BURNLEY’S new, improved Rosegrove railway station has been officially opened.

The £150,000 revamp reflects its increased status following the start of services on the newly-restored Todmorden Curve in May.

The £8.8million project re-establishing direct train services between Burnley and Manchester has been accompanied by major improvements to stations on the route.

Yesterday’s ceremony confirmed that further work at Rosegrove would see a new bus interchange and car park on the Accrington Road side of the station by 2018.

With passengers on the new line predicted to double to nearly 100,000 over the next decade, the revamp of the station included a new waiting shelter and seating, a customer information screen showing ‘real-time’ train times, a ticket vending machine, and improved signs and information.

There are also new CCTV cameras, a passenger-operated help point, and a number of large trees on the platform have been removed to create a more open environment.

Community Rail Lancashire worked with Padiham Green CE Primary School and Lowerhouse Junior School to spruce up the station with £5,000 of new artwork.

Designs on the platform fence, station signs, and at the entrance are based on a story about a stickleback called ‘Small Fry’.

Rosegrove locomotive shed used to draw water from the adjacent Leeds and Liverpool Canal and was famous for the number of sticklebacks found in the water tanks of locomotives based there.

In June, the opening of the new £2.3million Manchester Road station in Burnley celebrated a new building, car park and real time information screens.

Burnley Council environment boss John Harbour said: “The relaunch of the Todmorden Curve service, providing Burnley with a direct train to Manchester for the first time in over 40 years, is another milestone in our economic growth.

“The redevelopment of the stationis another fantastic improvement on the line and I’m delighted we could get the community involved through schools to make it their own.”