Reading–Basingstoke line Reading–Basingstoke line The Reading–Basingstoke line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by Great Western Railway local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the intermediate stations Reading West, Mortimer and Bramley. The line is also an important through route for longer distance passenger and freight services: CrossCountry services from Bournemouth and Southampton to Birmingham and the North of England and freight trains between Southampton Docks and the Midlands use the line. The section of
Short Line Reading Series voices and well-established guest readers. The Short Line began on January 9, 2007 with a reading by Michael Turner, author of "Hard Core Logo" and organizer of The Reading Railroad, a regular literary event of the mid-1990s, and inspiration for the founders of the Short Line. The Short Line reading series was founded in November 2006 after conversations between Vancouver writer Carmen Papalia and Vancouver poet and musician Andrew Lee. The two drew their inspiration from author Michael Turner’s Reading Railroad series—a similar event of the mid-1990s which featured readings by various, and often conflicting, literary and musical artists. Instead