The new Theale Station footbridge will finally open tomorrow.
The £10m project is more than a decade overdue – and more than £8m over budget.
The new footbridge will open tomorrow after a 10-year delay
But Network Rail has now confirmed the footbridge with lifts will open tomorrow morning (Thursday), the first time the station will be fully accessible to wheelchair users since it opened in 1847.
A spokesperson said: “I’m pleased to say we’ll be opening the new footbridge and lifts at Theale Station on Thursday morning, January 16.”
It also apologised for the opening “taking longer than expected”, adding this was due to a number of issues including fire safety and problems with the telecoms installations for the lifts – both of which have now been resolved.
Passengers will now have step-free access to all platforms.
Plans to build the new footbridge at the busy station were first announced in 2013 but delayed due to funding issues.
When funding was confirmed, work started at the site in January 2023 and was completed last spring.
The new footbridge has remained closed, despite being completed nearly a year ago
Olivia Bailey, Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, has called the delays “beyond unacceptable” and criticised Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) for their “poor communication”.
“Since being elected, I have regularly raised this issue with both Network Rail and GWR, and I am particularly disappointed that communication to users about the delays has been so poor,” she told newburytoday.
Ms Bailey, a former aide to the Prime Minister, met with GWR and Network Rail representatives in September, when she was “assured” the work would be completed by Christmas. But that didn’t happen.
Her predecessor Sir Alok Sharma once described the debacle as a “classic case study” in inefficient British bureaucracy, with “resultant cost increases having to be picked up by the taxpayer”.
The new ticket office, until now at the ‘wrong’ end of the car park for commuters using the current footbridge
A new ticket office was also opened 10 years ago.
But until now, this has been in the wrong location, leaving commuters with no choice but to cross the full length of the car park to reach the platforms.
Teresa Howard, a lifelong resident of Theale, suffers with arthritis in both her knees and hip.
Speaking about how the delays have affected her, she said: “I used to use the train regularly to get in and out of London for work.
“But now, with the steps the way they are, they are quite numbersome.
The new footbridge at Theale Station
“If you’re running late, where the [former] ticket office is at the moment is perfect.
“But now you’ve got to leg it across the car park, from literally past the station to where the stairs are now. When you’re negotiating cars, particularly in rush hour, it’s ridiculous.”
Network Rail also said a small event will be held to mark the project’s completion once the “bedding-in period” for the lifts has passed.
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