Crossrail To Extend To Reading

M@
By M@ Last edited 120 months ago
Crossrail To Extend To Reading

Click for larger route map.

It's still at least four years from opening, but already Crossrail has been granted a line extension. The east-west rail route was set to have its western terminus at Maidenhead. Today, Transport for London and the Department for Transport announced that some trains would, using existing tracks, also serve Twyford and Reading. The extension brings the route up to 40 stations.

Two Crossrail trains an hour will serve Reading, allowing passengers to travel into central London and beyond without the drudgery of changing at Paddington.

Commenting on the decision, Rail Minister Stephen Hammond said: "It will also make better use of the already congested Great Western Main Line, freeing up capacity for further improvements including potential direct services from Reading to Heathrow as part of the Western Access Scheme. In addition, I have requested Network Rail to look at the cost benefit analysis of increasing the number of faster trains between Reading and Paddington."

The extension to Reading will be the final part of the route to open, expected in December 2019.

Full press release.

Last Updated 27 March 2014