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And seven, seven for no tomorrow
Public Service Announcement (for anyone who uses Reading railway station with low-to-moderate frequency[*]).
Reading station has - for more than a year now - been in the throes of major refurbishment. However, beyond annoying closures, the work hasn't been affecting travellers much (AFAIK) to date.
Since the station re-opened after Christmas, almost all the platforms have been given new numbers. So if, like me, you catch the 1918 from platform 4 every Tuesday evening, you might be slightly surprised to find it departing from platform 7. Do not gallop over the footbridge to old-7! The train still goes from the same physical location it always did, it's just that that location is now called 7.
The re-numbering is pretty sensible, really. They've got rid of the confusing 4a and 4b (now known as 5 and 6; platform new-4 is a whole new platform that wasn't formerly there). There are shiny new signs and things pointing in all the right directions.
In general trains still seem to go from the same locations, but since there are two new platforms (4 and 16) I presume that won't be completely true. At some point platforms 12-15 are going to show up as well, but they're not there yet.
If you're interested, the work is a general upgrade of the station, making it more spacious, and adding new lifts and escalators. They're also widening the footbridge, and generally making it more accessible and less bottle-necky. Which are all good things to do. It just means that until (at least) Easter next year it will be in various levels of turmoil. And quite why they decided to, as their first step, remove the roof at the beginning of December is a mystery. A temporary roof will apparently be put in at the end of January.
[*] I reckon if you actually frequent the place you'll already know, and if you rarely visit it then you'll just read the screens and signs and be fine :)
Edit: They've also replaced Cow Lane Bridge, which is of less global import, but comes with an exciting time-lapse film. Fun if you want to watch armies of little orange people and cartoony diggers replacing a bridge.
Reading station has - for more than a year now - been in the throes of major refurbishment. However, beyond annoying closures, the work hasn't been affecting travellers much (AFAIK) to date.
Since the station re-opened after Christmas, almost all the platforms have been given new numbers. So if, like me, you catch the 1918 from platform 4 every Tuesday evening, you might be slightly surprised to find it departing from platform 7. Do not gallop over the footbridge to old-7! The train still goes from the same physical location it always did, it's just that that location is now called 7.
The re-numbering is pretty sensible, really. They've got rid of the confusing 4a and 4b (now known as 5 and 6; platform new-4 is a whole new platform that wasn't formerly there). There are shiny new signs and things pointing in all the right directions.
In general trains still seem to go from the same locations, but since there are two new platforms (4 and 16) I presume that won't be completely true. At some point platforms 12-15 are going to show up as well, but they're not there yet.
If you're interested, the work is a general upgrade of the station, making it more spacious, and adding new lifts and escalators. They're also widening the footbridge, and generally making it more accessible and less bottle-necky. Which are all good things to do. It just means that until (at least) Easter next year it will be in various levels of turmoil. And quite why they decided to, as their first step, remove the roof at the beginning of December is a mystery. A temporary roof will apparently be put in at the end of January.
[*] I reckon if you actually frequent the place you'll already know, and if you rarely visit it then you'll just read the screens and signs and be fine :)
Edit: They've also replaced Cow Lane Bridge, which is of less global import, but comes with an exciting time-lapse film. Fun if you want to watch armies of little orange people and cartoony diggers replacing a bridge.
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(At least, that's my recollection of the council press release when the Cow Lane Bridges upgrade was announced.)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDE8NjjC8k
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