IT was exciting to be at the grand opening of the new Worcestershire Parkway Station on Sunday.

The new station will provide a welcome boost to travel in the county and we are right to be excited by the opening.

It has taken decades to go from a plan to reality, but it is finally here, and the new station will serve commuters both inside and outside Worcestershire, helping cut journey times and providing a vital transport link to the rest of the country.

I hope that we will look back on the many years of delay and confusion leading up to the opening and consider it was worthwhile, with the benefits of this much-needed rail link proving worth the time and effort which has gone into delivering the station.

I was immediately impressed by the station when I was fortunate enough to be among the first members of the public to see it in its finished state.

It is a modern, well-built, sprawling station which should serve the county well.

I hope as well that the opening of Parkway will lead to further improvements elsewhere in the county, with rail services in and out of Worcester regularly being cancelled and delayed.

Maybe the competition provided by Parkway will keep the other rail operators on their toes and renew their commitment to improving services across the county.

Worcestershire is a great place to live, work and do business, and Worcestershire Parkway is a great symbol of intent from Worcestershire County Council that they want to improve links with the rest of the country and encourage travel in from outside.

That is not to say the whole process has not had its problems, and £22 million is a serious amount of money to spend on one project, particularly one which has taken so long to be finished, but we should at least give it the benefit of the doubt until we can see what effect it will have on the county’s economy and transport.

I imagine the finished Parkway station is completely different to the idea planners first dreamt up all those years ago, but it does look excellent.

It is modern and well designed, and I am sure it will serve Worcestershire and its commuters brilliantly in the coming years.