It is 24 miles 19 chains (39.0 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Taplow to the east and Twyford to the west.

In 2010 a statue was erected to honour the man dubbed the "British Schindler" for his work saving Jewish children from Nazi invasion.

The statue, on platform three, depicts Winton sitting on a bench reading his famous scrapbook, which contained lists of all the children he helped to save.

[3] Initially, the planned western terminus for the Crossrail project was Maidenhead, but an announcement was made in 2014 that it would be Reading.

The station has undergone significant modification, including the replacement of the existing passenger waiting facilities, a new ticket hall, lifts, platform extensions to accommodate the longer trains, the introduction of overhead line equipment and the construction of new stabling and turnback facilities to the west of the station.