THE return of passenger trains on the Blackburn-Clitheroe line has been a great success, a survey says.

But what takes the edge off it is the turn-off for travellers inside Blackburn station.

It's frightening, gloomy and freezing, they say - and has few facilities.

So great though the comeback has been for "green" rail travel - with tens of thousands of passengers helping to cut congestion and pollution on the roads by using the trains instead - it might have been even better if our region's major rail station was not such a dump.

It must also be borne in mind that Blackburn station often gives travellers their first impression of the town.

The obvious answer is to do up the station interior. After all, a splendid job has been made of restoring the outside in the face-lift of Blackburn Boulevard.

Now, everyone can see what an imposing building the station is - and what a folly it would have been for Blackburn to lose yet another of its few remaining architectural assets.

But the fact that the station is a period gem, now sparkling on the outside, must be borne in mind when it comes to the problem of its awful interior.

It must be refurbished. But not so that it becomes just another functional Anytown rail halt.

Blackburn station's interior is packed with potential, not for mundane modernisation, but for careful, thoughtful restoration that does away with the grime and gloom and reveals and exploits its Victorian splendours.

As a bright living "museum," it would not only encourage increased use of the railways - and not just on the revitalised Clitheroe line - it could be a major asset for Blackburn, both as a tourist draw and as a busy commercial and recreation centre, developed for shops, offices, restaurants and leisure attractions as well as for everyday travel.

Imagine it - and that's what we ask of the planners.

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