Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

Victoria via Bolton without the necessity of having to change trains in Blackburn. The service had been subsidised by both Lancashire County Council and the Strategic Rail Authority, but this funding had come to the end with the commencement of the ‘summer’ timetable and a case for an extension had not be made. ( The success of the upgrading of both the X43 and X2 bus services by Blazefield must have been a contributory factor in the lack of usage of this more roundabout rail service .) Meanwhile despite pressure from the local council, a solution to the Blackburn Railway Station platform fiasco had still not been put forward. The original plans for the redevelopment that were submitted for planning permission, were being re-examined to see if all the conditions have been met. Both Network Rail and First North Western had said that they had no plans to change the arrangements on Platform 4, despite the inconvenience to the travelling public! July The unkempt state of Rishton Railway Station had prompted two groups to come up with a project to give it a facelift. Prospects, an environmental charity, and the Rotary Club of Great Harwood with Rishton, had met with representatives of First North Western to formulate a strategy. They hoped to repaint the sign that welcomes people to the station, and to spruce up overgrown flowerbeds, ( insurance cover permitting !). It was hoped the work would be completed in time for the centenary anniversary of the Rotary Club on February 23 rd , 2005. The spokesperson for First North Western had said they are keen to work with any groups who wanted to take a pride in their local stations. Already several stations had ‘ adopt a station’ and ‘ friends’ schemes. In this revolutionary scheme called ‘Friends Of The Stations’, local people were being recruited to tend to the upkeep of these railway facilities. Most interested parties seemed to agree that if they were trying to do this in the current climate without volunteers, it would be unachievable. Sixth worst in the region was how Accrington’s Railway Station came out in a poll to identify the safest stations in the region. Acts of trespass, obstructions placed on the lines, vandalism and incidents of missile throwing put Accrington down near the foot of the table of a survey taken between 2002 and this year. It was little wonder that people didn’t want to use the railways when it was dark and the platforms had no one keeping an eye on them. The Transport Police were again visiting local schools to push the message, that playing around on the railway could have serious consequences. School holidays were the peak times for incidents of this nature. As part of a much grander scheme to get the overweight out and about exercising, yet another local section of disused railway could become a cycleway. Starting at Rose Grove Junction, the old North Lancashire Avoiding Line could be transformed into a leisure trail through Padiham and into Hyndburn at Altham, continuing over Martholme viaduct and into Great Harwood. The line would still require decommissioning between Rose Grove and Padiham, as the track was still in place, although it hadn’t been used since 1993, when the last oil tanker trains went down it to Padiham Power Station. The project involved Lancashire County Council with that of Burnley Borough and yet another ‘charity’ transport organisation, Sustrans. The line was closed to scheduled passenger traffic in 1957, but remained in regular use for holiday excursions until 1964. Up until then it had provided an alternative route between Rose Grove and the Whitebirk Junction Blackburn, thus avoiding the then busy junction at Accrington. ( I spent many hours observing excursions from the Eastern Region passing along the ‘Harwood Loop’ as we knew it, with B1s, some of them named, en-route to the coastal resorts. The last occasion that I walked this line from Simonstone to Harwood Bar was in August, 1974, and it was almost impassable in places even then, although the impressive Martholme viaduct was still open to walkers .) First North Western Trains had lost in their bid to retain the ‘local’ services that ran through Hyndburn on their way between Colne, Preston and Blackpool South. In the autumn a joint company, Serco Group with NedRailways would operate this service along with the Ribble Valley services. The latter is the Dutch State-owned Railway Company, who along with Serco already operated Britain’s best performing railway company, Merseyrail Electrics. This was only the second rail franchise to be awarded using the Strategic Railway Authorities ‘new’ style contract system. This sets out the specific standards that must be attained in order for the operator to earn maximum rewards. Serco itself was responsible for operating the Docklands Light Railway and Manchester MetroLink, so was no stranger to the North West. The partnership would take over these services along with 475 stations, some 4,000 staff and a large fleet of diesel and electric multiple units. A spokesman for First North Western expressed disappointment at

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