THE multi-million pound refurbishment of Blackburn railway station has been delayed again because the two companies in charge are at loggerheads over when to open the waiting room.

The row 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 to be repaired -- and problems with the glass dome roof.

Rail groups say the project is now unlikely to be finished and officially opened before Christmas.

The latest hold-up follows a row between Railtrack and First North Western which has been slammed as a "farce" by an MP and a rail passengers' group.

Railtrack claims First North Western has refused to open the waiting room and toilets even though they feel they could be used, a decision which has left passengers sitting on draughty platforms.

But First North Western says it will not open them until the electronic customer information screens are working -- and they are the responsibility of Railtrack.

David Butterworth, chairman of the First North Western sub-committee of pressure group the Rail Passengers' Committee, said: "This is a typical landlord tenant argument between Railtrack which owns the station and First North Western which rents it and it is a perfect example of how not to run a project. The whole thing is a saga of incompetence and it is down to privatisation. I can't see the project being finished before Christmas."

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson said: "Many of my constituents use Blackburn Railway Station and this row needs to be sorted out as soon as possible. It is another example of why the privatisation of the railways was a complete farce."

A spokesman for Railtrack commented: "The screens are driven by a computer based in Crewe. It is one of those things that takes a long while and our contractors, who were contracted to supply that side of things a number of months ago, have not delivered."

The Railtrack spokesman said First North Western had been "reluctant" to open the waiting room because of fears of vandalism. The chargeman, or platform supervisor, could not patrol the platform as he had to remain in his cabin to make train arrival, delay and cancellation announcements over the PA system.

He added: "The CCTV system at the station is fully running and the waiting room is covered by CCTV which is monitored by the chargeman in his office. We cannot see any reason why First North Western cannot open the waiting room."

A First North Western spokesman said: "We are determined that when Railtrack finally hands over the refurbished station we are able to keep it in a condition, which is of the highest standard for the passengers who use it.