A NEW ticketing office and community hub should form part of Burnley’s new Manchester Road campaigners, according to rail campaigners.

Talks are ongoing for a major overhaul of the station, the town’s main public transport link to Yorkshire and Preston.

And now East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership has revealed more details of how a new interchange could look.

The partnership has secured £5,000 from the Community Rail Development Fund to draw up a masterplan for the station.

This would include a staffed booking and information facility for operators Northern Rail and community rooms which could be used either by a rail ambassador for Burnley or as an incubator unit for a fledgling business.

Lobbying is still continuing for the reinstatement of the Todmorden Curve, which would creater faster links to Manchester.

An ELCRP spokesman said: Currently the station is very basic, yet Burnley has a population of 73,200 and Manchester Road is the main station for the town.

“With this in mind passengers might expect to find a more welcoming environment. Instead they are greeted by an unstaffed halt, with inadequate shelters and no real-time information.

“The platforms are situated in a cutting and feel remote from Manchester Road and any form of natural surveillance.

“With growing patronage and the prospect of a Manchester service it was decided that is time to look at this station with a view to developing a thought-out and costed master plan for its development.”

Borough council chiefs have set aside £400,000 as they seek to secure new station buildings for the project.

Park and ride facilities are being discussed for the station and improved provisions for cyclists.

A Northern Rail spokesman said: “We will work closely with our partners and stakeholders to understand how the station can be improved to benefit our customers as much as possible.”