Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

1 st . The fares were £7:50p and £5:25p on the excursions to Hadrian’s Wall which would run every Friday, from July the 3 rd to September the 4 th . At a meeting of the Development Services Committee, further to a minute of 1980/81, a letter had been received from the Divisional Manager of BR, regarding the special excursion trains stopping at Church & Oswaldtwistle Station. In order to bring the public’s attention to this he had written to the Civic Society and to all the Councillors representing Wards in the area asking them to inform local residents of the extended trial period. It was resolved to accept and approve these actions. Arising out of this, the Town Clerk reported that he was in receipt of a letter from the Oswaldtwistle Civic Society, thanking the Council for it to be designated as an outlet for the sale of excursion tickets. Copies of this letter had also been forwarded to LCC, the local MP and NELDA. Following consideration of this matter, it was resolved to make note of its contents. It was further resolved - (1) To thank Oswaldtwistle Civic Society for the work they had undertaken to follow up after the Council’s initial support. (2) That the Town Clerk would write to the Divisional Manager of BR, informing him of this Council’s support for some form of ticket outlet to be established in Oswaldtwistle. The Town Clerk next submitted copies of correspondence he had entered into with the Divisional Manager of BR, regarding a reduction in the staffing level at Accrington’s Railway Station. Due to the delays caused by the recent council elections, he was of the opinion that council members would wish this matter to be pursued with some urgency without first obtaining their instructions. In this and with other connections, he drew the Committee’s attention to a supplementary agenda which set out a self explanatory letter from David Waddington MP, stating that along with the Town Clerk they would have regular meetings with the Divisional Manager, to try to keep up the pressure against such changes. It was resolved to accept and approve the Town Clerk’s actions in this matter. Again, and further to a previous minute passed during 1980/81, the Town Clerk submitted for the information of the Committee copies of the following reports - A. One which contained details of a meeting held between representatives from BR and from the North-East Lancashire Development Association. B. One which comprised of a letter from the Hon Secretary of NELDA, together with extracts from the proceedings of a meeting of that organisation. The Town Clerk drew specific attention to the resolution passed by NELDA as set out in this report. It also referred to a letter received from Oswaldtwistle Civic Society, which contained its concerns about what they termed “the intolerable conditions of travel on the East Lancs Line” together with the poor condition of the rolling stock. Both points having been considered by NELDA it was resolved - a. That Hyndburn Council would endorse the resolutions passed by NELDA and support any actions connected with them. b. That the Town Clerk would be authorised to write to the Minister of Transport before these minutes were confirmed. c. That specific reference would be made to the fact that Hyndburn Council would not support a proposal to single the track between Gannow Junction in Burnley and Chaffer’s Sidings east of Nelson Station. d. That Hyndburn Council would support major improvements to the East Lancs Line, in order to facilitate a better service. Further to another minute of 1980/81, the Town Clerk reported that a Notice of Motion relating to railway accidents had been drawn to the attention of the Minister of Transport and to the Chairman of the British Railways Board, and in this connection submitted papers which were copies of the replies he had received, together with an extract from the Department of Transport’s own report on the Safety Record of the railways in Great Britain during 1979. In connection with this a member of the Committee drew their attention to the conditions which existed at Rishton Railway Station, where the east-bound platform was “far lower than the step entrance exit from the trains,” and that this was “causing difficulties for elderly passengers when alighting from the trains”. A ‘boarding ladder’ had been made available at the station, but this did not appear to be readily accessible for use when the trains arrived on the platform. Following lengthy discussions, it was resolved to note the contents of these reports and to authorise the Town Clerk

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