Flower beds given some TLC

FOWS volunteers have been freshening up the planters and flower beds on Walkden station, putting down new compost, repainting the kick-boards and planting new summer bedding plants. The untended area at the Wigan end of the Manchester platform is being deliberately left empty at the moment as roof-repairs are imminent at the station and the work crews are likely to use this area for access. FOWS have however secured funding to plant up this area once the roof work is complete.

Walkden in line for TIF Improvements

This week’s approval of Greater Manchester’s bid for up to £3 billion of investment by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly could signal significant improvements for Walkden station and trains along the Atherton line.

Walkden is highlighted on GMPTE’s TIF Map for TIF Funded Improvements which FOWS understand to include CCTV, real-time passenger information and improved signage at the station. The Atherton line – along with the Eccles line – is also singled out for additional carriages to ease congestion, although these might quickly be filled by additional passengers using the new proposed Park & Ride facility at Atherton.

Although there is some way to go before the TIF project becomes a reality and the improvements will not be seen for a few years yet, we are pleased that GMPTE have recognised Walkden’s particular need for modernisation in their plans.

Station repairs large and small

As regular passengers will of course know the platform canopy at Walkden is currently receiving a long overdue paint job. You might not have noticed some smaller repairs that have also been made in the last few weeks :

* Removal of graffiti from platform name signs
* Fixing the broken pipe at the end of the booking hall
* Repainting the booking office panels to the right of the ticket window
* The broken step at the start of the second flight of stairs has been replaced
* The insides of the canopy pillars have been unblocked so that rain water drains out through them instead of onto the platform
* And finally … the football lodged in the rafters of the booking hall has been removed !

Individually these may be minor improvements - but at least it shows that maintenance of the station is on-going and - slowly but surely - Northern are improving its appearance.

Regular surveys of the station’s condition are taken by FOWS and can be found on their website by clicking here

Painting underway !

Network Rail’s painting team yesterday started work on repainting the canopy and even the areas that have been only undercoated already look much better than before !
The ironwork and woodwork are thought to be in reasonable condition, and the team will also be jetting out the pillars so that they can once again function properly as guttering downpipes.
The colour scheme will be the same as at Swinton: white and dark blue with the painters applying some nice artistic licence to pick out some of the details of the ironwork.

Redecorating Starts This Week

Following completion of the smart repainting of Swinton station the decorating team will begin work on Walkden this week. We are eagerly anticipating a shiny new look for the station in the next few weeks !

Walkden to get a makeover

You may have noticed the smart repainting currently underway at Swinton. Happily the decorators are making their way along the line and Walkden will soon benefit from a repainted canopy and pillars. The pillars – which are hollow and supposed to serve as gutter downpipes – will also be cleaned out so the water can flow through them again.

Network Rail are also going to replace the leaking roof of the booking office and entrance hall, which should also help improve the appearance of the station.

Walkden Station “In Bloom” with three large planters

Today FOWS volunteers turned out in Bank Holiday rain to install three large planters on the station platform, paid for by a Salford City Council “In Bloom” grant. For more details and pictures of the planters and the planting event, please click here.

Vandals wreck bins again

The two new litter bins installed last week lasted just 5 and 7 days respectively before being destroyed by vandals. Without a staff presence in the afternoon or evening, or CCTV camera coverage, the flimsy hoop-and-bag design has little defence against bored miscreants.

Meanwhile FOWS has started work on the small area of bare earth at the far end of the Manchester platform flower bed. Wooden boards have been fixed which we hope to paint and then plant up in the next couple of weeks.

 

We love litter bins !

We never thought we would get so excited about litter bins but we were really pleased to note that the vandalised litter bins were replaced yesterday !

When the bins are available they fill up really quickly and help keep the station tidy, so a “Thank You” to Northern and their contractors ISS for installing some new ones.

Flower beds bloom again !

After last weekend’s vandalism FOWS volunteers this morning repaired the damaged flower beds, replacing most of the destroyed plants with new pansies, daffodils, lupins and more. Volunteers also tidied up the usual Saturday night detritus and scrubbed the white-wash walls of the upper stairway.