14.09.12
£4.25m upgrades for Wiltshire stations
Wiltshire stations are set to get a whole host of improvements, after the council secured £4.25m funding from the DfT.
The upgrades will include walking and cycling maps and signs and real-time travel information for passengers.
Melksham station will benefit from a car park expansion, access from the north for pedestrians, cyclists and buses, secure bike storage and cycling route changes. Cycle hire schemes will be set up at Trowbridge, Chippenham and Salisbury stations.
The improvements are in preparation for renewal of the Great Western franchise next year and this preliminary work will begin immediately if agreed by the cabinet on Monday.
Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for transport Cllr Dick Tonge told the Wiltshire Times: “We hope these green improvements will be a real change in how people use public transport in Wiltshire.
“We are being wooed by the rail companies who are competing for the franchise, but we don’t know who is going to win that, and there is another company looking to run a service from Westbury up to the Midlands on the existing track.
“We don’t want to engage fully with service improvements until we know the results, but we can get on with these complementary improvements.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]