Rail station ticket boost

The introduction of ticket sales at the Clitheroe Interchange follows a deal between Lancashire County Council and rail firm First North Western.

The Clitheroe Interchange rail and bus link turned a rundown part of Station Road into an eye-catching state-of-the-art facility, providing disabled access, information on services and an area for buses to pull in alongside the rail track.

The £500,000 project was funded by Lancashire County Council, the Department for the Environment, the Countryside Agency, Ribble Valley Council and the East Lancashire Partnership.

The Interchange now employs three full-time, one part-time and one casual member of staff, who give advice and information from a control centre. And it has won four major awards, including a Charter Mark, the Government's award for excellence in public service delivery, the Royal Planning Institute Award for Planning Achievement and the HSBC Rail Business Award, since being opened in 2000.

The new-look office will also now be the main booking point for the newly-launched Bowland Transit Bus unveiled by Prince Charles during his visit to Ribble Valley in January.

The Bowland Transit has provided a fleet of minibuses for residents in hard-to-reach areas and created up to 19 jobs.

Richard Watts, Interchange project leader, said: "The Interchange has continued to grow as demand has increased for quality public transport.

"The county council and its partners have worked extremely hard to make the project a success and all our figures show that it is right on track. Commission from ticket sales will certainly be useful in securing the future of jobs at the site."

Ribble Valley Mayor Alan Yearing joined civic dignitaries to inspect the new office and try out the ticketing facilities.

He said: "This is an excellent facility of which Clitheroe can be proud and we want to see used, as the more we can do for public transport the better."