News

You can download and print this trip from the above link, or look at the complete list of one hundred trips here.

Rail Company bids to run new high-speed Bradford - Eccles - London service

March 2011: Alliance Rail is to put in an updated bid to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to run a new two-hourly high speed rail service between Bradford and London, calling at Eccles, from December 2013. If the bid is successful, Alliance Rail will modernise Eccles Station and provide lifts to the platforms, which would be a great improvement. The ORR has called on the rail industry to develop a new timetable for the West Coast Main Line from that date, and Alliance Rail are hoping that will leave the way open for them to introduce their proposed service. Read Alliance Rail's Briefing Note on WCML Track Access Rights.

Funding agreed for improvements at Eccles Station

At its meeting on 14th January 2011, the Capital Projects Committee of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) agreed to contribute £50,000 towards a new booking office and associated facilities for Eccles Station. Network Rail have already provisionally allocated £150,000 towards the scheme under its National Station Improvement Programme (NSIP) Tranche 2. GMITA Report

In addition, Salford City Council propose to make a contrubution (through the Eccles Community Committee) of £60,000 towards improvement of the station forecourt, subject to the booking office being replaced.

We will keep you updated with further information on both schemes as it become available.

30 November 2010: Heritage Posters installed at Eccles Station

Eccles Station Open Day - 11 September 2011

Eccles Station Open Day - see our full report

FRECCLES celebrated its 5th Birthday with an open day at the station and gardens on Saturday 11th September, officially opened by the Mayor of Salford, Cllr George Wilson.Despite the weather there was a tremendous turnout, and everyone had a very good time.

September 2010: FRECCLES wins 3rd prize in National Award for Station Garden !

FRECCLES are pleased to announce that the gardens and planters that they have been creating over the past five years at Eccles station have been awarded Third place by the judges from the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) "in recognition for their outstanding achievement in the category of Station Garden or Floral Display" in the national Community Rail Awards 2010.

The award was presented at a gala dinner and presentation ceremony held at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff on Sea in Essex on Friday 24th September 2010. Elizabeth Charnley, Secretary of FRECCLES for the past five years, received the award on behalf of her colleagues at FRECCLES.

Speaking after the ceremony, Elizabeth Charnley said

"This award is a superb achievement and recognition of our work over the past five years and spurs us on even more to continue our work going forwards to maintain the work we have already done and continue with our plans for an alpine rockery and a wildlife garden on the Liverpool-bound platform. We would like to thank all those who have supported us so far with funding or assistance, including Eccles Community Committee, Salford City Council, Northern Rail, Network Rail, O2 (It's your community) and GMPTE.

This award truly belongs to all our members who have turned out (in all weathers) at the clearing, planting and planning sessions over the past five years or have given us donations and subscriptions to help pay for the plants, bulbs and equipment that have produced the display we have today and has won us this award. When we started five years ago, the station looked very unloved and unwanted and was not an attractive place to catch a train to or from. The award is such a wonderful crowning glory to the same month that we celebrate our fifth birthday and stage our first open day that included tours of what is now our award winning garden!

Recently, a senior member of railway management staff referred to our station as a 'flagship on the line', something that we are immensely proud of, but to have our work recognised independently and nationally is something very special and makes all the hard work worthwhile. We have been advised that the 'Station Gardens or Floral Display' category is one of the most keenly contested in the Awards and to receive a place in the category is a real achievement.

Our work will continue and we will be meeting again for the next clearup and planting session on the first Sunday of every month at 11am if anyone (over the age of 18) would like to come and help us in our work, please come along to the station on the day or give us a ring on 0161 789 5016 or email info@freccles.org.uk"

September 2010: More Days Out from Eccles Station

The first fifty itineraries in Trips out from Eccles Station have proved to be quite popular! Therefore Jim Rayner has produced fifty new ones in a companion volume, More Days Out from Eccles Station, published to mark the 180th anniversary of the opening of Eccles Railway Station. Copies are available from Jim for £4 and the individual walks are available here on the Freccles website.

5th August 2010: Freccles gardens short listed for award

The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) introduced Community Rail Awards in 2005 so that "the unsung heroes and heroines of the community rail world would have their hard work and dedication publicly recognised and rewarded. The emphasis of the awards is on rewarding excellence and promoting best practice in community rail development, recognising ordinary people doing extraordinary things on behalf of the railway and the community."

