ALMOST a quarter of a million pounds will be pumped into improving four under-used railway stations.

Durham County Council plans to upgrade facilities and improve the appearance of Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Heighington and Seaham stations.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, members approved the £247,000 scheme and pledged to use cash from its local transport plan to carry out the work over the next two years.

Councillors heard that the stations all have poor, outdated waiting facilities, poor accessibility for disabled users and lack adequate security.

About £94,000 will be spent at Newton Aycliffe, £82,000 at Seaham, £47,000 at Bishop Auckland and £24,000 at Heighington.

And £50,000 will be used to install closed-circuit television systems at Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe, which will be operated and monitor- ed by Sedgefield Borough Council.

The scheme will see new shelters, seating and signs installed, vegetation cleared where it is unsightly or dangerous and improvements to cycle and car parking facilities.

New paths and ramps will be installed to make each site more accessible to disabled passengers.

The work will be a similar style to the larger scale scheme carried out at Shildon in 2004, ahead of the opening of Locomotion: The National Railway Museum.

Councillor Bob Pendlebury, the county council's cabinet member for transport, said: "We want to encourage more use of public transport for all of the usual reasons - for the environmental benefits, to ease road congestion and to sustain the service.

"These stations are not particularly well used and we want to improve that.

"If the facilities are nicer and people feel safer there we think people will be encouraged to use the railway.

"Lots of different groups are involved in the railway and we work with them all to make it the best possible service."

The Heritage Line Community Rail Partnership - a team of representatives from local authorities, rail organisations and community groups - was launched last summer in a bid to preserve and improve the historic 180-year-old Bishop Auckland to Darlington branch line.

A partnership spokesman said: "This is great news for the line and boost the work we are planning.

"Any improvements to passenger facilities and safety can help attract people to the railway, making it a viable service."