Great Western Railway (GWR) has announced that a purpose-built hub for bicycles is now open at Didcot Parkway station.

The £1 million project has been completed thanks to a partnership between GWR, the Department for Transport and Network Rail.

There are 600 parking spaces available to use. With the capacity almost four times greater, this should allow hundreds of more passengers to now consider cycling as a transport option over using cars, reducing both emissions and congestion, leading to a safer and healthier environment for the wider public, and not just rail users.

For security and to support users of the new hub, CCTV cameras are installed across the building to hopefully deter crime, along with motion-detecting LED lighting, a very energy efficient system, and a bike repair stand for anyone needing to carry out work on their bike.

The opening hours are as follows:

• Monday to Friday – 5.30 am to 12.30 am
• Saturday and Sunday – 7.15 am to 11.15 am

GWR Didcot Station Manager Kim Higgs said: “We know that more people are now walking and cycling and this is likely to continue in future, and as more people have the confidence to return to rail travel it is important that we provide the facilities they need at the station.

“We are delighted to have worked with our industry partners to get the new cycle storage in place. Didcot is an important station on our network and it is great to see investment being made here to support sustainable transport by bike and by train.”

Sustrans Head of Delivery, England South, Sarah Leeming said: “It’s brilliant to see this investment in cycle parking at the station. Being able to store so many more bikes will mean more people will be able to get to and from the train station without having to pick up the car keys. And it’ll help all those people who started cycling in lockdown to keep it going when the country gets moving again.

“Changing these short car journeys to bike rides will make all the difference as we seek to tackle the climate emergency.”

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