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Thanks to Atarah and Shillelagh for the pictures on this thread. Very interesting.
I spent many hours on Accrington Station in the 1990s waiting for the Preston bound express. It was always due a few minutes before the slow stopping train from Colne, and if it was running more than 5 or 10 minutes late, the train from Colne came in first. It was always a dilemma whether to let the slow through and wait hopefully for the express, or to jump on the slow train to await the express at Blackburn. In the absence of any form of announcements at Accy, the best option was always to get the slow train to Blackburn, where the information boards would indicate how late the express was running.
At Blackburn, if you were lucky, there was enough time to get off the slow train and change platforms via the underpass in time to meet the express coming in behind. On many occasions, the express was only just behind the slow train, and it became a race for time to reach the platform before the express left, and it was often a race that was lost, and the express came in an out of Blackburn in super quick time.
It was something that went on for the 14 years I was doing the journey, and it never ceased to amaze me that the staff at a station like Blackburn, which only has about 4 trains an hour, never ever cottoned on to the fact that, if the slow train came in just before the express, there was likely to be a stream of passengers in transit between platforms. They seemed to take a mordid delight in getting the express away as quickly as possible!
It all looks good but has there been any improvement for invalid access?.. Accy station has to be one of the worst in the North West.. to get up to the Leeds bound train is a journey in it's self.. the ramp is a death trap in wet or icey conditions and any other route is a slog for even able people.. for those who have prams or wheelchairs it is a nightmare.. and it should not be that way.
It all looks good but has there been any improvement for invalid access?.. Accy station has to be one of the worst in the North West.. to get up to the Leeds bound train is a journey in it's self.. the ramp is a death trap in wet or icey conditions and any other route is a slog for even able people.. for those who have prams or wheelchairs it is a nightmare.. and it should not be that way.
Got to agree, all the pics seem to be taken from Eagle Street side and very good it looks to. But if access at the other side hasn't been improved a lot of monies have been wasted IMHO
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It all looks good but has there been any improvement for invalid access?.. Accy station has to be one of the worst in the North West.. to get up to the Leeds bound train is a journey in it's self.. the ramp is a death trap in wet or icey conditions and any other route is a slog for even able people.. for those who have prams or wheelchairs it is a nightmare.. and it should not be that way.
There s no improvment to the access on the East bound platform wih the new works although there has been a long estblished ramp to that side of the station
In fairness I'm not really sure how they could have improved access at that side given the gradiant from Blackburn Road to the platform
The new building looks really good but it seems to have been ready (part from the wind turbine) for the last 6 - 8 weeks and the car park for slightly longer. I guessmthe car park is not open due to some issue regading liability or such like
As somebody who commutes daily Preston the issue of communication re late trains etc is still an issue having onl been informed about 5 times over the past 3 years when trains are running lateand yes we still have the issue of do I get on the skanky slow train and change at Blackburn or hope the fast train will turn up, nothings changed although sometimes they do inform the passengers on the slow train that the fast train will leave first
What about a bridge across the line and a lift at each end of the bridge, would that help?
wonder how long that would last ... because the train station is unmanned from 3pm and trains are going through till about 11pm .. the kids and the drunkards on a friday saturday night ...
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Got to agree, all the pics seem to be taken from Eagle Street side and very good it looks to. But if access at the other side hasn't been improved a lot of monies have been wasted IMHO
Looking on the plus side anything that dissuades people from going to Yorkshire can't be a bad thing.
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