Victoria cross

I sympathise with Jeff Davies, chairman of the Bolton Rail User Group, and his concerns about Platforms 3-6 at Manchester Victoria ( Open Access, RAIL 821).

On most days of the working week I commute using my senior concessionary pass to Manchester via Victoria, from my local station in Bromley Cross.

During the past 12 months I have pursued a personal campaign to try to persuade the authorities to install better lighting, clean glass panels and ask Northern to get its drivers to switch off diesel engines when trains come to a stop in the station. My personal view (as a sufferer of asthma) is that there is an unacceptable level of air pollution on the platforms which will still persist even when the Ordsall Chord is finished.

I started my campaign by writing to Northern (customer experience department), with little success. Some vinyl panels were applied to the glass footbridge over the platforms, but nothing else.

I then toured the circle of authorities to try to reach the highest level of management. I wrote to Alex Hynes when he was Northern MD, and then to Network Rail, whose reply I did not understand.

Writing to Transport for Greater Manchester produced a helpful letter, but it clearly signposted me to “the train operator”.

The Department for Transport’s response was equally unhelpful, and even involvement by my MP David Causby produced inconclusive comments.

Finally, I contacted the Office of Rail and Road. Some action resulted, but the cleaning and environment work was clearly carried out without care or enthusiasm (this work was supposed to be done with Network Rail).

Manchester Victoria’s Platforms 3-6 are supposed to be the showcase part of the station after the completion of the Ordsall Chord. The problem is that there is no railway champion - no overall boss to get matters improved or corrected.

And despite a drivers’ rule book on when to switch off engines, I have witnessed diesel engines being left on well beyond 20 minutes (the requirement). David Spencer, Bolton