More than £9 million has been promised by the government to boost the number of electric car charging points and First Great Western (FGW) has been awarded £315,000 to install them at 44 of its 210 stations.

FGW’s major projects manager Sarah McManus said: “First Great Western are delighted to have been awarded this grant and the opportunity to improve the services we offer to our customers.

“These charging points will enable customers to take full advantage of travelling in a more sustainable way, making their journey to our stations, and onwards by train.”

The 44 stations included in the Office of Low Emission Vehicles grant include: Aldermaston, Barnstaple, Bodmin Parkway, Bourne End, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Charlbury, Chippenham, Cholsey, Clifton Down, Crowthorne, Didcot Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Frome, Gloucester, Goring & Streatley, Henley-on-Thames, Kemble, Liskeard, Looe, Moreton-in-Marsh, Newquay, Newton Abbot, North Camp, Oxford, Pewsey, Plymouth, Reading, Redruth, Slough, Taplow, Teignmouth, Theale, Tiverton Parkway, Torquay, Trowbridge, Truro, Warminster, Westbury, Yate and Yatton.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “Electric cars are one of the most promising of our green industries and we want to secure the UK’s position as a global leader in both the production and adoption of these vehicles.

“The extremely low running costs of electric cars help drivers save money and we are allocating more than £9 million to boost chargepoints across the country to help drivers to go green.

“This means we can lower UK emissions and create high-tech engineering and manufacturing jobs to boost our economy.”

The announcement cames as the Deputy Prime Minister visited iconic transport venue Ace Cafe, just off the North Circular in North West London, where he met managing directors, staff and apprentices from BMW, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Vauxhall.

The companies are all backing the Go Ultra Low campaign in a ground breaking partnership with government to debunk myths and misconceptions that put drivers off switching to electric or hybrid cars, such as cost and how far the vehicles can travel before being recharged.