New car park could help station's parking issues

An off-site car park could be used to improve a train station's long-standing access problems.

Twyford station in Berkshire has limited access by bike and bus from some directions and demand for car parking significantly exceeds its 356 spaces.

Wokingham Borough Council has said it is keen to improve access to the station as it seeks to get more people using public and sustainable transport.

Its executive member for active travel, transport and highways Adrian Betteridge said other improvements could help people who get to the station by bus or bike.

Great Western Railway (GWR) operates services from Twyford to London Paddington, Reading and Henley, while the Elizabeth Line runs trains to Abbey Wood.

"There are lots of ideas but the main suggestion, which people come back to, of turning the existing car park into a multi-storey car park, has been looked at extensively before and it has a number of significant challenges," Betteridge said.

"The site is only down two small, single-track roads, which just about works with the current capacity but increasing capacity further would require those roads to be widened. It's very difficult to see how that could be done."

He added: "The longer term issue will require an additional car park off-site and we are looking at a number of potential sites for that.

"They all have their challenges and issues but I'm relatively confident that if we work through that and work closely with partners, such as [GWR], the local parish council and local landowners, that we will find a solution. But it's not going to happen overnight."

The council said all details about where the new car park could be must remain confidential for the time being because of "potential commercial and land ownership considerations".

But it said all options have been discussed with a cross-party working group looking at the station's issues and Twyford Parish Council.