TRANSPENNINE Express is in talks to extend the platform at Malton train station as part of a £300,000 investment.

The funds are understood to have come from an “underspend” on a previous platform alteration project involving nine other stations as part of the company’s contract with the Department for Transport.

The news comes as the company announced that passengers who travel with TransPennine Express (TPE) could be in line for partial refunds for the “unacceptable” services at the back end of 2019.

TPE has consulted with Transport for the North on its proposals to alter the platform and improve access at Malton, after about £2 million less than anticipated was spent on the work, which was budgeted for back in 2015.

The funds will be spent on raising the platform at the Scarborough end to meet new Office of Road and Rail recommended stopping distance regulations.

Cllr Di Keal, Ryedale district and Norton town councillor, said: “It’s great news that TPE is investing in Malton station. It has to do the platform extension works to meet with rail regulations, but why not extend their plans to restore the second platform, which would not only benefit rail users, but also help to reduce congestion levels in Norton around the level crossing.”

“This is a missed opportunity to make a real difference in a community they serve, where rail passengers have suffered greatly recently from appalling levels of delays and unacceptable numbers of cancellations.

“Commuters are voting with their feet and taking to the A64 rather than risk another missed meeting or being late for work.

“They need to sort their service out as a first priority, but by investing further in the station they could do so much more.”

Cllr Keane Duncan, leader of Ryedale District Council (RDC), said: “This is fantastic news for rail users. Extending the platforms means the station meets the minimum standards and means more people can access our rail network.

“It is particularly good news for those people with mobility issues and visual impairment who often struggle to access public transport.

“We still need further improvements at Malton station to make passenger journeys as easy as possible. This means physical improvements but also better connections to and from other parts of the country.

“RDC is committed to working with TPE to make this happen.”

Meanwhile, TPE customers who held a season ticket between October 1 and December 31, 2019, will be eligible for a three per cent rebate.

Leo Goodwin, TPE’s managing director, said: “We know that our performance was not up to scratch at the end of last year and for this we really do apologise.

“We have experienced a number of issues following the introduction of our new trains, resulting in disruption to a number of our customers journeys with us.

“I would like to thank our customers for continuing to travel with us and it is only right that we compensate them for the recent disruption.”

The compensation scheme will run from Monday, January 13 to Saturday, February 29.

For more information, go to tpexpress.co.uk/travel-updates/seasonticket-compensation