New staffing measures at a £44million train station have been labelled “too little too late”.

Thanet Parkway, in Cliffsend, opened in July last year and offers high-speed, 75-minute journeys to London St Pancras and easy parking.

Southeastern confirmed on Wednesday that from March 1 staff will now be at the station seven days a week from 8am until 4pm.

It had previously only been staffed Monday to Friday.

The rail giant says it “has not recorded any significant incidents” since it opened and has reiterated that passenger safety is their “number one priority”.

However vocal opponent of the station Kent County councillor Barry Lewis (Lab) fears the staffing changes won’t go far enough to keep passengers safe.

He told KentOnline: “While I am delighted that Southeastern have seen sense in having staff in the station over the weekends it is too little too late.

“Crime is most prevalent when it is dark so if the station is being staffed there should be workers on the platforms in the evening hours.

“If Southeastern wants the railway station to be working at full capacity they should have full capacity staff the same at any other station."

Cllr Lewis previously told KentOnline of his fears for the station: “It will be a mugger’s paradise because we have no on-platform staff and no monitored CCTV.

“CCTV that is unmanned only records crime - it doesn’t stop it.”

But Southeastern has defended its staffing of the station.

A spokesman for the company said: “The safety of customers and staff is our number one priority, and since our new station opened six months ago, we’ve not recorded any significant incidents.

“Thanet Parkway is a well-lit station with a number of security measures in place, including 11 Help Points and extensive CCTV, which can be viewed live from our Control Centre.

“There are regular patrols by our Railway Enforcement teams and we have staff nearby at Ramsgate who can get to the station quickly if needed.

“Our station manager also meets regularly with the local community and there have been no concerns raised about safety at Thanet Parkway.”

The station has been a source of controversy with questions still being asked on whether it is worth its cost.

Cllr Lewis also previously called the scheme a “white elephant” and feared the new infrastructure will be underutilised.

“We already have more railway stations per population than anywhere else in the county”, he said last July, “most people in Thanet will have to bypass an existing station to get to the new one.”

Rail and county hall bosses have defended the station which they say will encourage economic growth.

They also believe it will future-proof the area from an expected surge in commuters once thousands of new homes are built in the district.