SERIOUS delays have hit the revamp of York Railway Station - to the fury of taxi drivers and bus passengers.

City of York Council had originally scheduled to finish the project by the beginning of this month, but the work will not now be completed until well into next year.

Taxi drivers working at the station rank say the project is hampering business and causing confusion among customers and bus and rail passengers because of poor signage.

As part of the £460,000 revamp, the taxi rank that used to be in the middle of Station Road has been scrapped to relieve congestion. Work began in April and was due to finish in early December.

The upgrade was devised by the council in partnership with GNER and Network Rail.

Ian Gillies, secretary of Station Taxis, said: "We're already exchanging Christmas cards with the workmen, but now I anticipate we'll be buying each other Easter eggs.

"We can't understand why they don't finish one section before starting another.

"The signage is terrible and causing chaos because people don't know where they are going.

"Bus passengers are also not happy."

The council's Labour transport spokeswoman, Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing said she was very concerned that the delays would affect Christmas trade.

"I spoke to officers last week about the delays and requested that they change the signs," she said.

"Christmas is a busy time for York and the retail trade and I fear these delays will damage it.

"They will also have a knock-on effect for bus and taxi users. The bus stops are in a difficult place for those with mobility problems."

Peter Edwards, commercial manager for bus company First, said: "We're just grinning and bearing it at the moment.

"We've received a few complaints from our customers who've said they don't know where to stand.

"We accept it has been a difficult project."

A City of York Council spokeswoman, said: "This is a major initiative to significantly improve the entrance and exit to the station.

"With a scheme of this complexity, some difficulties are to be expected and the project is behind schedule due to some unforeseen work that has had to be carried out.

"Work on the entrance to the station is almost complete, which should make things much easier for users, including taxi drivers, and work to improve the exit should start in the next few weeks.

"We can only apologise for any inconvenience to station users, pedestrians and road users, but hope that the end result will greatly improve access to the station."

Updated: 10:48 Thursday, December 08, 2005