafts.

Four lines with overhead power run through Tilehurst, and power to at least one of those lines must always be on to keep trains running further along the route.

Network Rail lead portfolio manager Alex Phillips said: "This is an important milestone for us and completes a complicated phase of the project.

"Moving material and machines across four lines of electrified railway has needed patience.

"Platform four is also very close to the River Thames, which really limits our team’s space to work.

"But we’re a step closer to making Tilehurst easier to use than ever before."

Dyer and Butler regional manager Russell Richards said: "Our teams have put in a lot of hard work over the last eight months in reaching this important milestone.

"Much of the work during this period is not visible as it’s buried beneath the existing platforms and forms the foundations for the lift towers."

Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, John Ennis, said: "It is great that work is progressing well to install the new lifts at Tilehurst railway station.

"The lifts will make a big difference to residents who have mobility issues, local parents with push chairs and passengers with heavy luggage who use the station.

"The council is pleased to continue working with our railway partners to improve station facilities for Reading residents as part of our commitment to provide realistic sustainable transport alternatives for travelling into and around Reading."

The work is being carried out in several small stages to minimise passenger disruption.