“We need a greatly improved station, not just for the city and for local people, but for Scotland as well,” he said, after getting off the train at Dundee to lend his support for the city’s improvement campaign.

“If we are to encourage more people to use rail then we need to make sure the facilities are better and it’s time Dundee’s railway station was redeveloped.

“It’s simply not fit for purpose in 21st-century Scotland. We — the travelling public — expect something an awful lot better now than an old and somewhat tired station with limited facilities and a pretty cramped area in which to wait for trains.

“It must be better because it sits here in the heart of an area of Dundee which is tremendously exciting with the new V&A to come at some stage, and other developments happening around the waterfront.

“If we are going to have world class design in this area we need a world class railway station to go with it.”

Mr Scott said it requires the working together of all stakeholders — primarily the Scottish Government/ Transport Scotland, Network Rail, First ScotRail, the local authority, TACTRAN and Scottish Enterprise — if the council’s vision of an improved station is to become a reality.

Dundee’s Waterfront Board has produced tentative plans for a £10 million upgrade for the station as part of the ambitious redevelopment of the city’s central foreshore area.

The project would improve access, the range of facilities on offer and provide a first-class lounge — something other main city stations already have.

In September, Network Rail said it appreciated the Waterfront Board and those agitating for improvements were concerned about the appearance of the building, but maintained it is “functional and fit for purpose.”

It said funding would have to come from government or the city council, saying at the time, “Unless there are other sources of money to make essentially aesthetic changes, it’s not something we would push ahead with. We don’t have the funds to finance a new station for aesthetics.”

Politicians have criticised the condition of one of Dundee’s key transport gateways, claiming it gives visitors a poor impression of Scotland’s fourth city.

Dundee Liberal Democrat councillor Fraser Macpherson said the city’s rail footfall was busier than Edinburgh’s Haymarket, which has had almost £200 million spent on it in recent years.

“I’m not denying Haymarket needs investment, but there does come a point where the station (Dundee) should get priority,” he said.

“There is going to be the V&A building over there and you have this unkempt looking building behind it, and it is crying out for refurbishment.”

Mr Scott later visited Abertay’s National Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education and received several interactive demonstrations in the university’s Human Interactive Virtual Environment facility.

“I want to make sure we are doing everything we can for the games industry in Dundee and to make sure it’s part of the future growing Scottish economy,” he added.