Busy rail routes to benefit from extra seats

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Passengers on some of the country’s busiest rail routes are set to benefit from extra seats Rail Minister Theresa Villiers announced today.

Passengers in the Thames Valley will benefit from nearly 4,500 additional seats each day into and out of London Paddington.

The majority of these services will also provide additional capacity into Reading.

The extra seats are being added thanks to Government funding for an additional 48 carriages on First Great Western services which run through Reading and the Thames Valley and into London Paddington as well as in Bristol and the far south west of England.

Theresa Villiers said:

“We are determined to tackle overcrowding and provide better, more comfortable journeys for passengers. These extra carriages will enable existing services to be lengthened which will significantly increase their capacity.

“Completion of the vital Crossrail and Thameslink projects in London will also provide more capacity for passengers.

“In addition, we are investing in the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford and Newbury and a massive reconstruction of Reading station.

“Adding carriages to some of the busiest routes in the country is a key part of the major programme of rail capacity expansion which we have promised to deliver. This is a vital way to respond to passenger concerns about crowding and provides important support for economic growth.”

The extra carriages, which are planned to come into service in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games, will be deployed on morning and evening peak services serving the capital and commuting towns such as Bristol, Reading, Basingstoke, Ealing Broadway, Slough and Maidenhead.

Two of the 48 carriages will be used to increase capacity on crowded trains between Truro and Falmouth and Exmouth and Torbay.

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