Wokingham station ram-raided - 29 Jun 16

[whole diary]

[bobm]

From Get Reading. (More pictures in the link)

Passengers were shocked to see a Land Rover had smashed into the ticket office at Wokingham station on Wednesday, June 29.

Shortly before 2.30am Network Rail were alerted after the vehicle broke through a glass panel at the station, which underwent a £6 million revamp in 2013.

The building has been closed and cordoned off by police officers who are investigating the incident, which is believed to be a ram raid.

However, services are unaffected and all platforms are open to passengers. Network Rail engineers are currently assessing the extent of the damage.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Shortly before 2.30am this morning (Wednesday, June 29), we were made aware of a vehicle crashing into Wokingham station.

"The police are on site and engineers are attending to assess the scale of the damage.

“Unfortunately to ensure the safety of passengers and staff we have had to close the station building while we carry out our investigations, but passengers are still able to access the platforms via the side gate on platform 2.

“Services are currently running as normal, and I’d like to thank passengers for their understanding while we deal with the incident.”

South West Trains staff are assisting police with the investigation and have provided them with CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) footage, while extra staff have been brought in to sell tickets.

This morning commuter Emily Kay told getreading : "When I arrived at about 6.20am there was police tape and three police in high-viz vests standing outside and they'd taped off the area around the vehicle.

"The engine is still on and it's done significant damage from what I have seen. As I walked round to the bicycles, to get to platform one, I heard a member of staff from the ticket office explaining that they couldn't turn off the vehicle.

"A member of staff from the coffee shop was talking to others saying she came in and it appears the ATM^‡(resolve) has gone, although this has not been confimred."

She added: "The ticket office isn't open due to damage and they're selling tickets on the trains so South West Trains are aware."

I believe this is the second incident at the station in recent weeks.  Saw reports of the TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) being vandalised overnight about a fortnight ago.

[stuving]

The smashed glazing was reinstated some time last week. Obviously it takes quite a while to knit - and manifest - new panes of glass that size. There's no sign of any extra protection against such attacks.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Bollards!

No, seriously. 

[stuving]

Bollards!

No, seriously.

There are - and were from the start - stainless steel-cased pillars at the kerb edge. I've no idea what's inside them or how strong they are, and have no intention of conducting any experiments.

This picture is from 2014, but they are the same now. There's a row across the pavement at the left, but you can see the big gap at the crossing (which I presume is how that vehicle got in). Architects do like their glass these days, so there is probably too much to realistically defend.