A HYDE railway station has been picked as one of 23 in the whole country in line to receive vital accessibility upgrades.
Flowery Field, which stands on the Manchester to Glossop line, has been earmarked by the Government under its Access For All programme.
Now design work will take place, with the aim of finishing that by Autumn 2027.
And it may then see action take place after the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) committed to provide match funding.
In a letter to Jonathan Reynolds MP, in whose constituency Flowery Field station stands, rail minister Lord Peter Hendy told of its standing.
He wrote: “In May 2024, the previous Government announced feasibility work on 50 stations, without indicating how the delivery of such schemes would be funded, raising significant stakeholder expectations.
“This Government is committed to a rigorous approach and only making commitments we believe are affordable and would represent value for money to passengers and taxpayers. Flowery Field helpfully demonstrates this approach.
“Flowery Field is one of 23 across Britain, for which detailed design work will be undertaken, with 50 per cent complete by the end March 2027, and the rest complete by end of Autumn 2027.
“Once work has been completed, Ministers will decide which of these 23 projects should progress to delivery, and affordability will be a key deciding factor.
“However, a key factor in this station progressing is that Greater Manchester Combined Authority committed matched funding — the provision of which will be a pre-requisite for the project to be considered for full delivery.”
Lord Hendy did, however, encourage Mr Reynolds to pursue funding options to bring tep free access at Flowery Field to fruition.
He adds: “Any additional funding you or other local partners can identify will significantly increase the likelihood of step free upgrades being ultimately being delivered at Flowery Field.
“To support this, my officials will be working with Network Rail to develop guidance setting out best practise examples of how local funding packages have been assembled — this will be shared with your office.
“Network Rail will now begin to engage with train operators and other local partners to undertake detailed design work. I have asked that they keep your office informed on progress.”