Passing loops may be built on the Crossrail extension to Reading to meet concerns that the extension will not lead to reduced journey times to London, Transport Minister Stephen Hammond has confirmed.

The Minister said in a letter to Reading East MP Rob Wilson that the Department for Transport will order a study of the benefits and costs of constructing additional loop facilities allowing faster trains to pass slower ones on the Crossrail line.

This followed last week’s announcement that Crossrail will be extended west towards Twyford and Reading, beyond its original terminating point at Maidenhead.

Mr Wilson welcomed the Minister’s promise: “I am pleased he has announced that the infrastructure improvements needed to deliver a more rapid and direct Crossrail service with fewer stops and faster journey times will be fully analysed.”

He added that a slower ‘stopping’ service “will not reap the full benefits that Crossrail can and should bring to people and businesses in Reading and the wider region.”

Transport for London and the Department for Transport both say that the new extension will open up a wider network of destinations for Reading without the need to change trains at Paddington.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “I am thrilled that the people of Reading and Twyford will be able to take advantage of Crossrail, putting them on the doorstep of London's main employment centres by directly linking them to the City and the West End.”

(Image: Crossrail)

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