Theale railway station

Theale railway station is a railway station in the village of Theale, Berkshire England. The station is served by Great Western Railway local services between Reading and Newbury, a few semi-fast peak services between Bedwyn and London Paddington and a limited semi-fast FGW service between London Paddington and Westbury, Taunton, Frome, Penzance and Exeter St Davids.

Theale has three platforms, numbered 3, 1, 2 from north to south. The station originally had just 2, with a goods loop passing behind platform 1. As part of the Reading station upgrade project, the loop was upgraded to passenger standards and a new platform (numbered as 3) added in 2011. Further work to upgrade facilities at the station were announced in 2013 by Network Rail and GWR (including new lifts, a new pedestrian entrance & accessible footbridge, extra car parking and a new ticket office), but the £2.9 million project has been delayed several times and is currently (summer 2016) running more than three years behind schedule.

Eastbound trains use odd-numbered platforms, and westbound trains use even-numbered platforms. Generally, local trains stop at platform 1, the central island platform, with express trains passing through platform 3.

The railway station was opened on 21 December 1847, on the first portion of what would become the Berks and Hants Line between Reading & Hungerford.