AN UPDATE has been released over plans to install a new shelter at Cam and Dursley railway station following pressure from campaigners.
The stop - the only station in the Stroud district with direct access to Bristol - currently has just two metal shelters on each platform but no waiting rooms or toilets.
Apart from the expansion of the car park, the station has not been significantly developed since it opened 30 years ago in 1994.
Passengers say the shelters are too small to accommodate the many commuters who use the service, with people left out in the wind and rain.
A campaign was launched by Cam and Dursley Transportation Group last year.
Group secretary and commuter David Smith previously told the Gazette about a journey in September where passengers travelling to Bristol were forced to squeeze into a shelter during a heavy shower.
Conservative parliamentary candidate and former MP Siobhan Baillie says Great Western Railway is planning to undertake a feasibility study on the possibility of installing a new shelter.
It is understood the rail operator will commission the study and speak to Gloucestershire County Council about placing a shelter on the car park it owns.
Mr Smith and Ms Baillie visited the station on Friday, May 17 with Dan Okey, head of regional and Welsh development at GWR.
Speaking before parliament was dissolved, Ms Baillie said: “I’m really delighted GWR came along, saw the obvious problem of too many passengers and not enough shelters and it will look to take action.
“Thank you to David from Cam & Dursley Transportation Group who have been so key to raising local issues and have been with me every step of the way on this one.
“The station is a positive for our area but passengers should have the right to wait for a train out of the rain.”
Mr Smith said: “The Cam and Dursley Transportation Group are very encouraged by this.
“We hope that it won’t be too long before the long awaited improved shelter is actually installed.
“Thanks are due to Joanna Edwards the project officer at Cam Parish Council for applying for funding to expedite the project.”
The call for action comes ahead of plans in the pipeline for hundreds of new homes in the area which will lead to greater use of the railway station.
Dan Okey (middle) head of regional and Welsh development at GWR with Conservative parliamentary candidate Siobhan Baillie and David Smith Ms Baillie said she previously wrote to GWR earlier this year to ask for the shelter but received a no.
She then asked for a representative to come and see the issue first-hand.
A spokesperson from GWR said: “We can confirm our intention to speak to Gloucestershire County Council regarding the potential for a shelter at Cam and Dursley.
“Space at the station is limited, and we are looking to work with the local authority to see what options may exist.
“This is not funded and we are looking for a potential solution."
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