It will help solve Preston station's long-term parking problems - but leave commuters in misery for the next year.
Work on the new multi-storey car park at the railway station on Fishergate is set to start soon.
But station manager Ron Dixon warns the present car park is likely to be full from 7.30am every morning until next spring. That will force nearly 200 drivers to look for spaces in the city's already over-crowded car parks, clogging the packed roads.
Work is due to start early next month to increase the number of spaces from 469 to 939 and will leave 180 spaces out of action during the 10-month construction period.
Mr Dixon said: "We would urge all customers who travel to Preston station by car to allow extra time for their journey to the station, to ensure that they are still able to catch their intended train.
We would advise that the station car park is expected to be full by 7.30am and would ask customers to consider using alternative car parks or local buses."
Network Rail route enhancements manager David Golding said it was expecting "a large proportion" of passengers to travel to the station by train leading to extra demand for spaces.
He said: "More passengers are now travelling by train and the demand for rail travel is set to continue to rise, so we need to increase the number of parking spaces. We have committed £90m to transform parking at many of the stations on the West Coast Main Line over the next 18 months."
Preston's traffic management police officer PC Dave Taylor said he believed only "a quarter" of the car park would be open during the construction programme.
He said: "There is parking space in the city centre although it is not necessarily within easy access of the station, so people are going to have to be prepared to walk some distance or use the bus."
Preston Chamber of Trade chief executive Nicholas Watson said he feared the move would cause "untold damage" to Preston over the next year.
Read more on this story in Thursday's Lancashire Evening Post.>> Rail car park plan changes after chaos fears>> Vote in our latest web poll>> Have your say on our special traffic and travel rantline
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