WORK on a £500,000 upgrade of Malvern Link railway station is set to start.

The major redevelopment will see the two existing station buildings demolished and replaced with new ones billed as being “more in keeping with the heritage and historic feel of the original Victorian station”.

Other improvements will include a new disabled and pedestrian access ramp from Osborne Road to the Worcester-bound platform, resurfaced car parks and new lighting.

Work is set to get underway next month and take 20 weeks to complete, finishing in August.

The cash boost for the station has come from Worcestershire County Council, which has been awarded £14.2 million from the Department of Transport to help implement the first phase of its Worcester Transport Strategy (WTS).

Peter Blake, the council’s head of integrated transport, said the strategy’s main aims were to reduce road congestion and encourage economic growth.

“The improvements to Malvern Link station will make travelling by train easier and a more attractive option, for both local residents and business people travelling to-and-from Malvern,” he said.

“The new ticket office will be much more in-keeping with the heritage of the area and will boast significantly improved facilities for rail users.”

Coun Paul Tuthill, chairman of Malvern Hills District Council, said: “It is effectively restoring Malvern Link station to some degree back to the facilities that it had in the 1970s, before a lot of them were knocked down.”

When the project is complete, existing station buildings and canopies will have been replaced, with a new booking office and toilet on the Hereford-bound platform, as well as a new waiting room.