A HUGE £222,000 grant means Ellesmere Port Railway Station could have a cafe and new waiting rooms.

Merseyrail, Merseytravel and Cheshire West and Chester Council applied for the grant from Network Rail and were granted the cash to upgrade facilities at the Grade II listed station building.

The raft of major improvements will include the refurbishment of both floors.

It is intended that one area downstairs becomes a cafe, while rooms on the first floor could be used as office space for the local community.

Heating will also be installed in the waiting areas.

Work at the station is set to begin later this year and Merseyrail, Merseytravel and the council are scheduled to complete the project by spring 2013, after a successful match-funded bid to Network Rail’s national station improvement programme.

Improvements already in progress at Ellesmere Port station under a different funding scheme include the upgrade of real-time customer information and the introduction of long-line public announcement systems.

Also, the new Plus Bike Cycle hire scheme, funded through the Government’s Linking Places Fund, is to start soon.