IMPROVEMENTS to passenger facilities at Kingham railway station were celebrated at a special ceremony.

Oxfordshire County Council's deputy leader Rodney Rose, who was born a stone's throw from the station, cut a ribbon to officially open a 115-space extension to the car park and the completion of a new footbridge on Friday.

But the Oxford and London-bound platform at the Cotswold Line station remains inaccessible to people with disabilities and mobility problems because lifts were not installed by Network Rail as part of the project. The footbridge's design allows for them to be added later.

Matthew Golton, Great Western Railway's commercial development director, said: "We have already invested in more parking at Charlbury and Hanborough, where passenger numbers have doubled in the past five years, and we knew we needed to do something here at Kingham to serve Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It's amazing where some people come from to use this station."

Mr Rose, whose council division includes the station, said the extra parking and new footbridge would be welcomed by local people and added: "Our partnership with GWR is transforming how Oxfordshire travels and if we are going to solve problems like the A40, this is one of the ways we will do that."

John Ellis, the chairman of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group, which represents passengers on the route between Oxford and Worcester, said: "Many people travel long distances to use trains on this line and they must have confidence there will be parking spaces available when they get to the station, so this is a welcome improvement."

But he added he wanted to see lifts installed quickly and said: "We will be urging the rail industry to make progress on finding the necessary funding."