Passengers reminded to check before they travel this Saturday as 16 days of intensive work starts at Bolton station: Bolton station CGI still

Wednesday 9 Aug 2017

Passengers reminded to check before they travel this Saturday as 16 days of intensive work starts at Bolton station

Region & Route:
| North West & Central

As work continues to provide a better railway between Manchester and Preston, Bolton passengers are being reminded of changes to train services over the next few weeks.

For 16 days between Saturday 12 August and Sunday 27 August 2017, Network Rail’s orange army will continue work to upgrade the railway through Bolton in preparation for electric trains running on the line.

As a result, the majority of train services will not run in or out of Bolton until the first service on Monday 28 August 2017. However, trains will still run from Bolton to Blackburn and Clitheroe during weekdays and bus replacements will also be in use. Passengers are being urged to plan their journey ahead and check before they travel on www.nationalrail.co.uk.

The upgrade forms part of the £1bn+ Great North Rail Project which will see faster, electric trains between Manchester and Preston.

Mark Killick, chief operating officer for Network Rail, said: “These essential improvements will ensure the station is fit for use for many years to come as the demand on train services increase. The work will allow more trains to run between Manchester and Preston, enabling faster and more frequent journeys for passengers in Bolton.

“I understand the work will cause disruption for some people and I apologise but in the long term, the enhancement of the station will improve the passenger experience.”

Liam Sumpter, regional director for Northern, comments: “Great improvements are coming for our customers in the north west, and particularly those travelling through Bolton, with quicker journeys, longer trains and more frequent services. Before we can deliver that, essential large scale engineering work has to take place and we thank our customers for their patience while this happens.”

Work taking place includes: restoring an unused platform, modifying existing platforms and canopies as well as remodelling track, upgrading signalling and installing overhead line equipment.

Passengers can plan their journey and check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
07740 782954
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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