Station's £400m revamp unveiled

An elevated railway will separate freight and passenger services

A £400m plan to transform Reading railway station has been unveiled.

Five new platforms, an elevated railway, a new station entrance and a new train depot are among the improvements laid out by Network Rail.

It is hoped the project will allow more trains to run through Reading, reduce delays on the Western route and ease overcrowding at the station.

Preliminary work is already underway with construction due to start in 2010 and be completed by 2015.

Rupert Walker, project director for Network Rail, said: "Today's announcement marks a new milestone and another step closer to realising the scheme."

The improvements will see an elevated railway west of Reading station to separate tracks used by freight and passenger trains.

The road under Cow Lane Bridge will be expanded

The road under Cow Lane bridge will also be widened to two lanes to ease congestion.

Councillor Tony Page, lead member for planning and transport at Reading council, said he was "delighted" at the progress being made.

He added: "Different communities in Reading will gain in different ways, through easier travel, the re-routing of traffic, protected jobs, and a better business and urban environment."

The first of a series of exhibitions displaying the plans will begin at Waterhouse Chamber in Reading Town Hall on Wednesday.

The six daily sessions will end on 15 September.

The scheme has been backed by the Department for Transport.