Railway line between Wigan and Bolton to close for 10 days
Travellers are warned they face disruption as the railway line between Wigan and Bolton will be closed for 10 days for electrification work.
Network Rail is planning to install overhead line equipment and improve signalling between Wigan North Western station and Lostock junction in Bolton.
It is part of the £100m project to electrify the route between Wigan and Bolton, which will make sure the track is ready for Northern’s longer, electric trains.
So engineers can carry out the work safely, there will be no trains running between Wigan and Bolton from Saturday, August 31 to Monday, September 9.
Instead, replacement buses will be used between Wigan North Western, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Ince and Lostock.
Sarah Bull, sponsor at Network Rail, said: “This 10-day rail closure is a major milestone in our work to electrify the line between Wigan and Bolton.
“We’ll be installing overhead equipment and improving signalling, readying the route for electric trains when they are introduced. I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience during this project.”
Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “I’d like to thank customers for their patience whilst this infrastructure improvement work takes place. We will have a fleet of rail replacement buses to get people where they want to be between Wigan North Western, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Ince and Lostock – but journey times are likely to be longer and so customers should plan accordingly.”
Passengers can plan their journeys and check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk or at www.northernrailway.co.uk.