Monday 23 Aug 2010
WORK TO START SOON ON NEW STATION
- Region & Route:
WORK is set to start within the next few weeks on a long-awaited multi-million pound railway station for Chorley’s newest village.
Contractors are due on site in September and the new station to serve Buckshaw Village is expected to be up and running by autumn 2011 after planning permission was granted by Chorley Council this week.
Councillor Peter Goldsworthy, Chorley Council leader, said: “We are delighted that work will start on the new station so soon, the residents of Buckshaw Village have been waiting a long time.
“It will be completed next year and with its park and ride facility will prove to be a huge asset for the Village, and for the people of Chorley who choose to use it, helping to create a truly sustainable community.”
The station is a joint venture between Chorley Council, Lancashire County Council, Network Rail and rail operators Northern.
It had always been an important part of the vision for Buckshaw Village which has been built on the site of the 395-acre former Royal Ordnance factory at Euxton.
County Councillor Tim Ashton, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, added: "I am delighted for the people of Buckshaw Village that they will soon have a new, state-of-the-art railway station.
"Buckshaw Village is a vibrant, thriving community which I have no doubt will benefit enormously once the railway station is up and running."
Work started in 2002 to create the sustainable village of more than 2,000 homes, with employment areas, open spaces, a district shopping centre, a primary school, outdoor sports activities, footpaths and cycleways.
A planning application by Network Rail for a station was approved in 2008 but it was a revised plan submitted earlier this year which got the go ahead last week.
The two platform station, on the same Manchester to Preston line as Chorley station, is expected to accommodate 450,000 passengers a year and will be operated by Northern Rail.
There will be park and ride facilities on the northern side of the station offering free parking for 204 cars including 10 spaces for disabled parking, and there will be a pedestrian access bridge linking the two platforms.
Notes to editors
For more information contact Chorley Council Communications Officer Vanessa Fitzgerald on 01257 515219
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