Council leader calls for facelift on Chorley train station

Council leader Alistair Bradley made the calls after Network Rail announced it would be making improvements to the electrify the tracks in Chorley.

Coun Bradley said: “It’s great to see the line through Chorley being electrified because it will speed up journeys and hopefully result in a better quality of train.

“However, it’s really disappointing to see the work focussing on the line and not on wider improvements to the station.

“The station is the gateway into Chorley, it doesn’t really give a good impression of the town and I’m sure everyone who uses the station will agree it needs a facelift.

“We have had to endure quite a lot of disruption over the last couple of years with rail replacement services and road closures while bridges have been upgraded and I think we deserve to see some improvements to the facilities in Chorley.”

He said it needs a ‘modern look’, waiting area improvements and better access for prams and wheelchairs.

He added: “Other stations have been upgraded – Leyland station has recently been revamped and there is a relatively new one at Buckshaw Parkway – yet we have a station that isn’t up to standard.

“I just think it’s a real missed opportunity to not do the work at the same time as the track upgrade.”

Coun Bradley said he will continue to put pressure on the relevant organisations to make sure the town gets a ‘commitment to improve the station’.

A spokesman for Northern Rail, which looks after the station, said: “In the new Northern franchise, there will be significant station improvements across the network to give customers easier access to information and providing new seating and waiting areas.

“We would look for support from the local community and our industry partners to help us better the station environment at Chorley for our customers and to help us make the case for improvements to facilities such as access.”