Work to create a 10-year masterplan for the redevelopment of Plymouth Rail Station and the surrounding area is now under way.

The plan, which is one of Plymouth City Council's 100 pledges, will be developed in partnership with station owner Network Rail, station operator First Great Western and Plymouth University.

As well as improving capacity at the station it aims to create a more welcoming 'gateway' to the city, revitalising the area around the station and its approaches.

Rail is the most important public transport mode for longer distance trips to and from Plymouth and the rail station has seen consistent passenger growth of about 4% each year over the last decade. Footfall is now in excess of 2.5 million a year, compared with 1.4 million in 2002/2003 and the station needs more capacity to deal with increasing passenger numbers as both the population and rail use continue to grow.

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The start of work on the plan follows the recent announcement of a multi-million-pound investment package for the city centre, which includes a new inter-city coach hub on the site of the closed Mayflower West multi-storey car park.

It will also build on the recent investment made by the Council (part-funded by the Department for Transport and Sustrans) to improve pedestrian and cycle access to the station, complemented by improvements made by First Great Western to the entrance and passenger waiting area.

These have included the extension of the concourse, new customer information screens and improvements to waiting areas and toilets. A major upgrade of the pedestrian subway within the station is also now under way.

(CD/JP)