Rail operator London Midland and Hertfordshire County Council have joined forces with volunteers to give St Albans Abbey station a £225,000 makeover.
Improvements to the station include the installation of CCTV, planters, modern lighting, a ticket vending machine, new information display cases and signage,
a new waiting shelter, more bicycle storage and new seating on the platform.
The funding has also paid for a barrier to divide the car park from the railway and the marking out of parking spaces including the creation of a disabled parking space as well as a fence to cordon off the platform from the surrounding land.
A new pavement has been laid by Groundwork Hertfordshire between the station and the road which means that passengers no longer have to negotiate a muddy track to get to the trains.
Community Artist Emily Fuller worked with a local school, St Peters, to design and install award winning mosaics. The result is a beautiful piece of art that has already impressed passengers on their way to the platform.
The station also benefitted from voluntary service freely given by staff of local firm Faber Maunsell who cleared rubbish and cut back vegetation on the site.
Hertfordshire County Council's Passenger Transport Unit has provided £150,000, with London Midland adding £40,000.
The Community Rail Partnership provided another £35,000 to fund the new pavement, the mosaic, the landscaping and the new planters.
Groundwork Hertfordshire project managed the whole project, coordinating the volunteers from Faber Maunsell and the community artist with the school children.
London Midland managing director Steven Banaghan said the changes had made a positive impact.
"We're so impressed with developments here that St Albans is now a model for London Midland's other unstaffed stations," he said.
"This is the first scheme to be completed under the Quality Rail Partnership and we're looking forward to rolling this out to other stations across our network."
Executive Member for Environment, Transport and Rural Affairs, Stuart Pile said:
"We hope that more of the local community will use the Abbey Line, which continues to be a crucial link to Watford from St Albans.
"With increased accessibility and safety features now in place, the Quality Rail Partnership has already provided the station with a vast amount of improvements for the benefit of all users - long may it continue".
Further work planned at St Albans Abbey includes the introduction of a real-time visual information display and a phone help point.
