RAIL-users at Blackburn Station’s busiest platform will have to brave the elements for another winter before a shelter can be built.

Plans to build a canopy over platform four - used by passengers travelling towards Preston and Manchester - have been held up because a new lift needs to be added first.

The platform is by far the busiest at the station.

It was not covered in a £6million upgrade in 2001 by former operator Railtrack as bosses thought it would only be used for emergencies.

Funding has been agreed for the long-awaited cover as part of a revamp that could cost up to £4million, but it is unlikely to take place until next year.

Keith Lumley, of Network Rail, said: “We’ve not got a contractor on board yet, but it’s definitely going to happen.

“We are going to install a new lift between the subway and the platform. We need to do the lift work first, and so the downside is that platform four will go another winter without a canopy. But if we can bring it forward we will do.”

Mr Lumley said the lift would be in place by the end of March as it has been budgeted for this financial year.

The work on platform four will see the current small structure, similar to a bus shelter, replaced by a larger canopy with more seats and new information screens that will be visible from inside the shelter. CCTV will be added alongside a windbreak at the back of the platform.

Blackburn with Darwen Council will contribute £150,000 towards the shelter, and Network Rail will pay for the rest of the project, including the new lift.

When news of the new dome-shaped shelter was first announced a year ago, it was hoped the work would have been completed by now.

Blackburn with Darwen council chief executive Graham Burgess said: “It has been delayed because Network Rail have decided to put in a disabled lift at the same time. Getting them both sorted has taken a bit more time.”