Cable and Lead Thieves Hit Walkden

Overnight theft of cables along the Walkden line caused misery for thousands of commuters last Monday as trains had to proceed under safety conditions due to the theft of signalling cable overnight.

And this weekend Walkden station has been hit by thieves who’ve stolen the lead flashing from the station roof, making the roof and joints susceptible to leaking and rain damage.

These attacks cause massive losses and inconvenience to the travelling public – if you see any suspicious activity on or around the railway line please report it immediately to British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40

In the news …

Walkden station and the FOWS are featured in a short article in yesterday’s Bolton Evening News – click here to read it.

Pedestrian Crossing campaign continues

One of FOWS concerns is the dangerous and thoroughly unpleasant road crossing that passengers face under the bridge immediately outside the station. Over the last year we’ve been in discussion with Salford Council about affordable measures to improve the situation and we were pleased when they recently agreed to send a survey team to monitor the number of people crossing the road outside the station.

The survey was conducted yesterday, and while it offers no guarantee that a crossing will be built (that will depend on the results of the survey and numerous other road planning considerations), we applaud the council for having taken this important step forward.

Spring Clean … and more

We understand that the station has been scheduled for a “deep clean” from Northern Rail’s maintenance team. Although booking office staff and FOWS volunteers do what they can to keep the place clean, some of the dirt is so ingrained or inaccessible that only a team with specialist gear can tackle it. It’s been a very long time indeed since the station had a thorough clean, so this is very welcome news.

Another impending development to improve the appearance of the station is repainting.You may have noticed painting work has already started at Swinton and we understand the team from Network Rail are working their way along the stations on the line, so we hope to see them at Walkden soon.

Barbara Keeley MP takes Walkden station issues to the top of Northern Rail

Worsley MP Barbara Keeley met with Northern Rail’s MD Heidi Mottram last week to discuss various problems faced by rail users at Walkden including over-crowding, poor connections and the lack of Sunday services. Barbara’s press release about the meeting is on her website here. Barbara is in regular contact with FOWS and takes an active interest in the problems besetting station users. FOWS are grateful for Barbara’s continued support and assistance towards improving Walkden station services.

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.

Vandals strike flower beds

Vandals pulled up plants from both flower beds over the weekend. We’ve replanted those that could be rescued but there are a few large, sad gaps in our displays now.

Our plants come from charitable donations or FOWS members’ own funds so replacing lost plants is not easy.

If you have any plants or cuttings that you would like to donate to FOWS we would be very grateful to hear from you at friends@walkdenstation.org.uk

Any criminal or anti-social behaviour should be reported to British Transport Police on their freephone number 0800 40 50 40