ACoRP has just published the short list for this year's awards and Freccles has been shortlisted in the "Best Station Garden or Floral display" section. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Westcliffe-on-Sea on 24th September.

Here are the finalists:

• Hutton Cranswick
• Freccles
• Stonehaven
• Poulton-le-Fylde
• North Berwick
• Cupar

We'll keep you posted on the outcome. Wish us luck!

Eccles Station garden in May 2010

3 April 2010: New interchange signs for Eccles Station

After a long campaign by FRECCLES, new interchange signs have been erected on both platforms at Eccles station. They indicate that passengers can alight at Eccles to change for trams to Salford Quays, or for buses to the Trafford Centre.

FRECCLES would like to thank the GMPTE and Northern Rail for jointly funding these new signs. We hope they are the first step towards making Eccles an important interchange hub between rail, tram and bus.

23 July 2009: Government announces electrification of Manchester - Liverpool line

The Department for Transport has announced that work is to start immediately on the Electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool railway line through Eccles. The work will take 4 years to complete. Passengers will notice improvements to speed, reliability and comfort as electric trains are not only quicker, but quieter, smoother and more reliable than diesels.

FRECCLES will campaign hard to ensure that Eccles gets a frequent train service to both Manchester and Liverpool when electrification is completed.

June 2009: Book Trips Out from Eccles Station Launched at Eccles Gateway centre

Friends of Eccles Station (Freccles) member and volunteer Jim Rayner has written and published his first volume of 'Trips Out from Eccles Station' and the official launch and presentation of copies of the book for Eccles, Hope and Winton Libraries was held on Monday 29th June 2009.

The book is a collection of 50 trips that are designed to inspire people to explore greater Manchester and further afield in their leisure time but with the starting & finishing point always at Eccles or Patricroft railway stations.

Jim (Rayner) says "For longer than I'm prepared to admit, I have taken little trips out from Eccles or Patricroft stations and I have compiled them to be a source of inspiration and promote travel by train from our local stations. These fifty trips are intended mainly to be pleasurable rather than challenging. Most of the walks can be fitted into a morning, afternoon or an early evening in summer."

The funding for the publication and printing was granted to Freccles by Eccles Community Committee and members of Freccles and other local people joined Jim as he talked about his book and presented the copies to Hannah Quinlan from Eccles Library.

The libraries at Eccles, Hope and Winton have copies of the book available for reference and photocopies can be made of walks of interest.

Elizabeth Charnley, Secretary of Freccles says "We are very proud of Jim's excellent and inspiring work and hope that it will encourage more people to use the train from Eccles station to start their leisure trips out. As part of their journey they will be able to see the work Freccles has been doing to change the look of the station.

We welcome new people to join us with our work on the station, no special skills required; we need people who are happy to do a spot of light weeding or litter clearing through to people to help us with heavier work such as digging and lifting.

Since we started in 2005 we have secured several thousand pounds worth of cash funding and other benefits that have made a vast improvement to a once neglected eyesore station. We regularly receive positive comments from people who have not visited the station for a while and from railway staff who say that it is a pleasure to stop at Eccles Station and see the changes."

6th December 2008: World Heritage Site bid for Liverpool and Manchester Railway ?

Salford City Council is bidding for the historic Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which includes Eccles station, to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The line, the first main line passenger railway line in the world, opened in 1830. Manchester Evening News, 6/12/2008

21 October 2008: Freccles representatives at House of Commons Reception

Janice Clapham and Elizabeth Charnley were privileged to be invited to the House of Commons to take part in a reception for groups that had received funding from the O₂ It's your community fund. O₂ have made this splendid banner for Freccles, depicting enthusiastic Freccles gardeners !

16th November 2007: Bishop of Manchester joins Freccles

Members of Freccles were invited to meet the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, when he arrived at Eccles Station on the 16:01 from Manchester Victoria as part of his pilgrimage visit to Eccles on Friday 16th November 2007. Read the full story here.

24th September 2007: Christopher Eccleston unveils new mural at Eccles Station

To mark its second anniversary, FRECCLES has commissioned an exciting mural, which was unveiled at Eccles station on 24th September 2007 by local actor Christopher Eccleston. Chris is an old boy of Eccles College, four of whose arts students designed the mural.

The mural, which invites visitors to Eccles to discover the past, present and future of the town, incorporates historical and contemporary motifs, including eight Eccles cakes. It marks an important step in the improvement of Eccles station and its facilities, which is one of the main aims of FRECCLES. Full report and photos.