Reading West railway station

Reading West is a railway station in Reading, England. It is in West Reading, about west from the town's main retail and commercial areas. The station is served by local services operated by Great Western Railway.To the north of the station the line crosses a railway bridge over the Oxford Road, followed by Oxford Road Junction, which is the southern apex of a triangle of tracks. The tracks to the west curve round to join the Great Western Main Line towards Bristol at Reading West Junction, and are largely used by freight trains between Southampton Docks and points to the north. The tracks to the east lead to Reading station and are mostly used by passenger services. To the south of the station the line enters a cutting, crossed by high level bridges carrying the Tilehurst Road and, further to the south, the Bath Road. Beyond the cutting is Southcote Junction, where the line to diverges from that to Newbury.The station has two platforms linked by a footbridge. There is a ticket office on the Reading-bound platform, which is open only in the morning, and canopies provide some shelter on each platform. There is pedestrian access to the northern end of the Reading-bound platform from Oxford Road, and to the southern end of the opposite platform from Tilehurst Road.HistoryThe line through Reading West station opened on 21 December 1847, as part of the Great Western Railway backed Berks and Hants Railway's route from to. On 1 November 1848, Berks and Hants Railway's second route to opened. The two lines merged at Southcote Junction, just south of the eventual station site, running together through that site to Reading station.