RAILTRACK bosses have met with passenger groups to discuss the future of Blackburn's newly renovated station -- and the leaking underpass.

The meeting was between Railtrack, representatives of the Ribble Valley Rail Users Group and David Butterworth, chairman of the First North Western sub-committee, which is part of the rail passenger committee for the north west.

The station will be officially opened in November, nine months later than originally planned, and there are a number of problems.

Mr Butterworth, who chairs a statutory group set up by the government, voiced concerns over delays and lack of consultation with rail users.

The meeting was held on Thursday, the day the delay in work and the leak were revealed in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

He said: "The flooding of the underpass is the most obvious concern. We hope the station will be there for a considerable length of time.

"If it is, the flooding will also be there for a long long time unless something is done to correct it now. Railtrack said that the stumbling block to fixing the underpass was the cost and disruption to the timetable. When the original roof was on the station this problem the leak did not exist. "People would have expected that aspect of the work to have been attended to as part of the overall project.

"We haven't been given any reassurances by Railtrack and that is definitely the sticking point."

Today Railtrack denied that the removal of the original roof, leaving the track exposed to the elements, had anything to do with the problem.

This is despite the fact that earlier in the week a spokesman said: "In particularly heavy rain we may not be able to stop it, to permanently fix the problem would mean completely lifting and relaying the track."

Today spokesman Keith Lumley said: "They have four concerns which they brought to the meeting.

"The leaking underpass, no exit signs on the platform, a PA speaker not working and platform seating not being fixed properly."

Asked what Railtrack intended to do about the leaking underpass, he said: "The leak has nothing to do with the regeneration project or the original roof being removed.

"We will be reporting to the relevant departments within Railtrack about the leak and how it will need to be resolved."