Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

the authorities were to an extent opting out of a great deal of their responsibility for policing and maintaining these facilities. The train operators stated, “We regret to announce that the train now arriving is not wheelchair accessible, and isn’t likely to be for some time to come”! Whereas all new buses had had to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act from January of this year, the same would not apply to trains until 2017. Northern Rail who runs the services through East Lancashire admitted that some of its 20-year-old rolling stock working on the ‘locals’ could not cater for wheelchair users. They advised that if a disabled passenger was intending to make a journey, they should phone a helpline set up to deal with these and other inquiries before they wanted to travel. As a spokesperson for Northern Rail quite rightly pointed out, this is a nationwide problem. Many of the units running through Accrington were built long before disability access became a fashionable political football, so one could sympathise with Train Operating Companies to a certain extent. However, with franchises being granted on leases, which did not guarantee an operator a long term return on any large investments, it was unlikely that the existing stock would be replaced in the foreseeable future. Not only the trains would require modifications, but also in many places the stations and associated infrastructure would require improvements. In Accrington the booking office and waiting room were on the eastbound platforms. For an unaccompanied wheelchair bound passenger wishing to travel towards Preston and beyond, they would have to buy a ticket and then go via Paxton Street, Blackburn Road and Eagle Street to get onto the correct platform. Or alternatively buy a ticket on the train from the conductor/guard. Even if they were intending to travel east, getting up the slope to the booking office would be something of an ordeal. In Rishton, where the station was unmanned the westbound platform was accessible by footbridge only. November As was becoming the annual custom at the end of Blackpool’s Illuminations, engineering work had recommenced on the East Lancashire Line. For five consecutive weekends starting in the late afternoon of Saturday the 12 th , and staying in force until the first trains on Monday the 14 th , maintenance gangs occupied the line. This meant of course that rail replacement services, or to give them the title currently in vogue ‘rail support services’ were in operation through Accrington. On Saturday the 19 th the 39th St James Day Tripper operated their ‘Fenlander’ excursion to East Anglia. Whilst other stations on the East Lancashire Line seemed to be able to attract money to improve them, the one in Accrington appeared unable to get in on the act. It was appreciated how the Victorian edifice in Blackburn in desperate need of modernisation had managed to attract substantial finance, although whether or not the improvements were worth the £3 millions spent was a matter of debate. After Blackburn and Burnley Central, Accrington was the next most important station on the route between Colne and Preston. But it hadn’t benefited one iota since it was rationalised in the 1970’s. The news was that Bamber Bridge would be the latest station to be earmarked for improvements, even though a study of just what needed to be done had been authorised at a cost of £12,500. Groups were in favour of any improvements to the infrastructure, rolling stock and services, for these should be moves to secure the future of the line. The proposed facelift at Bamber Bridge was expected to include better shelters, a public address system, better signing, cutting back the encroaching shrubbery and of course the installation of CCTV surveillance. Church & Oswaldtwistle had received £50,000 for similar improvements, and a similar amount has been allocated to the station at the end of the line, in Colne. Rishton Station will also benefit from a cash injection of £30,000, but alas Accrington remained up against the buffer stops. This is one reason why continual to lobbying for a new bus/rail interchange was needed, so that both modes of transport could be promoted by jointly improved facilities. It seemed as though the Labour Group in Hyndburn favoured the idea of establishing a new bus station in the Abbey Street and/or Whalley Road corridor. This would be on the inside of the Eastgate inner ring road, and adjacent to the main retail area. Of course they weren’t yet in power, so could do nothing to further these ideas, whether they would pursue them when, as it can only be a matter of time, they got back into power was a different matter. If this turned out to be the case, then perhaps there was a good argument for building a brand new railway station on the eastern, (Huncoat) side of the viaduct, with access on both sides of the line. The area, back Owen Street and Railway View, was again a dilapidated and forgotten area of the town. This could have been developed with the removal of a

425