Town ‘left behind’ on transport front

He noted that neighbouring Coleraine had been provided with a well designed bus/train station in recent years and pointed out that Antrim had also received significant investment for its recently opened facility.

He added: “Therefore the question has to be asked, why is Ballymena being left behind? The facilities here, particularly at the bus station are almost the same as when I was at school in the town and does nothing to attract more people to use public transport.

“Whereas other towns have indoor waiting areas, anyone at Ballymena station has to wait out in the cold with few facilities. This is pretty poor in comparison to Coleraine.

“I have raised this with the Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy who has said that he will look to secure funding in the next budget to ‘accelerate the work’.

“This is not good enough. Ballymena has a greater population than either Antrim and Coleraine and if the station does receive its fair share of investment then I will have no doubt that the numbers using the station will increase further.

“If the Minister is serious about increasing the use of public transport then we must see stations of a high standard in all major towns. Ballymena should not be left behind.”