Covid and Brexit cause further Green Park Station opening delays

While construction of the station has continued throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the health crisis has caused delays, while Brexit has also caused problems, according to the council.

The station is now expected to be open to passengers sometime between April to June 2022, a Network Rail spokesman said.

READ MORE: Green Park Station delayed until 2021

Before the pandemic, the station had been scheduled to open in late 2020.

But back in October, Reading Borough Council (RBC) said the opening of Green Park Station, which is near the Madejski Stadium, would be delayed until late summer 2021 “at the earliest” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Councillor Tony Page, lead member for Environment, Planning and Transport at RBC, said it is his understanding that the construction will be finished later this year, in October or November.

He added: “The problem we have is there then a commissioning period involving the train companies and Network Rail. That can take months. I think it would be four to six months normally”.

The RBC deputy leader said the delays have been caused by a mix of the pandemic and Brexit, creating a “perfect storm”.

Green Park Station will be on the Reading to Basingstoke line, improving accessibility and connectivity to this part of south Reading where large-scale developments are taking place.

These include Green Park Village, the expansion of Green Park Business Park, and the Royal Elm Park mixed-use development.

The scheme is being progressed by RBC and West Berkshire Council in partnership with Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR), who will ultimately own and operate the station respectively.

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Funding for the scheme has been secured from the Local Growth Fund (£9.15m), Section 106 developer contributions (£5.6m) and the New Station’s Fund (£2.3m), with planning permission granted in 2015.