Nelson bus-rail interchange station wins top award

The interchange was presented with a plaque during a special ceremony held on site last week.

The recognition comes as part of the Safer Travel Unit SafeMark Scheme, which is an opportunity for Lancashire’s bus stations to improve security and display to their customers their desire to reduce crime.

Recognising the public’s fear of crime at stations, the scheme provides an incentive to station operators to improve security and provide reassurance to passengers and staff.

The award establishes standards of good practice and accredits individual stations which have worked with the Safer Travel Unit, Lancashire Constabulary and other local partners to implement security measures.

Sgt. Natasha Shaw, from Nelson police, said: “I am pleased the bus station has been recognised for achieving high standards of security. We work closely with the station and Safer Travel Unit to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and I hope this recognition helps to increase feelings of safety among passengers using the buses in Nelson.”

Linzi O’Donnell, lead officer at the Safer Travel Unit, said: “SafeMark is an accreditation process managed by the Safer Travel Unit and Lancashire Constabulary for public transport facilities, where minimum requirements must be met in areas such as passenger security, ability to deal with incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour, maintenance of facilities and staff training.

“It is a preventative measure and aims to support staff and promote the feeling of safety and security for passengers and the general public.”