Andrew Fender, chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, is excited about the ongoing transformation of the city's Victoria station.

The site is set to receive a £44 million facelift, which will include a dazzling new transparent roof.

Mr Fender thinks passengers will welcome the new-look station "with open arms" and the roof - scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014 - will be the most striking aspect of the project.

"It's key to the transformation of the station to a welcoming, world class facility and I very much look forward to its completion," he remarked.

Network Rail has a number of multi-million pound projects taking place at the moment, including the £81 million redevelopment of a stretch of the busy West Coast Main Line at Watford.

Speaking about the Manchester Victoria scheme, the company's route managing director Dyan Crowther said plans have been devised to significantly enhance rail infrastructure in the north-west, providing £4 billion of economic benefits across the region.