THE estimated costs of a proposed Worcester Parkway railway station have soared - at the same time as forecast demand has slumped.

But Worcestershire county councillor Tom Wells claimed he and colleagues remained "very positive" about constructing a railhead at Norton.

He hoped a meeting with the Strategic Rail Authority would be arranged in early summer to discuss a bid for funds.

"We've moved out of feasibility land," said Coun Wells, the council's spokesman for transport, roads and countryside issues.

"The figures have been revised and as a result projected demand for the parkway project has gone down a bit while the costs have escalated slightly."

He said the cost of supplying a station with four platforms might be at least £10m, rather than the £6m discussed at earlier meetings with rail operators.

"Previously we were looking at ballpark figures," said Coun Wells, who denied the county council and its project partners had been nave.

He also said doubts had been cast on the idea of a million passenger movements a year through Norton.

"We think the projected demand might be in the order of 600,000 passenger movements," said the councillor.

He said this was based on detailed research from other parts of the country, such as Milton Keynes, where railway stations had tried to compete with motorway traffic to carry commuters.

"I remain convinced there's a compelling argument for a new railway station," insisted Coun Wells.

Peter Luff, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Mid-Worcestershire, was disappointed.

"I'm hopeful that the figures can be made to stack up, because the railway station will be good for the southern Worcester economy and the environment," said Mr Luff.

In 1999 he invited Virgin Trains' chief executive, Chris Green, to Worcester to talks about the project. Virgin trains do not halt in the county at the moment.

A Worcester Parkway concept has been discussed for more than 20 years but has so far failed to come to fruition.