Accrington Railways - Robert Kenyon

continue for another fortnight at least. The footbridge which crossed the lines was due to be closed for four weeks from October 1 st , but the work would overrun. It didn’t bode well for the predicted opening of the completed new eco-friendly booking hall and associated facilities, which were supposed to be ready for use in the late spring of 2010. November MP Greg Pope said, “I cannot understand why when the finance was in place, for the new railway station it had taken so long for the plans to be translated into action”. He was also in full agreement about the reinstatement of the Todmorden curve. He indicated that not only should it be put back in, also the singled sections of track between Darwen and Bromley Cross should also be doubled, thus allowing both clockwise and anti-clockwise services to operate from Manchester Victoria through the East Lancashire towns, something which was advocated to him 2008. Unfortunately Mr. Pope was stepping down as our MP after eighteen years, (for family reasons), so would not be the Labour Party candidate at the 2010 general election. It was encouraging to see that the area surrounding what will be Accrington’s eco-friendly railway station has been boarded off from view to the general public, and excavations had begun within the site itself. Sources told me that the bridge connecting the two platforms of Accrington’s Railway Station was still two weeks away from being reopened for use. Closed at the beginning of October, the refurbishment of it should have taken no more than four weeks. It now seemed likely that we would be fortunate if it was back in use for Christmas! December Sunday the 13 th saw engineering work on the East Lancashire Line, the result of which buses and coaches replaced the local and Trans-Pennine services. The work, which at midday was centred to the west of Huncoat Station, included a long train of ballast wagons behind Class 5 loco 66:177 still in EWS livery, despite now being in the ownership of DB, the German-based operator. The engineering work was due to be repeated on Sunday the 20 th , when incidentally the refurbished bridge at Accrington’s new station should be back in use. One of my sources had told me that the original intention was to demolish this structure, the only bit of the old Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Station still in existence, and replace it with a brand new bridge further along the platforms, but this had been rejected on the grounds of cost! During the run up to the weekend before Christmas, the refurbished railway bridge connecting the two platforms at Accrington Railway Station was brought back into use. Despite a repaint and the application of some new anti-slip treads on the steps, it was pretty much the same bridge which had been closed for ten weeks. It was still roofless and wide open to the elements, which made people wonder what all the fuss was about. But at least tangible progress was being made on the new eco-friendly station, with the foundations being excavated ready for the new structure. 2010 January The final day of January saw extensive engineering works on all the lines through East Lancashire with buses and coaches replacing trains on the Preston  Colne, Blackpool North  York and Bolton  Clitheroe sections. February It had already been announced that each Sunday during the month there would be replacement bus or coach services, whilst engineering work was underway on the railway. On Sunday the 7 th , services on the Colne  Accrington  Preston section of the Blackpool South service was running as per normal on the winter timetable, but coaches were replacing trains on the Rose Grove  Halifax section of the Blackpool North  York service. On Saturday the 13 th , there was an opportunity to see what progress had been made to the new eco-station. The platforms had now been completed with the addition of some metal mesh bench seats on platforms 1 and 2. These were of an excellent all-weather, vandal proof, quick draining type possibly not built for comfort. But then again they were mainly for people who were just waiting for a train. Early in the year the foundations had been excavated, but due to the severe weather they had been flooded out. By the middle of the month however, the foundations had been laid and the site was beginning to take shape, although not at the same rate as on the adjacent site of the former Skill Centre which will be the new Tesco superstore. It was expected that the railway station would be up and running by the end of May, but sources said that this had been put back by a month due mainly to the adverse spell of weather. March Whilst on the bus station front things remained in limbo as far as improvements to the infrastructure were concerned, progress on Accrington’s new eco-friendly railway station had moved on

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