Cycling facilities at Norwich rail station are set to be improved after the Department of Transport awarded over £400,000 to rail operator Greater Anglia.

The funding has been announced as part of a £62m investment in cycling around the country from the Community Linking Places Fund.

The £424,080 for Norwich will be spent on a 242-space cycle hub with sheltered storage, new signs, CCTV, lighting, bike hire and a new retail area.

Greater Anglia has also been awarded £354,600 for a similar scheme at Ely rail station in Cambridgeshire.

Over the last 12 months the government has announced £107m will be made available for cycling during its parliament.

An allocation of £57m from this has been confirmed today, including:

- Up to three cities will be invited to bid for a fund of up to £30m to make cycling easier and safer for people in urban areas.

- A fund worth up to £12m is being made available to local authorities working in partnership with National Parks to improve conditions for cyclists.

- A £15m boost is being given to the Community Linking Places Fund to support schemes that improve cycle-rail integration and enhance community cycling.

In addition to the £57m allocation, £5m will be added to the fund already earmarked to tackle dangerous junctions, with allocations to follow in the near future.

Transport minister Norman Baker said: 'We are serious about cycling, as this latest wave of funding shows. We have already seen how schemes can quickly deliver economic and environmental benefits, as well as improving public health.

'Anyone who rides a bike will know it is important to keep the impetus going and this record level of funding will provide a shot in the arm to cycling in England.

'Our ambition is to get people cycling more safely and more often and today's announcements will help us to make that vision a reality.'