Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

sections had been rejected by both Network Rail and the Government. No less a luminary than Dermot Finch, who was the director of Centre for Cities, had stated that poor communication links were making it harder for towns like Blackburn, Burnley and Accrington to have a share in the increasing prosperity of cities like Manchester, which according to all reports was on the up. Meanwhile, in Burnley a campaign was gathering momentum to have the curve at Hall Royd Junction in Todmorden replaced. Not only would this provide a direct rail link with Todmorden and Rochdale, but open up the possibility of a 38 - minute journey time between Burnley and central Manchester. April Since it was opened in 2001 the refurbished station in Blackburn had been without a roof on its busiest platform, the one which handled over half of the one million passengers who used the station each year. Platform 4 was not supposed to be the one where west-bound trains came in from the Accrington direction, but because of operational difficulties that involved the trains running over points, Railtrack insisted that it remain in regular use. Now, at a cost of £1.5 millions, including a ten percent contribution from Blackburn (with) Darwen unitary Council, the work had been given the go-ahead and should be completed within one year. The new canopy would match those already covering platforms 1, 2 & 3, and the work would include a lift as up until then the platform access did not comply with the disability access legislation, as the ramp was too steep. May More than the usual track maintenance, work would continue through the year to improve the running of trains between Colne and Pleasington. This would entail work on removing some of the various speed restrictions currently in force, to speed up the timetable of services through Accrington to Preston and beyond to Blackpool South and North. Work had already started in the vicinity of Rosegrove Station and would continue at Huncoat where the work was expected to be completed by Christmas. At the beginning of 2009 Church & Oswaldtwistle Station would then be the beneficiary of improvements. June At a meeting of the Hyndburn Cabinet, they were informed of correspondence from SELRAP thanking Hyndburn Council for their support on the proposal to reinstate the Colne to Skipton line as part of the National Railway Network, whilst at the same time expressing regret at the Government’s decision to reject a proposal for a ‘direct’ rail link from North East Lancashire to Manchester, via Blackburn. July Whereas all these proposals were as yet in the planning stage, planning permission had been given and initial funding secured for Accrington’s new railway station. The plans for the building itself stated that it would be self-sufficient and eco-friendly. Heating and energy efficient lighting would be provided by solar panels, and toilets would use rainfall water stored in a tank below ground level. Building materials would be sourced from recycled stocks and sustainable forests. Facilities that were to be incorporated into the new station included a fully enclosed booking office, new ‘Maceman’ anti-vandal shelters with perch seating, as well as new platform seats, new perimeter fencing and improved signage, a refurbished footbridge and upgrading of the ramp to the Colne/Yorkshire platform. The site would be comprehensively covered by CCTV and there would be a taxi bay, both bike lockers and bicycle hoops, a car park with forty spaces and easy access to the new Tesco Supermarket to be constructed on an adjacent site. In the basement of the main booking hall there would be a ‘community learning centre’ for the use of schools and colleges. Accessible from outside the booking hall, this facility would be stewarded initially by the East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership. Talks were to take place with Northern Rail with regard to how the new facility would be staffed and managed with longer opening hours. Hyndburn Council had already ended its tenancy of the car park on June 15 th , to allow enabling work to begin in order for the main construction to start in November of the year. Funding would come from a number of sources including contributions from Network Rail £350,000, the European Union up to £1 million, and £180,000 from the Transport Capital Programme. The Department for Transport would contribute £150,000 in recognition of the station being one for the mobility impaired and be disabled friendly, by having a disabled toilet facility, automatic doors and improved information technology. This left about a fifth of the estimated £2 millions capital cost of the project still outstanding. Having obtained planning permission for a ‘superstore’ on the land adjacent to the railway, Tesco had also pledged £450,000 towards schemes such as the new bus and rail ‘interchange’, which was a modest amount compared to the £32 millions the store will cost to construct. They had also agreed to give £412,000 towards landscaping the area between the store and the railway station. As yet a contribution from Hyndburn Borough Council had yet to be determined, if indeed one would be forthcoming.

435