At the end of this month, the railway line between Wigan and Bolton in Greater Manchester will be closed and train services suspended for ten days while work takes place in connection with the line’s electrification.

The closure is required as part of a £100m project to future-proof the line.

Network Rail engineers will be installing overhead line equipment and upgrading the signalling between Wigan North Western station and Lostock Junction in Bolton.

Once the work is complete, the line will be able to accommodate Northern‘s longer, electric trains when they are introduced along the route.

The project has been underway for some time and is progressing well. The upcoming closure will allow engineers to install the electric overhead line equipment required to power the greener, quieter trains when they are introduced.

To allow engineers to carry out the work safely, there will be no train services between Wigan and Bolton from Saturday, 31st August to Monday, 9th September. Rail-replacement bus services will operate between Wigan North Western, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Ince, and Lostock.

Customers planning to travel during the period of closure should plan their journeys in advance and check before they travel at www.nationrail.co.uk or at www.northernrailway.co.uk.

The current work follows a six-day closure of the line in June last year

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.

Sarah Bull, sponsor at Network Rail

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.

Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern