Thursday 22 Jun 2023
Six-day railway closure from Saturday between Wigan and Bolton
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
- | North West & Central: North West
Rail passengers are being advised of a six-day railway closure between Wigan and Bolton from this Saturday while work continues on the electrification of the line.
Network Rail is progressing with a £78m investment to upgrade the 6.5-mile stretch of railway* to enable electric trains to serve the key North West towns in the future.
In preparation for the installation of high-voltage overhead electricity cables, alterations need to be made to 17 railway structures along the route.
One of those is Ladies Lane bridge in Hindley, which needs to be taken down and a modern, more reliable structure rebuilt in its place.
Work began in March when the road was closed but has taken longer than expected due to issues aligning the railway work with utility companies.
Now a further six-day railway closure is needed for engineers to demolish the old structure above the tracks without trains running beneath.
To keep passengers on the move between Saturday 24 and Friday 30 June, replacement buses will run between Wigan, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Ince and Lostock**.
People planning rail travel between Wigan and Bolton between those dates are being advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk in advance and to allow extra time for their journeys.
Claire Davis, scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “We’re sorry to passengers, residents and businesses in Hindley facing additional disruption due to challenges we’ve faced with the bridge demolition and reconstruction. We thank you for your continued patience and support while we carry out this major bridge upgrade, which will secure the town’s vital railway link for generations to come.
“While rail replacement buses will be in operation to keep passengers on the move, journeys will take longer and I’d advise people to check National Rail Enquiries so they know exactly what to expect while travelling between 24 and 30 June.
The road closure is also being extended until 1 September, with a diversion route in place for road users.
For more information on railway electrification visit:
Notes to Editors
*The 6.5-mile route has two railway lines running in either direction which means a total of 13 miles of track will eventually have overhead electric lines installed above to power cleaner, greener trains in future.
** The work at Hindley from 24-30 June blocks the line completely for through services between Wigan and Manchester so buses will operate between Wigan to Bolton via Westhoughton and Wigan to Manchester via Atherton line (Ince, Hindley, Daisy Hill, Hagfold, Atherton, Swinton all affected stations.) Services will resume on the morning of Friday 30 June. Please note that during this closure, there will also be a bus replacement service between Kirkby and Wigan Wallgate via Rainford.
A temporary walkway has been provided to the west of the existing bridge during the construction work, to give pedestrians access over the railway line. Access for cars and motorcycles will not be permitted until Friday 1 September across Ladies Lane railway bridge. Cyclists must dismount to cross the temporary walkway. The use of this walkway for pedestrians will not be permitted whilst the bridge demolition operations are in progress and whilst we undertake lifting operations to ensure the traveling public’s safety. This means a footpath diversion will be in place from the evening of Friday 23 June to the morning of Tuesday 27 June.
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
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
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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