ADDITIONAL car parking, a new roof and platform escalators are improvements which could be made to Crewe railway station.

Plans to invest £50 million to carry out urgent improvements at 10 railway stations across the country were unveiled yesterday by Lord Andrew Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport.

The announcement came after Crewe was named the third most dilapidated railway station in the country after Manchester's Victoria Station and Clapham Junction in South London.

Lord Adonis, who yesterday visited Crewe station as he made a lightning tour of all 10 stations, said rail operators would be required to ensure minimum standards in future.

He said: "I want every station to be a good station – a hub of local community life and somewhere that you wouldn't mind spending time, with adequate facilities."

Last week, rail operator Network Rail announced plans to spend £3.25 billion to improve more than 2,000 stations across England and Wales by 2014.

In a report by former Virgin Trains chief executive Chris Green and Town and Country Planning Association president Sir Peter Hall released yesterday, Crewe was described as one of 10 stations which have been "left behind".

It received a customer satisfaction ratings of less than 50 per cent and is said to suffer from overcrowding.

Network Rail said it would work closely with the Department for Transport to begin a programme of improvements at the 10 stations as soon as possible.

Other improvements to Crewe station include a new ticket office, a toilet upgrade, new shops and roof repairs, including the removal of central roof pillars to allow increased line speed on fast lines through the station.

It has already undergone some improvements including enhanced CCTV coverage, refurbished toilets and extended parking.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson, said: "I am pleased Lord Adonis has now recognised the huge importance of Crewe as a pivotal major interchange station and the top priority it must be afforded for special funding."

David Williams, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Crewe and Nantwich, said: "This additional Government investment in Crewe station is very welcome.

"It is further confirmation that we need to upgrade the station in its current location and reject the ridiculous idea of moving it to Basford."

Network Rail scrapped its plans to relocate Crewe train station earlier this year.

Railway bosses wanted to move the station to Basford sidings, but campaigners fighting the plans said it would devastate the local economy in Nantwich Road, inconvenience tens of thousands of passengers using the current station, cost hundreds of jobs and push down property prices.

Network Rail has now reaffirmed its support for the previously proposed, council-led Crewe Gateway scheme.