Walkden station and FOWS featured in local newsletter

GMITA’s recent decision to support the introduction of a Sunday service at Walkden is the lead story in Walkden South Conservative’s latest newsletter.

FOWS is a non-political organisation and has no allegiance to any political party. However, we are happy to acknowledge any help that individual politicians lend to our cause and Councillor Iain Lindley has been an enthusiastic and vocal supporter of the station since FOWS was founded. Cllrs Les and Nicky Turner are also paid-up members of FOWS.

In the interests of balance we are also delighted to report the help and support we receive from Labour’s Barbara Keeley MP. Barbara has recently met Northern Rail again to keep up the pressure on them to introduce Sunday services and make other improvements (such as improving access to the station). We’re hoping to have more news from Barbara on this blog soon.

Incidentally, you might imagine that all the local councillors whose constituents rely on the station have been active supporters of FOWS and our campaigns, but sadly that isn’t the case. That’s the reason we’re happy to publicly thank those politicians who do help us – whichever party they belong to.

Why not ask your local councillors what they are doing to help press to service and facility improvements at Walkden station ?

MP calls for GMITA to fund Sunday services

Worsley MP Barbara Keeley has called on the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) to back the proposals for Sunday services from Walkden.

Barbara has been a keen supporter of FOWS since our inception and has raised a number of station specific issues, including Sunday services and disabled access, in parliamentary debates, with past and present Rail Ministers, and Northern Rail’s senior management.

Last month GMITA’s Rail and Metrolink Committee gave their very welcome support to a proposal for Northern Rail to run an hourly Sunday service between Wigan and Manchester. The proposal comes up for a decision over the subsidy that the Authority would be required to fund at the end of this month.

Sunday services come a step closer

At a meeting last Friday GMITA’s Train & Metrolink Committee gave its support to a proposal to introduce an hourly Sunday service from Wigan to Manchester via Atherton, Walkden and Swinton.

This is an exciting step forward, and one which FOWS are very grateful to the committee members for taking, but it doesn’t mean the service will necessarily go ahead … the budget has yet to be approved by a separate committee.

The story is featured in today’s Boton Evening News, including quotes from one of the councillors (David Wilkinson) who supported the proposal and FOWS chair Peter Aust.

So we can’t count any chickens just yet, but fingers crossed we may be getting closer to Sunday trains running again from Walkden !

FOWS would like to express their thanks to staff and councillors at Northern Rail and GMITA who have supported our campaign and worked hard to bring the Sunday trains proposal so much closer to fruition.

FOWS call for matching commitment from Northern/GMPTE at Annual General Meeting

The audience at last week’s FOWS Annual General Meeting heard speakers from GMPTE, GMPTA and Northern Rail give updates on their organisations efforts towards improving Walkden station.

The meeting opened with reports from FOWS Chair Peter Aust and Secretary Neil Stapleton which reflected on a busy and productive year for the group. However, the reports concluded that matching levels of commitment and improvements have not been seen from either station owners or operators, a failure that leaves the station with the same infrastructure problems as noted last year, and whose contrast with FOWS’ efforts is causing increasing frustration within the group.

A statement from local MP Barbara Keeley catalogued the considerable effort she has put into championing the station’s cause this year, including a series of meetings and communications with Heidi Mottram of Northern Rail and mentioning the station’s dire facilities in Parliament debates.

Steve Magner and Cllr Ian Macdonald from GMPTE and GMPTA respectively acknowledged the group’s frustration and advised more patience will be required. Whilst confident that improvements will be made to the station over the next few years, they could not commit to timescales or explain the criteria that has been used to exclude Walkden from the first batch of stations to receive GMPTA investment.

Chris Ingham of Northern Rail reported on the company’s improved reliability figures achieved during the last monitoring period but said Network Rail have still not reported back to Northern about the costs of re-opening the full length of platform, meaning there has been no tangible progress on this issue for 12 months.

Sunday services have been the topic of discussions between GMPTE and Northern Rail, but the estimated costs provided by Northern Rail to start the service in November are currently beyond GMPTE’s reach. Negotiations are continuing to explore ways of reducing the cost of the service.

Memberships for 2009 were renewed (it’s just £1 a year for anyone interested !) and several new members were welcomed to the group.

