RAILWAY platforms in south Cumbria are due to be extended to allow for bigger trains as part of a major investment by the Government.

Platforms at four stations will be lengthened in a move promising to increase the reliability of rail services.

Stations at Dalton and Kents Bank are among those targeted for work after the Government announced an £84 million investment into rail services in the North West.

It will help improve services in the area when travelling to and from Manchester, the Department For Transport said.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “As we level up the country, we’re determined to use rail to boost local economies, create greener journeys and changes lives for the better.”  

Dave Penney, passenger strategy director for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said: “Improving passenger journeys has been at the heart of the rail industry’s hard work to tackle congestion through Central Manchester and this major Government investment will mean fewer delays and add 20% more peak-time seats from December 2022.

“Network Rail has worked with the whole industry as part of the Manchester Recovery Task Force on how to maximise this £84m investment which promises to boost capacity and improve connectivity across the North of England as part of Britain’s rail recovery.”

Nick Donovan, Managing Director, Northern Trains said: “This investment will improve the infrastructure that will allow trains with more carriages to run through Manchester benefiting the wider network and the thriving leisure economy of the North.

“Our customers returning to rail will have already noticed many improvements we have made in the last two years. These include better stations and new trains, and this project will further add to that improved experience."

The other stations in Cumbria due to benefit from platform extensions are Oxenholme and Staveley.

The Government says the funding begins a decade’s worth of investment that will transform rail in the north of England.