It added that the transfer of the head office to Buffalo would allow it to be closer to its customers and to compete better with American rivals.. THE PRIVATISATION of British Nuclear Fuels, the state-owned reprocessing company that owns Sellafield, is likely to go ahead in the next 18 months and could raise almost pounds 3bn for the Government. The Association of British Insurers, which has been co-ordinating the campaign against the move, said the LSE ruling would "satisfy the requirements of a number of institutions, but it will not be a matter of substance for the majority of the shareholders".The ABI has recently urged the company to address shareholders' concerns and give UK-based investors a "compelling reason for the move".At the time of last month's surprise announcement, Lucas said the change of listing was needed because the majority of its shareholders were now from the US. We are confident that the move will be approved at the meeting."However, some shareholders are concerned that the London-listed security will be extremely illiquid, making UK dealings in Lucas difficult and expensive. It will allay the fears of some UK institutions opposed to the move.In meetings with the company last week they argued that they would have been forced to sell their stakes in the company as they were prevented from investing in US companies.

However, it is thought that some Lucas investors, which include Schroders, Mercury Asset Management and Prudential, still have doubts about the move and are threatening to vote against it at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on 6 November.A LucasVarity spokesman said: "This decision will be welcomed by a number of UK institutions. The LSE ruled that UK shareholders would be able to retain a new set of shares to be issued when the car parts and aerospace group moves its headquarters and primary listing to the US. The exchange at first ruled that the new shares had to be exchanged for stock in the new US holding company within 18 months, but agreed to lift this after intense pressure from the company. The ruling enables Lucas, formed in 1996 by the merger of Lucas Industries and Varity of the US, to maintain a secondary listing in London. THE LONDON Stock Exchange yesterday removed one barrier to LucasVarity's transfer of its listing to New York when it allowed UK investors to keep their London-listed shares in the Anglo-US engineer. The loos are beyond belief, filthy, most of the cubicles boarded up, no adequate wash facilities and a pervading, repulsive smell," he wrote. Railtrack said it was aware that Bournemouth, which has been under repair since the 1987 storms, was probably the worst station in the South-east.A spokesman said the company had agreed a pounds 6.7m package to restore the listed building by spring 2000."This will reinstate the roof and really return the station to its former glory." A common thread running through the nominations was the feeling of fear and disgust that travellers felt while waiting for trains.St James Street in Walthamstow, east London, on the WAGN line to Chingford, was described as "crumbling, dirty, smelly, graffiti-covered and totally uninviting" by one reader who said that, for lone passengers, particularly at night, the perception is of a dangerous, insecure place.Another described it simply as "disgusting".WAGN's station at Hackney Downs, east London, boasted graffiti and a smell of urine, while platform indicators have not worked for six months, according to one reader, who found that complaints to staff were often met with rudeness."Hackney Downs, like the school of the same name closed by the Government, is obviously a sink station," he wrote.Birkbeck, which is on the line to Beckenham Junction in south London was "smelly and overgrown", boasting a vandalised ticket office and a loudspeaker system that did not work.The Independent staff's nomination, Kentish Town West, in north London, was supported by a reader who said that he had not paid a fare there for six years, as it had been impossible to buy one, from staff or a machine, while the "nauseating stench" kept the gangs of local children away.On The Wrong TrackBad stations nominated by Independent readers include:Bexhill, East SussexBirmingham New Street, West MidlandsBlackpool, LancashireBournemouth, DorsetCambridge Heath, LondonCarnforth, LancashireGuildford, SurreyHackney Downs, LondonKentish Town West, LondonLondon Fields, LondonLuton, BedfordshireMiddlesbrough, ClevelandNuneaton, West MidlandsPaddington, LondonRochdale, Greater ManchesterReedham, NorfolkRowland Castle, HampshireSt James Street, LondonSouth Croydon, south LondonStratford, east London.

"We know the station needs work but there is no point doing that work if plans from outside parties mean ripping it all out again."Meanwhile Carnforth's history as a railway town fades further into memory. It once boasted a museum for steam railways but that closed down two years ago.. THE INDEPENDENT'S appeal has exposed concern over the many stations, mainline terminals and unstaffed halts that have been deprived of cash for years. Bournemouth, another historic railway building in a poor state of repair, was a close contender for the title. The station was nominated by Gordon Roe, former bishop of Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire.

"Scaffolding has been up for ever and fences off most of the few seats there are on the platform. When it rains the roof leaks everywhere and there is nowhere to hide. "It was the last Government that got it wrong, I'm afraid to say. It would be nice if rail travel was made more pleasant, but behind that is changing the manning levels that they have now," he said.Two men on a business trip, one from Kendal and the other from Wigan, who made a futile attempt to find the non-existent station toilet, find it hard to believe a location with such a pedigree could be in that state."If this was in America someone would have come along and turned this into a tourist attraction," said one.Two years ago Railtrack announced plans to create a museum, a small cinema and a theme restaurant in the buildings Lean used for the film.Yesterday a spokesman said the station was a "victim of its own fame" as the plans to create a Brief Encounter theme park meant Railtrack could not spend money on temporary repairs on buildings that might have to be knocked down.He said the consortium behind the plans was still waiting to hear whether it had been awarded a National Lottery grant. They come expecting to see a little bit of nostalgia and all they get is a scene out of Mad Max."Geoffrey West, 84, said he hoped that Richard Branson, whose Virgin trains pass through Carnforth, might use his energy to revitalise the station. "They have all seen the film and the part set in the refreshment room. They come to the sandwich bar where I work and ask for the station and I know they will be disappointed.

Never mind a cafe and waiting room there are no drinks machines or toilets."It looks like the station from Hell - cold and unwelcoming."She said tourists and film buffs flocked from across the world to visit the location for the film. Everywhere you look it is just falling to pieces and the windows are boarded up. It is a terrible thing."Carnforth has been chosen as the winner of The Independent's Worst Station Award in recognition of its present poor state of repair, especially when compared with its previous glory and the obvious potential for improvement.We asked readers to nominate their candidates for stations that needed urgent investment after Railtrack handed out awards to 20 of its best stations.Susan Howard, also from Halton, who nominated Carnforth, also recalled the station from when she was a child Standing on the platform, she shook her head "There isn't a facility in sight. They fall in love but, as both are married, observe the strict moral code of the day. The refreshment room - like all the other station buildings - is boarded up. There is broken glass on the platform, stalactites hang down from the ceiling, the underpass is allegedly a haunt for drug users and rain falls through the missing panes of the glass roof.Alf Bergus, 84, from Halton near Lancaster, who was the fireman on the train in the film and who worked on the railways for 45 years, remembers the station's prouder days.Now, looking at the broken platform clock that featured in the film, he says: "I have been here a few times since and to be honest there are many times I could cry.