FACILITIES at Haverfordwest Train Station have been given a long-awaited facelift by Arriva Trains Wales (ATW).

The month-long, £31,000 project to modernise the waiting room and the gents and ladies toilets has been welcomed by travellers arriving at and departing from the county town.

The three areas have benefitted from a full repaint, new wall and floor tiling throughout, and new signage.

Modern stainless steel fittings have been installed in the toilets, and the waiting room has snazzy new seats. Updated radiators have also been fitted, to keep travellers warm while they wait.

Station newsagent Jimmy Summons, who has been running his paper stand there for 53 years, said reaction to the refurbishment had been positive.

“People are coming in and saying how lovely it all looks,” he said. “Travellers had to use a portaloo for a while, but there wasn’t too much disruption. A lot of money was spent on it, and they have done a good job too. It looks like a new station!”

The station was last spruced up in 2012, when eight young offenders spent four weekends cleaning and redecorating the site’s buildings as part of a community reparation-style project, developed by ATW in association with Youth Offending teams across Wales.

The Haverfordwest Station project aimed to help the youngsters understand the consequences of their offending, and its effects on their local community. It also provided the group with an opportunity to learn new skills that could help with future employment.

Prior to 2012, the last major improvements to the station – funded by a National Assembly transport grant - were carried out in 2001, when Pembrokeshire County Council commissioned a local contractor to extended and combine the two existing car parks, create a new access link from the station, and install a new, one-way traffic system, plus associated landscaping.