COMMUTERS in Penketh, Great Sankey and Whittle Hall have been delighted to hear further improvement works on Sankey for Penketh train station have begun in the past fortnight.

A team of councillors and Labour parliamentary candidate for Warrington South Nick Bent joined forces to put pressure on Northern Rail and Network Rail to address residents' concerns including resurfacing the entrance road to the car park, filling in pot holes in the car park and new safety rails on the footpaths to the platforms.

Nick Bent, who says he uses the station every day to get to work in Manchester, said: “Labour councillors and I have lobbied hard on behalf of residents for these improvements to Sankey for Penketh station and to secure its future and we will now explore setting up a ‘Friends of the Station’ group.

"This is the latest series of investments in Sankey for Penketh station as last year Labour campaigners persuaded the rail firms to install a proper PA system and a ‘harrington hump’ to make it easier for people to get on and off trains.

"The number of passengers using Sankey for Penketh has gone up significantly in recent years and we are fully committed to keeping the station open with a decent level of service as well as ensuring that the long-promised new ‘Warrington West’ station at Chapelford is built and opened."

The group are now pressing for further improvements at the station including real-time electronic displays on both platforms, better lighting around the station and car park, total resurfacing of the car park, better markings on parking bays, tidying up the verges and gardens and the introduction of a Sunday train service from Sankey for Penketh station to all stations between Manchester and Liverpool.