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Thursday 9 Jan 2003

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO BROMLEY CROSS STATION

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Network Rail North West has invited David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East to launch its £180,000 safety and accessibility improvements at Bromley Cross station as a New Year present to the area. The comprehensive refurbishment will take two months and is being carried out by Network Rail and Edmund Nuttall Ltd (the North West Structures Alliance). Work includes providing a new ramped access leading to the Bolton bound platform and improving safety precautions in general for passengers. The safety improvements meet Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate standards and include new wheelchair access, handrails and tactile surfacing for the partially sighted and new light fittings for the station approach. Once complete the new ramped access will lead pedestrians from the Bolton bound platform, around the back of the waiting room and towards the crossing gates. Access over the crossing is controlled by the signaller at the station and will only be given when it is safe to do so. Similar access work will be carried out on the Blackburn bound platform. The new design ensures tighter control over the use of the level crossing and will discourage unsafe acts by pedestrians. -  more - Bromley – 2             Tim Clarke, Director Network Rail North West said: “Pedestrians at the station have been seen risking their lives by misusing the crossing between the two platforms. By improving access and providing an alternative route, Network Rail wants to eliminate the risk of accidents, helping to deliver a safe and reliable rail network”. David Crausby, MP for North East Bolton said: “It is vital that we continue to invest in public transport and I am delighted that Network Rail North West has been prepared to invest this money in the interest of safety at Bromley Cross.  The station is an asset to the community and is a very busy commuter link between Blackburn and Bolton”.