Oxfordshire County Council has approved a £1.1m programme to improve passenger facilities at Didcot Parkway railway station, backed by Enterprise Zone funding.
Didcot West county councillor Ian Snowdon welcomed the investment and described the proposed work as positive news for local residents and commuters.
The station provides rail links to Oxford, Banbury, Reading and London, and the programme follows the opening of a large multi-storey car park in 2019.
Great Western Railway is responsible for managing the station and operating its train services.
Among the planned passenger improvements are changes to the ticket office and concourse, together with work to address flooding in the subway.
Security provisions at the cycle hub are also set to be upgraded, while improvements are planned for the forecourt and interchange.
Changes to local bus infrastructure will include upgraded shelters and the introduction of real-time information displays.
A separate allocation of about £550,000 from the £1.1m programme will fund a study assessing how Didcot Parkway could be developed in the future.
Construction could begin from 2027, although a detailed timetable for the work has not been published.
Snowdon said residents may approach the announcement with caution because repeated promises of major infrastructure improvements in Didcot have previously remained unfulfilled while substantial numbers of new homes continued to be constructed.
The councillor said the pace of housing development had outpaced the provision of supporting infrastructure.
He called for clarity on the amount of funding secured, the scope of the improvements and the timing of benefits for residents, while pledging support for those delivering the scheme.
Snowdon maintained that Didcot had already accommodated Oxfordshire’s housing growth and that further investment in the town was both justified and potentially beneficial.
The wider county package includes the formal approval of £5m for the Cowley Branch Line, which connects Oxford city centre with Cowley and Littlemore.
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet also agreed in principle to allocate £10m towards mitigating the effects of East West Rail.
Part of that funding is intended for an underpass at London Road in Bicester.
The proposal follows a long-running campaign connected with the planned closure of a crossing on the Oxford-Cambridge rail route.
The funding decision followed recommendations contained in the council’s OxRail 2040 report.
The strategy sets out long-term objectives for Oxfordshire’s railway, including the establishment of an integrated and sustainable transport network and the identification of improvements, initiatives and investment required to deliver that vision.