A £3.25 billion scheme to improve more than 2,000 railway stations, including four in Shropshire, was unveiled today by Network Rail.

Sums ranging from tens of thousands of pounds to tens of millions will be invested in the scheme from now until 2014.

Improvements will include new passenger information systems, new toilets and waiting rooms, new and longer platforms, bigger ticket offices, better lighting and new lifts and stairways.

Network Rail also said it was conducting a survey to find out what passengers want at stations.

Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wellington and Ludlow stations will benefit from the scheme, although it is not yet known how much will be spent on them, what the work will entail or when it will take place.

The research project is due to get under way later this month, last for up to three months and involve on-line surveys, telephone surveys and focus groups to find what passengers rate as the most important things to have at stations.

Network Rail’s operations and customer service director Robin Gisby said: “Stations are the railways’ shopfront and they have been ignored for too long.

“With the punctuality of the railways now running at record levels and our major programme to boost capacity and provide more seats on trains under way, we can now look at other priorities and stations are at the top of the list.

“Much is planned in this area over the coming years and we must invest wisely,” he added.

“We shouldn’t try and second guess passengers, but ask them what they want from stations and what’s important to them. We need to listen to passengers and use their views on stations to guide our decisions.”