Work is to begin on a railway platform improvement project in Bolton.

Network Rail will start upgrading platforms at Bolton station from Sunday, 26 March.

Building work has already started to reinstate a fifth platform at the station, with work on the next phase involving reconstructing the station’s existing platforms and canopies..

The scheme forms part of Network Rail's £1 billion Great North Rail Project and will see improvements to train services between Manchester and Preston.


Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail said: "We are investing heavily in Bolton as part of our national Railway Upgrade Plan to provide passengers with the railway that will meet their needs for decades to come as well as help boost the economy across the north of England.

"To deliver it, significant engineering is required to improve the track layout, rebuild platforms, cut back canopies and make space for new equipment to power electric trains through Bolton from December 2017.

"We are also reinstating platform 5, which has been out of use since the early 1990s, to allow more trains to run between Manchester and Preston. The work is vital to modernising the railway and will help to create better, faster and more frequent journeys for passengers in Bolton."

(LM/CD)