PROPOSALS for a new rail station are usually good news, and the possibility of Westhoughton getting a station at Dobb Brow is generally welcome.

Dobb Brow is a mile from Daisy Hill and its station, and is currently highest on a list of 20 sites in Greater Manchester which could have new stations under the region's Local Transport Plan.

Little Hulton could also get a station, and Lostock station could have a second platform to allow trains to and from Wigan to stop there.

Such plans obviously have merit. Improved rail links offer increased job prospects for many residents who can look further afield, and they can make life easier for all.

Places like Westhoughton have certainly mushroomed over the last decade, with large housing estates swelling the population dramatically.

But -- and it is a large "but" -- most commuters would agree that there is very little point in opening new stations without improving the number of trains and adhering more strictly to current timetables.

The Bolton area's "cattle truck" rail conditions have already prompted adverse comments in Parliament about the local public transport system, following an expose by this newspaper.

Opening new stations may well be necessary and they may well be a big step towards improving community life. But if you asked the cramped passengers of Manchester-bound trains from this area, you would probably find that for them, this is not a top priority.

We would simply urge the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority to take steps now to vastly improve the daily service as a matter of urgency.

And, that when new stations are planned, they always include car-parks large enough to accommodate realistically estimated numbers of passengers.

If these conditions are not considered -- and before the first blueprint for any new station even hits the drawing board -- the rail services are simply breeding new hordes of unhappy commuters.