BEDWYN Station’s car park was reopened by Rail Minister and MP for Devizes Claire Perry on Friday following £40,000 improvement works.

First Great Western has built 23 new car parking spaces on disused land between the railway line and the road and improved access to The Knapp.

Mrs Perry said: “Supporting and improving our vital train services from Bedwyn and Pewsey stations is one of my local campaigning priorities and I was pleased on Friday to celebrate the provision of 23 more off-street parking spaces at Bedwyn Station, made possible by the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

“These new spaces, together with the new shelters and ticket machine at Bedwyn, will help ease some of the local parking pressures and benefit passengers.”

The improvement works were funded by Wiltshire Council and First Great Western, and are supported by the Bedwyn Rail User Group.

The council secured Government funding through its Local Sustainable Transport Fund project to create the additional parking spaces as part of a partnership project with First Great Western.

First Great Western’s Bedwyn Station manager Alison Stone said: “First Great Western recognises the key role that rail travel has in supporting the local and national economy and we are delighted to be able to complete this work to improve access to this station and the full range of services we offer.”