Passengers advised of ten-day rail closure for electrification upgrade

Journeys between Wigan and Bolton will be disrupted later this month while work continues to electrify and improve the railway in the north west of England.

As part of the work to future proof the track, Network Rail will install overhead line equipment and improve signalling between Wigan North Western station and Lostock junction in Bolton.

The £100m investment will make sure the track is ready for Northern’s longer, electric trains when they are introduced along the route.

The project is progressing well, and engineers are preparing to install the electric overhead line equipment, which will power the greener, quieter trains in future.

So engineers can carry out the work safely, there will be no trains running between Wigan and Bolton from Saturday 31 August to Monday 9 September.

To keep passengers on the move, replacement buses will be in place between Wigan North Western, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Ince and Lostock.

Sarah Bull, sponsor at Network Rail, said: “ This ten-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.”