AN extra 50 spaces are due to be added to Barrhead train station’s car park this year, it has been confirmed.

Finding a space has long been a problem for commuters at the station’s park-and-ride facility, with many complaining it is full at most times of the week.

An expansion of the car park was first announced in March 2015. Then, in September 2017, it was revealed that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) had set aside £280,000 to pay for the creation of an extra 35 spaces.

READ MORE: Plans for new train station gather pace​

Now, almost four years after it was first mooted, East Renfrewshire Council has said the project is close to completion.

Work has been ongoing for some time to transform ground between the car park and Dunterlie Park to create 50 additional spaces.

The ground is understood to have been purchased from Arthurlie Football Club, using funds provided by SPT.

The money filtered through to Barrhead as part of a £78million investment plan covering the whole of Glasgow.

It was hoped the £635,000 investment which came to East Renfrewshire would help to solve chronic parking problems, as well as paying for an upgrade to bus infrastructure and cycling routes.

READ MORE: City Deal team frustrated as new train station fails to get on track​

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We are working in partnership with SPT to create an additional 50 park-and-ride spaces at the already well-used Barrhead station car park.

“Providing additional parking spaces, which are due to be completed later this year, will allow more residents to benefit from this facility when commuting.”

As previously revealed by the Barrhead News, commuters in the town are also set to benefit from a new train station.

Plans for the Auchenback station, near Balgraystone Road, on the outskirts of town, were first unveiled as part of the Glasgow City Region Deal that will see millions of pounds pumped into major projects across the west of Scotland.

Residents in Auchenback currently face a walk of up to 40 minutes to Barrhead’s existing train station in the north side of town.

Plans for the Auchenback station include a new bus terminal, as well as car parking for commuters.