Witham commuters have welcomed the start of a £100,000 refurbishment of the town's railway station.

Work has started on the first phase of the station's facelift, which is part of a £9 million Great Eastern Railway investment programme across the network.

Improvements include updating the station's ticket office by installing a special window to help people with hearing problems, and putting new signs around the station.

Later in the year, station buildings will be repainted and information services will be improved with a 24-hour help-point giving round-the-clock train times.

David Bigg, chairman of Witham and Braintree Rail Users' Association, said: "The station is dilapidated but, once they have carried out their work, we will have a nice-looking station."

But the association was disappointed that a footbridge extension from the car park would not be included in the improvement package, said Mr Bigg.

"While we will have a much cleaner and smarter station, we are not going to get the extra things we have been pushing for, which would have been a bonus," he said.

A Great Eastern spokeswoman said that the changes would be of great benefit to customers.

"These significant improvements are a step in the right direction, bringing rail travel up to date, looking after our customers' needs and offering a genuine option for travel," she said.

A new off-peak timetable will come into effect at the end of May.

Witham's station refurbishment marks the conclusion of a £310,000 project undertaken by Railtrack last year, when major structural repairs were carried out.

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