WORK on the new Worcestershire Parkway railways station continues - as new pictures give a better idea of how it will look when it opens.

The main steel structure of the station has already been built as well as a footbridge across the Birmingham to Gloucester line. Platforms are due to be lifted into place towards the end of the year.

A better indication of when construction will end was given but there is no definitive answer on when trains will be calling at Worcestershire Parkway.

Cllr Ken Pollock, cabinet member for economy and infrastructure, reiterated that building at the site should be finished in early 2019 but it may be months after builders leave that trains will be pulling into the station.

Rail users can expect to see Worcestershire Parkway appear on the updated May timetables next year but that does not mean trains will be calling at the station.

Rail industry forecasts expect the number of passengers on trains in the county will rise by 97 per cent in the next 25 years and the county council expects Worcestershire Parkway to be a focal point for improved railway travel across the county and will pave the way for quicker, more frequent services to London.

The station will between two railway lines - one which travels to London and one that sits between Birmingham and Bristol.

Worcestershire Parkway will serve these routes, as well as stations in between.

Cllr Pollock said: “It’s great to see the progress on this much needed station which will help to transform rail travel across the county.

“Along with the Kidderminster Station redevelopment and Worcestershire Parkway completing next year, rail travel to and from the county will soon be easier than it has been for the last 40 years.”

Also on the site will be 500 parking spaces - which the council hopes will encourage drivers to ditch their cars and use the train. Charges on the car park are expected to be ‘competitive’.

Despite tons of rubble moving across the site, builders have paid particular attention to wildlife. Trees near the railway line - which act as a ‘sonic highway’ for bats - have been kept and a nature area built within the station will encourage native species to stay.