Tiny railway bridge was built in half the time it took to build the pyramids

The accessible footbridge at Theale station was authorised in 2013 but won't open until this spring.

Works at a small railway station have been branded a ‘case study’ in British inefficiency after they ended up more than a decade behind schedule and cost nearly three times as much as usual.

An upgrade to Theale station near Reading, Berkshire, was announced in 2011 with a budget of £1.25 million.

The centrepiece of the plan – a new footbridge with lifts to make the station wheelchair-accessible – was authorised in 2013.

But the existing funding was deemed only enough to build a new ticket office and ‘progress design work’ for the footbridge.

Network Rail also said a ticket office at the station had to be moved because it couldn’t be safely accessed during construction of the bridge.

The new ticket office was built in 2014, but the rest of the funding was deferred due to changes to Network Rail’s investment programme.

It wasn’t until 2021 that another £9.5 million was set aside for Network Rail to build the footbridge and lifts.

Network Rail has said the average accessible footbridge costs from £3 million to £5 million.

Construction didn’t begin until January 2023, and it’s now expected the footbridge and lifts will be finally be open for use in the spring of this year.

For perspective, the Great Pyramid of Giza is estimated to have taken around two decades to build, while the Empire State Building in New York took one year and 45 days.

Sir Alok Sharma, MP for Reading West, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The redevelopment of Theale station is a classic case study in just how slowly even relatively small infrastructure projects are delivered in our country, with resultant cost increases having to be picked up by the taxpayer.

‘We have to get much better at untangling the stifling bureaucracy and red tape in our system which holds back the time-efficient and cost-effective delivery of infrastructure.’

Explaining the bridge’s high cost, Network Rail said: ‘Theale station has three tracks and four platforms, and it is a very busy station for freight in particular. This means the opportunities to do work while trains are not running is limited.

‘The extra width of those three tracks also means a longer span across the railway and more difficult construction.’

A spokesperson said: ‘Plans to build a new footbridge with lifts at Theale station, part of the Department for Transport’s Access for All programme, were approved in January 2013 alongside a range of improvements including a new ticket office and expanded car park.

‘At this time, funding was only provided for the ticket office and to progress design work for the footbridge.“A new ticket office was built by Great Western Railway. In 2021, £9.5 million funding was awarded for Network Rail to build a footbridge and lifts.

‘The new facilities are set to open to the public in spring 2024. Great Western Railway will then begin work to expand the car park.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.