A multi-million pound upgrade of Swansea Train Station, including a new and longer platform four allowing it to handle trains to and from London, has been completed.

In the £7.5m investment from Network Rail the platform is now 260 metres long – 13 metres longer than the previous structure.

The improvement means the platform can now accommodate 10 carriage intercity trains from Great Western Railways.

The investment also includes improved ticket-buying facilities, new toilets, and refurbished space for use by local businesses and community groups.

In 2017 the UK Government announced the decision to abandoned plans to electrify the South Wales Main Line from Cardiff to Swansea. This meant GWR having to commission biomode trains on the route to London, which have to switch from electric mode to diesel between the two cities in South Wales.

The investment in the station, which first opened 171 years ago this week, is the biggest in more than a decade.

Bill Kelly, Wales and Borders route director at Network Rail, said: “The completion of this brand-new platform is a part of our wider commitment to improve journeys and stations for our passengers across the Wales and Borders network.

“Working with Transport for Wales (Welsh Government’s transport company), our engineers and contractors have worked around the clock to deliver a transport hub which the city of Swansea can be proud of.

“We would like to thank the local community for their patience over the last few months while we delivered these improvements.”

Transport for Wales project manager Yasmin Browning said: “The work at Swansea station really has gone a long way to transforming the station for customers. Enhancements across the length and breadth of the station mean better customer access to information and more comfortable surroundings whilst waiting to depart.

The extended platform 4 not only looks great but will allow for more options bringing trains in and out of the station, helping deliver key capacity improvements. This project has shown how close collaboration with our Network Rail partners can deliver for customers.”

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Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea Council, said: “I really welcome the investment Network Rail and Transport for Wales have made at Swansea Station.

“With space for bigger trains and upgraded facilities it is a real uplift for the city, which is currently undergoing a £1bn regeneration programme.

“Great transport links are an essential part of any thriving and ambitious city, and these improvements will make such a difference to people travelling to and from here.”