UK Network Rail is set to start platform improvements at Bolton station as part of plans to provide passengers with electric train services from December.

The latest work at Bolton will see improvements to train services between Manchester and Preston, and is part Network Rail’s more than £1bn Great North Rail Project.

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During the next phase of the upgrade, train services to and from Bolton will continue to run as normal.

Network Rail area director Terry Strickland 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 reinstating platform 5, which has been out of use since the early 1990s, to allow more trains to run between Manchester and Preston."

“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.”

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As part of the project’s next phase, the station’s existing platforms and canopies would be rebuilt in sections to allow the station to stay open and keep passengers on the move.

Sections of platforms 1 and 3 are planned to be fenced off to allow work to begin.

Some changes will also be made to train services to complete major track and signalling upgrades in Bolton.


Image: Bolton station ticket gates. Photo: courtesy of Network Rail.

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