RAIL commuters who park and ride are facing extra costs to travel from Blackburn from now on.

Regular users of Blackburn Train Station’s car park have been told free parking has been axed and costs of £2 a day or £8 a week now apply.

Bosses at Northern Rail said the charges have been brought in to deter non-rail users from accessing free parking.

However some commuters have reacted with anger.

One rail passenger said: “I pay £156.20 a month for a train ticket to get to Manchester and back on what are probably the worst quality trains in the country.

“Each year the cost of our tickets rise by roughly ten per cent and on top of that to charge £32 a month for parking at Blackburn Station, is a joke”.

A spokeswoman for Northern Rail said: “With a limited number of spaces we want to ensure priority for our passengers. At the moment a high proportion of people using the car park do not travel by train.

"Our experience at other car parks has shown that a small charge will help discourage this, freeing up spaces for passengers.”