The new ticket office at Shotton Station was officially opened by Lord Barry Jones on Friday 5 November.
It marks the completion of a major £1million refurbishment programme at the Station by Flintshire County Council, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and Arriva Trains Wales.
The work has been carried out in two phases. Improvements made from May 2009 have included a resurfaced, widened and secured footpath between the High and Low level stations, new passenger waiting shelters and new signs to help passengers find their way around. Resurfaced low level platforms, a new bicycle store and shelter and automated ticket vending machines were also installed.
The second phase of improvements involved replacing the old brick and concrete ticket office. The new building has a passenger waiting room and service area with electronic departure information screen, new passenger waiting shelter area and a new platform canopy that provides additional shelter for passengers on the high level platform. Work on this started in May this year and was completed in September
Funding has been provided from WAG through Taith, the Regional Transport Consortium for North Wales.
Councillor Tony Sharps, Deputy Leader of Flintshire County Council and Chairman of Taith said:
“I would like to thank Lord Barry Jones for taking time out of his busy schedule to open the refurbished ticket office. Lord Jones represented the Alyn and Deeside area as Member of Parliament for over 30 years and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of residents – he is respected locally and beyond and we are proud to have asked him to carry out this official opening.
“As Chairman of TAITH, I am proud to have secured this funding for the improvements for Shotton Station. The improvements will mean a better travelling experience for the commuter and place Shotton on the map as a safe and convenient place to travel from and to.”
The official opening also saw the launch of a new Plusbus Ticket which passengers can buy at a discounted price with their rail ticket at the Station and get unlimited bus travel in the Deeside area. A new Travel to Shotton information leaflet has been published to promote the scheme.
Other improvements for travellers have also been carried out in the vicinity of the station such as improved bus stop markings, new signs to the station and a new electronic information screen on the High Street giving both bus and rail information.
