Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

on the Paxton Street side of the stonework, where indeed an open space already existed. I suggested that it might be better on the Eagle Street side, on the grounds that the platforms of the original East Lancashire Railway extended further towards Blackburn Road on that side of the tracks, than they did on the Paxton Street side. There was a general consensus that the present arrangements of having to cross the bridge from Eagle Street, or having to tackle a very steep approach off Paxton Street in order to access the booking hall and waiting room, was most unsatisfactory. Earlier in the meeting we were each asked to offer up a wish for Accrington. In mine I hoped for transport infrastructure fit for the twenty-first century, so that our town could be a part of an integrated transport system running right through our region and not to be left behind, whilst towns nearby were moving forward. I was most impressed with the John Thompson outfit. Their approach at this meeting was as even-handed and as stimulating as it was refreshing. So I would be more than interested to see what they made of it all and what, if anything came out of it. Accrington like Rome could not be rebuilt in a day or even a decade, but I remained optimistic on those matters that primarily concerned me. May On May the 8 th , the St James Day Tripper was quite an ambitious affair. It involved 47:854 from Preston to Hellifield with passengers from Accrington boarding in Blackburn, then haulage behind ‘Black 5’ #45407 over the scenic Settle & Carlisle route to the Border City. The ‘47’ was in charge on the return journey to Preston. Originally the steam engine was to have been 48151 which was unavailable, the second choice being ‘B1’ 61264, but this ran with a hot box so was also failed so the ‘Mickey’ was actually the third choice loco. Now the predictions for Accrington’s new transport infrastructure were taking on new and more extravagant dimensions, and the latest was for a ‘brand new’ railway station, with connections to an ‘indoor’ bus station situated on Union Street. Work on the combined schemes was expected to cost £4 million and be completed by 2007. At a meeting of Baxenden Area Council, issues were raised that the work on the former railway line in Baxenden at the erstwhile Shoe Mill Viaduct was spoiling the access to horse riders. Matthew Hargreaves, an Engineer, stated that the trackbed was 8 metres wide, and should be able to accommodate two paths side by side. He stated that drainage issues had required more work in the area of Shoe Mill Bridge. Continuing, he stated that from Nuttall Street to end of the cycleway/pathway was 3 kilometres in length, of which only 210 metres would be ‘shared’ space, but the surface would have to be of a specification required by the National Cycleway. Arriva Trains Northern had been eliminated from the short list of bidders for the soon to be created Northern Franchise and the current Trans-Pennine Express service. The Scarborough/York  Blackpool North service would be incorporated into one of the two franchises, but just which one was not yet clear. So next autumn another TOC will be running these trains through Accrington. First Group plc, and Connex Transport Ltd, were the final two in the running for the Trans-Pennine Express routes, and Serco/New Railways and First Group plc (again), were the last two bidders for the Northern Franchise. Despite their obvious disappointment, the Chief Executive of Arriva had pledged to co-operate with the strategic rail Authority and the new operator, to “ensure a smooth transition”. First Group plc, who operated the Colne  Blackpool South ‘all stations’ shuttle service, were taking measures to counter anti-social behaviour on their First North Western trains. This involved issuing panic alarms and DNA swabbing kits to their front line staff. Their Safety Manager had said that they are now pursuing a policy of zero tolerance towards individuals who caused trouble. Through a poster campaign, they were hoping to raise public awareness, to the Company’s commitment towards the safety of both customers and staff alike. June Good news for Hyndburn’s rail travellers was, having had it pointed out to them that there are no first class facilities on local trains to and from Preston, Virgin had amended their fare structure accordingly. A ‘spokesperson’ for the company stated that “The complex fares structure across the country was bound to throw up some anomalies, and when these are brought to our attention action is taken to redress the balance without necessarily involving the Trading Standards Office”. The bad news began with the withdrawal of the eight trains, which ran each way between Colne and Manchester on Sundays. The trains alternated every two hours with those going to and from Clitheroe, and had been running for the past two years. Due to ‘poor patronage’ it had now been decided that henceforth all trains will run through to Clitheroe instead. The East Lancs service allowed passengers to reach Manchester

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