Good news and bad news for train passengers at Poulton and Preston

A Blackpool-based railway watchdog has welcomed plans to make life easier for  passengers at a Fylde coast station.
The seats out of order at Platforms One and Two at Preston StationThe seats out of order at Platforms One and Two at Preston Station
The seats out of order at Platforms One and Two at Preston Station

But Stephen Brookes, Rail Sector Champion for the Minister for Disabled People, has also hit out at platform conditions at Preston where passengers wait to get the train to the coast.

After months of lobbying, bosses at Northern Rail have agreed to extend the operating hours of the lift at Poulton Station.

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Until now it had been closed to the public after 6.30pm meaning disabled passengers or families with pushchairs were stranded.

Poulton Station which will now have its lift to the platforms working 24 hours a dayPoulton Station which will now have its lift to the platforms working 24 hours a day
Poulton Station which will now have its lift to the platforms working 24 hours a day

Now it will be open 24 hours a day, being overseen by staff at Blackpool North.

Stephen Brookes said: “This is great news for passengers and I am delighted Northern have taken this action. Those steps at Poulton are pretty steep. People had to travel on to Blackpool and get a taxi back to Poulton.”

But he said that he had written to Virgin Trains to complain over the state of Platforms One and Two at Preston.

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He said they were “tired, unwelcoming dirty and difficult to access and in fact give a disgraceful impression for anyone travelling to Blackpool.”

He pointed out that two seats on the platforms were taped off and two others unusable when it rains due to leaks. He added that people had been complaining about the seats for years.