Passengers are being urged to check before they travel while £2.7m of essential drainage work to reduce flooding and improve the reliability of the railway between Bolton and Manchester takes place over the next five weekends.
Every weekend from 6 January to 4 February, bus replacement services will be in place at all railway stations between Bolton, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria while Network Rail completes vital drainage upgrades in response to recent storms.
Tom Carrington, project manager at Network Rail, said: “We are very sorry to weekend passengers travelling between Bolton and Manchester for the inconvenience to their journeys while we put in a better drainage system to future proof the railway from heavy rainfall experienced during recent storm events.
“While journeys can still take place between Bolton and Manchester via bus replacement services, and from Preston and Blackpool with train services diverting through Wigan, it’s important passengers know their travel options first by checking before they travel at nationalrail.co.uk.”
Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “I’d like to thank our customers for their co-operation and patience while these important works take place. It is important to allow more time for your journey during this period and if in doubt, ‘check before you travel’ on the Northern website.”
Every weekend from Saturday 6 January until Sunday 4 February, the railway between Bolton and Manchester will be closed while 1404 metres of new drainage pipes are laid and six foot trenches are dug to better manage water levels to keep passengers and freight on the move.
During the weekend closures of the line, Northern is providing bus replacement services between Bolton and Manchester Piccadilly. Trains from Blackpool North and Preston will divert via Wigan and services from Windermere and Barrow will start and terminate at Bolton. TransPennine Express services between Scotland and Manchester Airport will start and end at Preston.
