Countdown to more Sunday trains begins

The uplift in Sunday services promised in the new Northern franchise is coming into touching distance now as details of the new timetable – which starts on Dec 10th – have been published on the National Rail Enquires website.

Sunday trains were re-introduced to Walkden in May 2010 following a successful campaign by FoWS, but have been restricted to an hourly service in daytime hours. From December 10th this year the service leaps from 18 trains a day to 44, with a half-hourly service until 6pm, then hourly until 10pm.

The extended timetable will open up many more journey opportunities on a Sunday, and allow people returning from a weekend to Manchester Piccadilly or Airport to catch the train home to Walkden on a Sunday evening.

The full list of scheduled departures is below.

To Manchester:

0928, 0949 and then xx28, xx49 each hour until 1728, 1749

1828, 1928, 2028, 2128, 2228

To Wigan:

1029, 1100, 1129, 1159 and then xx29, xx59 each hour until 1729, 1759

1828, 1928, 2129, 2229

As previously reported on this blog, the increased intensity weekday and Saturday service has been postponed until May 2018 due to lack of rolling stock and delays to electrification schemes in other parts of the UK

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Friends of Parr Fold Park

No doubt many station users will have noticed the on-going improvements being brought to neighbouring Parr Fold Park by the splendid Friends group there.

Please find attached the Friends of Parr Fold Park’s autumn newsletter, and take a note of some of their upcoming events:

Litter Pick – 14^th October 10am to 12am

We are having one of our regular litter picks, to ensure that the park is looking neat and tidy for our next event.  We will be meeting at the Bandstand, where bin bags, pickers and refreshments will be provided.

Rededication of the Garden of Remembrance and unveiling of a new War Memorial Plaque – 21st October at 11am

The Friends group have been busy this year, raising funds to enhance this garden with additional planting and we have commissioned a new War Memorial Plaque and Information Signs to give recognition to the purpose of this garden.  There will be a service by the Rev Alan Kennedy and a Brass Band.  Please come and join us.

Halloween Drop-in – 31^st October 5pm to 7pm

Following last year’s successful event, we are holding another drop-in at the ‘Spooky Pavilion’.  Hot dogs, cakes and beverages will be available.  Pop in while you are Trick a Treating.

Congrtulations to Hindley

Unfortunately our art project, which was short listed for an Association of Community Rail Partnerships award, missed out on a prize this time, but as guests of Northern we enjoyed a great gala dinner and swapped ideas and experiences with like-minded groups.

On a night when larger Community Rail Partnership groups scooped most of the awards, our friends and inspiration down the line at Hindley did incredibly well to pick up not one but three awards on the night, including wins in It’s Your Station and Outstanding Volunteer. Congratulations to Sheila, Sandy, and everyone at Friends of Hindley Station for another stunningly successful year.

FoWS shortlisted for national Community Rail Award

FoWS are very excited to announce that our station art project has been shortlisted in this year’s Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) Community Rail Awards, in the category of Community Art Schemes – Permanent Projects.

The scheme – designed by Mark Mennell and students from Salford City College, and funded by grants from Little Hulton & Walkden Community Committee, Salford City Council Recycle & Reward, and Northern – was unveiled at Walkden in May this year.

The ACoRP awards, which are now in their 13th year, recognise the important but often unsung work carried out by community rail partnerships and station adoption groups, amongst others, who provide a welcome social and economic contribution, with their activities, to their communities.

The winners will be revealed at the awards gala dinner and presentation evening held by ACoRP, at The Roundhouse in Derby on Thursday 5 October 2017.

Notes about ACoRP

Community rail is all about ensuring communities get the most from their railways, and promoting rail as a key part of sustainable, healthy travel. There are more than 50 community rail partnerships around Britain, working at a grassroots level along railway routes to connect the community with the train operator and other local partners. They deliver a range of activities to engage and benefit local people and support the development of the railway. More than 1,300 smaller community rail groups, such as station friends, work locally, often involving volunteers in ensuring the station is a welcoming and productive hub for the community.

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships is the membership body for community rail partnerships, representing over 80 community rail lines, and more than 1,300 local groups. ACoRP works to empower, support and champion the community rail movement. See acorp.uk.com, follow and tweet us @ACORPoffice, find us on Facebook and sign up to our monthly e-news ‘Train On Line’(http://bit.ly/tol17), to keep up to date with all that’s new in the world of community rail

No parking on Park Road this Monday

Please note that Park Road is scheduled to be re-surfaced on Monday (14th August) and temporary No Parking notices have been put up.

Drivers should anticipate extra congestion in the area, and a longer walk from car to station.

No train service at Walkden this weekend

Just a reminder that, as previously noted, there are no trains to or from Walkden this weekend, and a bus replacement service is running instead.

See National Rail Enquiries for details of bus times.

Service disruptions: be prepared

Due to the upgrade of Bolton station and electrification of the Bolton line, we will continue to experience considerable disruption on the Walkden line as services are diverted and engineering work is done around Salford Crescent.

Please be aware of the following service changes:

• Mondays to Thursdays from 10 July to 4 August (i.e. already happening)

No trains through Salford Crescent after 2130. See Emergency Timetable for details of bus replacements.

• Saturday 12 to Sunday 27 August

Bolton station closed for 3 weeks. Weekend services through Walkden severely disrupted with no trains running on Sat 12th August or any of the three Sundays. Weekday services are running more-or-less normally but are expected to be busier with passengers displaced from Westhoughton, Bolton and Farnworth. Northern have assured FoWS that all services on the Walkden line during this period will be formed of 4 carriages. See Emergency Timetable for details.

FoWS recommend passengers check all trains on National Rail Enquiries before travelling during this period.