Work starts in earnest this week on a £4 million renovation of Bolton railway station. The work is being funded by the Department for Transport’s National Stations Improvement Programme, although GMITA has contributed £950,000. The existing ticket hall at ground level will be totally remodelled to give four ticket windows and a new retail unit. In preparation for the work, the side-entrance on Trinity Street has been closed with the manned ticket barrier moving onto the pedestrian bridge itself in order to reduce congestion whilst improvement works continue.
At platform level, the existing waiting rooms will be totally renovated along with the toilet facilities – including disabled and baby changing facilities. The current glass annexe of the cafe on the southbound platform will be replaced with a more modern structure. A new platform canopy will be built between the footbridge and the existing station canopy in order to allow trains to stop closer to the footbridge without passengers getting wet. Lighting, seating and the platform surface will also be cleaned, repaired or replaced as necessary. New cycle stands will be located at the end of the platforms, with the existing bike lockers co-located there, and a new CCTV system is being installed.
With this work and the planned new bus interchange, Bolton seems to be getting a good deal on transport investment – perhaps as a consolation for not having any Metrolink lines. The work at the railway station is planned to be finished by summer next year.
[Image credit: “Waiting for the last train…” by Kerry Burnout on Flickr]
Manchester Transport blog 
Day 2 of the operation – there was a *huge* queue of people waiting to buy tickets at half eight this morning. The temporary ticket office in a portacabin outside hasn’t opened yet, but the existing ticket windows are partitioned off already. Ticket office staff seemed to be assisting passengers using the lone self-service ticket machine, but the queue was out of the doorway, with yet more queuing on the footbridge to buy tickets from the barrier staff.
Lets hope it gets the ‘plush’ treatment that Manchester’s bedroom ( aka Stockport/Hazel Grove ) stations get… one does notice that the south Manchester commuters get molly coddled more with preferential treatment as they commute to their beloved Manchester!
I doubt even Stockport can boast battenburg by the slice from its buffet, unlike Bolton.
Crumbs (of Battenberg) … it’s not that long (in railway terms) since Trinity Street was rebuilt last, and the station buildings moved to the other side of the street. Couldn’t they have done somewhere in greater need of a refurb first? Like, oh, I dunno, Victoria?
Day 3: temporary ticket office now open, self-service ticket machine now located outside ticket hall next to entrance. Passageway through ticket hall now fully partitioned off.
And is it true that Bolton will not see any of the promised electric trains from Manchester to Blackpool, as the wires will go via Atherton and Wigan?
I certainly hope it isn’t the case – still awaiting an official press release from the DfT.
No details in SoS Hammond’s statement.
Press release confirms Manchester to Preston – I think we can assume any change to the plans announced by Lord Adonis would have had to be made public.
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