More support for Sunday Services

Barbara Keeley meets Northern Rail MD Heidi Mottram

Regular readers of this blog will know that Worsley MP Barbara Keeley has been an active supporter of FOWS since our formation, and a long-time campaigner for Walkden station. Barbara has recently been pressing Northern Rail again to investigate a Sunday service from Walkden, and has received an update from their Area Director West Lee Wasnidge.

Mr Wasnidge has assured Barbara that the possibility of a Sunday service along the Walkden line is under discussion between Northern and GMPTE (who would need to part-subsidise the service), and that Northern will be working hard to turn this prospect into a success.

We regard this as a further encouraging sign that Sunday services are being given serious consideration by GMPTE and Northern Rail.

Support for Sunday services campaign

FOWS recently wrote to all 3 Salford councillors who sit on GMPTA’s Transport Network Committee to press our case for Sunday services from Walkden. Our letter mentioned the support of station adopters and users from along the route at Atherton and Daisy Hill, from local MP Barbara Keeley and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. We stressed how valuable the service would be for both business and leisure travel, and recounted how we regularly meet dozens of disappointed would-be passengers when we work at the station on Sundays.

We were delighted to receive a letter of support from Worsley Councillor Ian Macdonald who is also Chair of the Transport Network Committee, and to learn that subsequently he has spoken in favour of Sunday services at a recent meeting between Northern Rail and GMPTA.

Wot no trains ?!

During FOWS’ work at the station this morning no less than 33 would-be passengers turned up in just 4 hours !

Of course we’re not the expert travel planning professionals, but we can’t help thinking that if this many people turn up for a service that last ran 40 years ago it must demonstrate some kind of demand for Sunday services from Walkden …

FOWS urge station users to participate in TIF consultation

FOWS TIF Leaflet

FOWS volunteers were at the station this morning to hand out leaflets encouraging passengers to “speak up for Walkden !”

We are encouraging all friends and users of the station – whether “for” or “against” GMPTE’s TIF proposals – to register their views on the improvements needed at Walkden station.

Currently the TIF proposals include promises of a Passenger Information System, CCTV and longer trains … if the vote to proceed with TIF is won. 

FOWS welcome any plans for improvements to the station, but we also want passengers to remind GMPTE of all the other improvements - such as a car park, disabled access, Sunday services – that are wanted, whether TIF gets the go-ahead or not.

Read Barbara Keeley’s speech on Walkden and the TIF

The full text of Worsley MP Barbara Keeley’s recent speech, which opened the parliamentary debate on Manchester’s TIF bid, can be read online here.

Ms Keeley eloquently describes the problems at Walkden station in detail, as well as other problems with the inaccessibility and poor provision of public transport in our area.

As Ms Keeley quite rightly says “There is only limited use of rail networks through Atherton and Walkden for commuting into Manchester, because the services are overcrowded and subject to other problems, too. Express trains from Atherton do not stop at Walkden, because of the limited length of the platform. The two-carriage trains that do stop there tend to be full, and 30, 40 or more people are regularly left there in the morning peak hour, because they cannot get on the overcrowded trains.”

“Access to Walkden station is poor. There are two flights of stairs and no lift. The facilities are outdated and the station infrastructure is in urgent need of renewal. There are no car-parking facilities at the station apart from parking in nearby residential streets.”

Ms Keeley’s speech is well worth reading for anyone who has an interest in the TIF bid – which should mean all users of Walkden station ! – and FOWS are very grateful for her continuing fight to secure improvements at Walkden.

Dozens of Sunday trains at Walkden … but none of them stop !

Walkden station has seen plenty of trains again this Sunday as engineering work on the Bolton line has caused Northern and Trans Pennine Express services to Blackpool, Southport, Manchester Airport, and Barrow (amongst other destinations) to be diverted via the Atherton line. Meanwhile the station itself remains one of the busiest in the Manchester area without a Sunday service. Today – as so often on a Sunday – FOWS volunteers working on the station have had to break the news to more than 10 would-be passengers that the last Sunday service left over 40 years ago. FOWS are campaigning for Northern Rail and GMPTE to re-introduce Sunday services at Walkden. Support our campaign by contacting your local councillor or MP and asking them to press the case for Walkden to GMPTE.