Last month, I spoke about our local railway stations in Westminster. It  was part of a speech I made highlighting the need for investment in our transport infrastructure as part of the wider vision of the Northern Powerhouse. Investment not just in our roads... but in our local rail network, Metrolink and HS2 as well.

I recently met with Matthew Worman of Arriva, who have taken over the franchise from Northern Rail, and we spent some time at Cheadle Hulme station as part of his visit.

Matthew and I spoke about Arriva's station investment programme and the ways in which passengers will benefit, for example state of the art' ticket vending machines which offer a convenient and reliable means of paying. In time, there will be upgraded trains, modern facilities, LED lighting at stations and a regular cleaning regime. All of which will no doubt be warmly welcomed by passengers.

We also agreed that Cheadle Hulme station was in need of some TLC, and Matthew has agreed to look at better maintenance of the station as well as considering some of the comments made by my constituents in order to make much needed improvements. A few days after our meeting, I was delighted to receive a note from one of my constituents to let me know some of the work on station approach had already been completed.

I look forward to hearing more of the work Arriva' are doing to improve our local stations.