PONTYPOOL and New Inn railway station is set for a revamp after receiving almost £500,000 in funding from the Welsh Government.

The £499,938 will be spent on the station in the first phase of the plans to upgrade the facilities, improving the park and ride, bus interchange and active travel route provisions.

In Torfaen, five other transport schemes in the borough will receive financial backing from the Welsh Government, totalling close to £1.2million in transport infrastructure.

A spokeswoman for Torfaen council said: “The funding for the Pontypool and New Inn Station includes an anticipated increase of 12 spaces and resurfacing of the car park.

“There will also be a provision of cycle and motorcycle parking, improvements to the access road including for pedestrians and some improvements to the station canopies.

“We have a preliminary design, but detailed design will likely take place over the next six months or so,” she added.

The station is located on the line operated by Arriva Trains Wales, but suffered for a number of years with declining passenger numbers.

However, Pontypool and New Inn catered for an estimated 58,504 passengers last year, in statistics provided by the Office of Rail and Road – an increase by 404 service users.

An Arriva Trains Wales spokesman said: “We are looking forward to working with the project partners to make these improvements to Pontypool and New Inn station in the near future.”

The Welsh Government announced in March that £29 million would be spent across Wales on transport schemes.

Within Torfaen, including the renovation to Pontypool and New Inn station, £1,178,019 will be spent in total on a variety of road, pathway and cycle track improvements.

Separated into three categories – road safety capital grants, road safety education and training and safe routes in communities, Torfaen council applied for funding for the following projects.

Road safety improvements of £68,667 and £23,458 along the A4051, including a reduced speed limit along this stretch of road only, in Cwmbran and Pontnewydd’s Station Road respectively.

In Abersychan, £373,649 will be allocated to the second phase of walking and cycling improvements in the village, with £162,307 set to fund measures to improve safety near to Cwmbran High School for pedestrians and cyclists.

Lastly, £50,000 will be spent on road safety education and training, although the timeframe for the introduction of these schemes has not yet been announced.