TALKS are under way to bring a railway station back to a Flintshire town.

Saltney has been without a station for more than three decades and it is hoped adding a stop along the North Wales coast to Chester line could provide a boost for jobs and trade.

And transport bosses responsible for making the final decision have said there is a “lot of merit” in the plan.

Saltney county councillor Veronica Gay said with plans to expand the town’s River Lane Industrial Estate, a major employer in the area, the station could solve transport problems.

She said: “We are trying to get a railway station reinstated in Saltney. A station will open up the area. It would bring people in from down the coast where there is less work or seasonal work. With road congestion there is really no other option.

“It will make life so much easier.

“At the moment it is at the discussion phase.”

Cllr Gay said one possible location would be behind the town’s Morrisons store on the High Street.

A plan to build a railway station has been included in Saltney Town Council’s draft business plan and is being looked at by transport organisation Taith, an agent of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Town councillor Richard Lloyd said the plan would have the baking of the whole of Saltney and would open up the rail network to the town.

He said: “It would be a good thing for the town. If it was near Morrisons it means people could do their shopping without using the train. It would allow people to get to Chester without having to use a taxi.”

Stuart Mackintosh from Body Tech Health Club said: “I think it would increase the amount of people able to travel to Saltney.”

Flintshire councillor Tony Sharps, chairman of Taith, said the organisation is looking into a feasibility study on the plan and would have the final say on the new station.  He said: “We are looking at it. I think there is a lot of merit in having a station in Saltney. It if is worthwhile we would do it.

“I know this is something Cllr Gay has been pushing on for some time. Saltney will be competing with a lot of other people.”

Funding for the project would come from the Welsh Assembly Government.