PASSENGERS at a railway station could soon be protected from the elements by wind and solar-powered shelters.

Two prototype shelters, said to be the first of their kind in the UK and costing around £13,000 each, will be sited at Church and Oswaldtwistle station.

If successful, similar shelters could be built at other stations along the Ribble Valley and Burnley Central to Colne lines.

The shelters have been developed by Lancashire County Council, the Stzaller Associates architects' practice in Manchester, and Midlands manufacturing firm Macemain Amstad.

And the county council has patented the designs, in the hope that its coffers will swell from royalties, if rail firms and local authorities nationally place orders for the shelters. A conventional shelter costs around £9,000 but has no electricity-generating capability.

Before construction at Church and Oswaldtwistle, other improvements are being carried out to combat vandalism and improve the station's appearance. Ultimately, it is hoped the work will boost numbers of commuters and visitors to nearby Oswaldtwistle Mills.

County rail officer Richard Watts has worked on the shelter patent. He said: "It's an ideal use of green power. It helps the environment and keeps people safe and warm. It just made sense, as the technology already exists.

"Solar panels fitted on the shelter roofs and wind turbines nearby will gather energy, which will then be stored in banks of batteries. The electricity will be used to provide lighting and to power an electronic, updating timetable-information system. The technology can also heat shelter seats, although we aren't planning that at this point."

He added: "If the shelters at Church and Oswaldtwistle are a success, we will look at extending them to other stations, with priority being given to the Ribble Valley line."

Vandalism has been a problem at Church and Oswaldtwistle station. CCTV cameras will soon be installed and monitored 24 hours per day from Oswaldtwistle Mills. Old shelters will be removed and the subway cleaned up.

Mr Watts attended a neighbourhood watch meeting at Oswaldtwistle Mills to discuss the CCTV. He said the station was not well used, partly because of these problems. But he said other factors, like train frequency and prices were also important.

He said the reopened Blackburn to Clitheroe line is due to have its tenth anniversary and hoped other stations on the line can be refitted, if Church and Oswaldtwistle is a success. He is also looking at stations between Burnley Central and Colne for the new shelters.

Dave Hooper, operations director for First North Western trains, said: "We are firm supporters of advances in environmentally-friendly technology and try to incorporate it into our business wherever possible.

"We're thrilled that the first of these green eco-shelters will be installed at a First North Western station and hope to see them at other stations across our network in future."