Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has officially opened Reading’s renovated railway station in Berkshire, UK.
The station was redeveloped as part of UK Network Rail’s £895m project to improve reliability and increase capacity.
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Network Rail chairman Richard Parry-Jones said: "The scale of the new station in Reading reflects the huge and growing demand for rail travel in the UK and it has already started to deliver a better passenger experience."
The station now has two entrances, five additional platforms and a new 110m-long, 30m-wide passenger bridge.
In order to improve efficiency and timings for customers, the new platforms have two sections, in order to allow trains of varying lengths to alight at different ends of the platform at the same time.
Work under the redevelopment also included the installation of new lifts, escalators and canopies to increase the accessibility to the station.
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By GlobalDataNetwork Rail says that the renovations were completed a year ahead of schedule and within budget.
Reading station can now accommodate the growing number of passengers, with 30m people expected to use the station by 2030.
The programme is part of the UK Government’s £7.2bn investment to modernise the Great Western route, which includes electrification of the London to Bristol line by 2016 and to Cardiff by 2017.
Image: Her Majesty The Queen officially opens Reading Station. Photo: courtesy of Network Rail.
