The new ticket office at Ipswich railway station is due to open early in October as the transformation of the site reaches a critical point.

Redevelopment of the station started towards the end of last year with Abellio Greater Anglia carrying out work to the historic buildings.

Earlier this year Suffolk County Council began a linked project to redesign the forecourt in a bid to make the station more welcoming for those who arrived by foot and by public transport.

Abellio’s work is now nearly complete. The new station concourse and barriers opened last month and the proposed opening of the new ticket hall will enable the temporary office that has been in operation for much of this year to be removed.

That will allow county council contractors to start on other areas of the forecourt – which should allow the forecourt area to be completed before Christmas.

The total work at the station is costing £2m – with each element of the rebuilding costing about £1m.

A spokesman for the county council said: “So far as we are concerned everything is on schedule and we don’t see any reason we shouldn’t be finished by Christmas.

“The only thing that could cause us problems is if the temporary ticket office hangs around for longer than is planned because we need to get access to that part of the station.

“But we have been working closely with Abellio and we know they are very keen to get the work completed.”

A spokeswoman for Abellio Greater Anglia said they were unlikely to have a major even to mark the opening of the ticket office – they would wait until all the work at the station was complete.

The company is still talking to potential tenants about taking up retail space in the new concourse – a new WH Smith bookshop has already opened and further arrivals are expected in the next few months once the station is complete.