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Network Rail staff at Reading station are preparing to welcome an influx of music lovers ahead of the annual Reading Festival this weekend.

Works to improve traffic flow and safety for cyclists and pedestrians in Reading will begin after this year’s Reading Festival, as Network Rail prepares to widen the existing single lane carriageway and alleviate the bottleneck between the bridges on Cow Lane.

Residents living in South Gloucestershire have been invited to an event this week to find out more about ongoing upgrades of the Great Western mainline.

Passengers travelling between South Wales, Bristol Parkway and London Paddington are reminded to Check Before You Travel from this weekend as Network Rail prepares to undertake a series of major upgrades and electrification work on the line between Swindon and Bristol Parkway.

Work which will enable improvements in line speeds to ease congestion on the railway into and out of Oxford has been completed as part of a £200m upgrade programme, allowing services between Oxford, Didcot and Banbury to run as normal this morning.

Passengers travelling through South Gloucestershire are to benefit from a new flood alleviation scheme to improve the resilience of the railway at Chipping Sodbury.

To meet the expected growth in passenger numbers in the Bristol area, Network Rail is replacing the Victorian-era Stapleton Road railway viaduct with demolition set to begin next week. This work will enable Network Rail to double the number of rail lines – from two to four –as part of the Filton Bank Four-tracking project, increasing train services in the region.

Better access to Newbury railway station is a step closer as work to replace the station’s footbridge started this week as Network Rail continues to deliver its Railway Upgrade Plan.