THREE local stations will benefit from a £2 billion investment across the Wessex rail route.
Wokingham, Winnersh Triangle and Earley are all served by the line which starts from London’s Waterloo station.
The five-year programme is aimed at improving performance across one of the busiest parts of the country’s railway network, and is a 20% increase on the route’s previous five-year budget.
Funding will be focused on maintaining and renewing existing infrastructure, providing passengers with safer, more reliable journeys.
This includes renewing old bridges, signal equipment and railway tracks with more than 200 miles of old tracks being replaced.
Andy Thomas, managing director for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said: “This investment is great news for communities across our route – one of the busiest parts of the railway network with 212 million passenger journeys a year.
“Working closely with our train and freight operating companies, I am confident our plan sets out a course of action that will put passengers and rail users first and improve performance as quickly as possible.”
Andy Mellors, managing director for South Western Railway, added:“We know that service punctuality is the number one priority for our customers when they travel so this significant investment in Network Rail infrastructure – including tracks, signalling and points – is very welcome news.
“Reliable, well-maintained infrastructure is a key enabler to be able to run our trains on time, which is what our customers rightly expect.”
