RAIL user groups and politicians today hit out at rail company Arriva for not doing enough to improve Burnley's flagship Manchester Road station.
The criticism came as it was revealed that the company was set to spend just £12,000 on upgrading facilities at a stop which MP Peter Pike believes is desperately underfunded.
Critics said the share of £630,000 improvement cash for 50 stations in the North of England was not enough to address the problems at the station.
Burnley MP Peter Pike said radical improvements were needed at Manchester Road and to the trans-Pennine train service, which serves travellers between Leeds and York and Preston and Blackpool.
Burnley's other station, Burnley Central, is used by passengers travelling to all stops along the Blackpool South to Colne route.
Mr Pike said Manchester Road, where Prince Charles arrived before his visit to Pendle last week, required urgent upgrading - not just the proposed lick of paint - in order to fulfil its potential as a major stop.
He said: "The money is obviously welcome but will amount to little more than tarting up and will not solve the problems at the station, such as the litter and the lack of train information.
"There is tremendous potential in that line but so much needs to be done and so much investment needs to be made. It should really be made a staffed station."
Burnley county councillor Marcus Johnstone added: "There have been serious problems with the station such as litter not being cleared up, rats under the platforms and vandalism.
"The £12,000 is certainly welcome money but it needs a lot more than that to sort out the problems."
David Butterworth, of the Rail Passengers' Committee, a
users' group which looks out for train passengers' interests across East Lancashire, said: "There are several problems with Manchester Road, including the fact that it is quite remote and so personal safety is an issue.
"CCTV would be a big improvement as would a visual train information service so that passengers know when their train will be arriving."
Peter Myers, Arriva Trains Northern's head of stations, said: "Stations are at the heart of many communities and the first thing that people see when visiting a place by train.
"We want to ensure that the stations we manage are well maintained and provide a positive impression on those people that use them."
Meanwhile, the Strategic Rail Authority, Lancashire County Council, the borough council, First North Western and the East Lancashire Partnership are currently in discussion over plans to demolish Central Station's old building and replace it with a futuristic station.
It would include a ticket office, waiting area, disabled access and CCTV under the £500,000 scheme.
Since being built in 1960, large areas of the building have become redundant.
Under the new plans, the existing station will be demolished and a new building constructed slightly further up the station's long platform.
Work was due to start this year but the timetable for the redevelopment has been put back.
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