£5m work starts on new Blackburn bus station

Work on Blackburn’s new bus station has started. The construction of the new facility is the first phase of the Pennine Reach scheme, a £40m transport project intended to improve transport infrastructure on the Accrington – Blackburn – Darwen corridor. The new site will have 14 stands fitted with the latest bus journey planning technology. It will be fully manned, improving security and providing the travelling public with customer information and ticket purchasing facilities. Due to be completed in January 2015, it will also provide refreshments and toilet facilities. An interim bus station has been built nearby the construction site while the new one is being built.

Pennine Reach is funded by the DfT and is jointly led by the two local highway authorities: Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Lancashire County Council. It aims to reduce congestion on the road network, reduce journey times and improve the reliability of bus services, improve economic growth by unlocking development sites and improving public transport access to key strategic employment sites and support the regeneration of Pennine Lancashire’s towns. Through a mix of highway improvements, new technology and high quality buses operating along improved routes with greater ticketing choices, the scheme is designed to make public transport more attractive and a real alternative to the private car.