The new station at Reading Green Park will open to passengers tomorrow, after the case for the station was first made nine years ago.

The station, in the south of the Berkshire town, is the first to open in Reading since Reading West in 1906.

The two-platform station on the line from Basingstoke will serve an existing business park and people living nearby, as well as the proposed Royal Elm Park development, which will provide more housing as well as business spaces. The station has a bus interchange, taxi rank, cycle spaces and two car parks.

Reading Borough Council helped to obtain approvals for the project as well as funding and planning permission. It also managed the construction.

A celebration event was held at the station yesterday, when a plaque was unveiled.

Reading’s new Mayor Tony Page (pictured with GWR managing director Mark Hopwood) said: ‘Reading Green Park station will form an integral part of Reading’s ever-growing sustainable transport infrastructure.

‘The new multi-modal interchange will dramatically improve accessibility and connectivity to this important area of south Reading. The future expansion of the business park and residential areas on Green Park, as well as the proposed Royal Elm Park mixed use development, will all benefit from the new station.

‘It will also be another option for football fans heading to the stadium on match days, again taking the pressure off our busy local roads.’

Sir Alok Sharma is MP for Reading West. He said: ‘Having first made the case for Green Park station in Parliament in May 2014 and lobbied government ministers over the years, I am delighted that the station is now finally opening thanks to millions of pounds government funding. The new station is good news for passengers and increased connectivity and will provide a boost to the local economy.’

Reading Green Park is the first of three new Great Western Railway stations opening this year. The others will be Portway Park & Ride on the Severn Beach branch in Bristol and Marsh Barton on the Great Western main line in the southern suburbs of Exeter.