RAIL users' groups have said a solution to problems at Blackburn railway station could be in sight after a private meeting aimed at thrashing out the problems dogging services.

High on the agenda of the meeting between Railtrack, First North Western and users' groups, was the wrangle between Railtrack and First North Western which has delayed the refurbishment of Blackburn Railway Station.

The multi-million pound refit of the station has been delayed because the two companies in charge are at loggerheads over when to open the waiting room.

Railtrack says the waiting room is ready to use but First North Western is demanding that Railtrack finishes work on the computerised train arrival screens first so that station staff can keep a watch for vandals rather than sitting downstairs announcing trains.

David Butterworth, chairman of the First North Western sub-committee of pressure group the Rail Passengers' Committee, said: "We discussed a number of topics at the meeting, including the problems at Blackburn Railway Station and the problems with train punctuality.

"A solution to the station problem depends on some work such as the computer systems being completed, but hopefully the end could be in sight."

A further, public meeting involving Railtrack and First North Western will be held in Accrington Town Hall on Thursday, December 13.

The row over the waiting room is the latest in a long line of problems which have delayed the opening of the £5m station, originally scheduled for Spring last year.

Hold-ups have included a leaking underpass -- still yet to be repaired -- and problems with the station's glass dome roof.

The project is now unlikely to be finished before Christmas, according to rail groups.

The row between Railtrack and First North Western over when to open the waiting room was slammed as a "farce" by MPs and rail passengers' groups who have held up the argument as a prime example of the failure of railway privatisation.