Maidenhead MP Theresa May has welcomed the reintroduction of a car park providing more than 140 spaces at the town’s station.
Silco Drive car park was taken out of use six years ago to allow for the construction of a depot and sidings as part of the Elizabeth line project.
With those works complete and Elizabeth line services commencing in May last year, Network Rail has funded the £600,000 restoration of the car park.
It has been resurfaced and relined to bring 141 spaces back into use, along with CCTV and a Customer Information Screen showing real-time train information. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) will also be introduced.
Silco Drive car park is a five to 10-minute walk from the station and will help to relieve pressure on the Shoppenhangers car park, which provides 171 spaces.
Mrs May said:
“I’m pleased to see the parking spaces in Silco Drive car park coming back into use. With the enhanced services of GWR and the Elizabeth line, Maidenhead is an increasingly important station. The spaces in Silco Drive car park will be a real boost for those who need to drive to the station.”
GWR Business Assurance and Strategy Director, Joe Graham, said:
“The return of this space as a car park at Maidenhead station is a real boost for customers now benefitting from more than six trains per hour to and from London.
“Shoppenhangers car park has traditionally been extremely well used and we hope these additional 141 spaces will be well received by station users.”
Network Rail Industry Programme Director, Bogdan Lupu, said:
“Following the £19bn investment in the Elizabeth line, which has proved to be a vital transport link into London since opening in 2022, passengers from Maidenhead now have more opportunities to travel to a number of destinations using the line, as well as with GWR.
“We’re pleased that passengers at the station will be able to use the car park once again, opening up rail travel for commuters in the area who drive to Maidenhead station to start their journeys.”
Photo credit: GWR
