Reading TMD is a railway
motive power depot situated in
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, and operated by
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
. The depot code is RG.
Location
The depot was situated to the west of
Reading station and to the north of
Reading West station until 2012. It was located within the
wye formed by the
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
to the north, with the
Reading to Basingstoke Line split into the curve from Reading West to Reading to the east, and the curve connecting Reading West to the westbound main line to the west.
With the rebuilding of Reading Station and the remodelling of the track, the depot was moved from the wye to a brand new facility located on the other side (to the north) of the main running lines, next to the fields where the
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...
is held each year. This new depot opened in mid 2012 and is home to GWR's fleet of
Class 165 and
166 Network Turbos. As part of the construction, the preliminary equipment for electrification of the Great Western Main Line was installed. It is intended that this new depot will also be able to handle
Crossrail
Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...
stock such as the
Class 345 once it is delivered. With the introduction of
Class 387 and the
tri-modal British Rail Class 769 (no longer in operation), the Depot will also be the home of the new Electrostar Fleet for GWR. The Depot will also be managed by GWR and Bombardier to carry out light maintenance/heavy maintenance and overhauling of the Electrostar fleet.
The old depot was subsequently demolished apart from two Great Western Railway era water towers, one of which has been donated to the
West Somerset Railway (WSR). The site is being used as part of the southern approach to the new flyover for primarily fast passenger trains so that their movements do not conflict with freight trains coming from Southampton along the future
Electric Spine.
Changes since 2012
The new "Reading Train Care Depot" was announced as "completed" on 31 July 2013.
See also
*
21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line
*
References
Sources
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*
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External links
* A
overhead viewof the old depot.
Railway depots in England
Buildings and structures in Reading, Berkshire
Rail transport in Berkshire
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