Bolton railway station

Infobox UK station
name = Bolton
code = BON


manager = Northern Rail
locale = Bolton
borough = Bolton (borough)
start = 1838
platforms = 3 Through & 1 Bay
usage0405 = 1.868
usage0506 = 1.930
usage0607 = 1.952

Bolton railway station is the principal railway station in the town of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is located on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line and is managed by Northern Rail. The station is 11¼ miles (18 km) north west of Manchester Piccadilly.

The station is also served by the Ribble Valley Line, a local line running north to Blackburn and Clitheroe, services from Wigan Wallgate, as well as an important point on the Manchester-Preston Line, used by commuters.

Recent timetables provide a convenient connection (although a platform change must be made which is not possible for wheelchair users) at Hindley (Wigan, Kirkby and Southport bound trains from Bolton) for certain stations on the Atherton line (Daisy Hill, Hag Fold, Atherton and Walkden).

The station was originally called Bolton Trinity Street to differentiate it from Bolton Great Moor Street station which closed in 1954. [http://www.disused-stations.org.uk] It was also known as "Bridgeman Street Station" and "Bradford Square Station". [Harvnb|Bardsley|1960|p=7.]

The entrance and ticket office are at street level, at which there is a bus interchange. A walkway leads to the platforms which are in a cutting. The main island platform has a buffet.

The original main station building was demolished in the 1980s, but the Victorian buildings survive on the platforms. The clock tower was dismantled and rebuilt next to the new station.

History

The first station here opened as long ago as 1838 [Marshall, J (1981) "Forgotten Railways North-West England", David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0 7153 8003 6; p.12] , when the Manchester and Bolton Railway completed it's route from Salford Central (extended through to Manchester Victoria in 1843). This line was then extended to Preston by the Bolton & Preston Railway in 1841. The route northwards to Blackburn followed four years later, whilst the Liverpool and Bury Railway's arrival in 1848 gave the town links eastward to Bury & Rochdale and westwards to Wigan & Liverpool. These lines had all become part of the expanding Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway system by 1858.

The network of routes radiating from here have remained largely unchanged to this day, the one notable loss being the line to Rochdale which was closed on 5 October 1970 [Marshall, J (1981) "Forgotten Railways North-West England", David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott. ISBN 0 7153 8003 6; p.45] . Through trains to Liverpool ended in 1977 with the closure of Liverpool Exchange, but the line to Wigan remains open.

Trains to Manchester Piccadilly and beyond began running in May 1988 with the opening of the Windsor Link.

Refurbishment

From 2005 into 2006, part of the station and its surrounding area underwent major refurbishment.The walkway between the ticket office and platforms was modernised along with the station lifts and stairs.

The Bolton Interchange which serves as a direct connection between Bus and Rail to certain districts of Bolton was rebuilt, incorporating a taxi rank. The bridge connecting Newport Street with the rest of the town centre was also rebuilt, along with a large arc, which is clearly noticeable in the Bolton skyline.

A proposal to refurbish the station toilets, waiting rooms, ticket office and platforms has been rejected several times due to lack of funds. [http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk//display.var.926290.0.2m_station_revamp_hits_the_buffers.php]

ervices

There are frequent services to both main Manchester stations provided by both Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express. Many of the services to Manchester Victoria continue eastward to Rochdale, whilst those to Piccadilly mainly run to either Buxton or Manchester Airport. There are three trains an hour to Wigan for much of the day, with hourly extensions to Southport plus two trains an hour to Blackpool North via Preston and an hourly service to Blackburn and Clitheroe (with extras at peak periods). TransPennine Express also operate through services from here to Barrow-in-Furness (two-hourly), Windermere (limited service), Glasgow (three trains per day) and Edinburgh Waverley (four trains per day). There is also a single service to and from Glasgow operated by Virgin Trains in the current timetable, but this is due to end in December 2008. [http://www.gmpta.gov.uk/uploads/agendas/1/110/Reports/Item%2011%20Dec%2008%20Rail%20Timetable%20(%201%20February%202008).pdf]

Most routes have an hourly service on Sundays, although there is only a limited service to/from Scotland.

Notes

Bibliography

*citation |last=Bardsley |first=James Rodney |title=The railways of Bolton, 1824-1959 |publisher=J.R.Bardsley | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2vBlGwAACAAJ |year=1960|asin=B0000CKNFN

External links

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