Loughborough station gets facelift ahead of Olympics

The £7m facelift of a Leicestershire train station will be completed in time for it to welcome Olympic athletes.

Platforms at Loughborough will be extended with new canopies, lifts will be installed and the inside of the station will be refurbished.

The work is set to be completed by January 2012, shortly before Loughborough University hosts Team GB as well as the Japanese team.

The university will act as the training ground for both teams before the games.

Network Rail said it was working to keep disruption to a minimum.

The approach to the station will also be remodelled, with extra space for taxis and improved car parking.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: "We are working very closely with East Midlands Trains to make sure that passengers have the best information.

"It shouldn't impact on their journeys too much but it might just mean that the way the station is used has to be changed occasionally while we are doing bits of work, so that bits of platform may not be available while we are working overhead."