Bolton Interchange

Bolton
View of platforms 1-4 (right to left) looking northwards
Location
Place	Bolton
Local authority	Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
Coordinates
Grid reference	SD719086
Operations
Station code	BON
Managed by	Northern Rail
Number of platforms	4 (soon to be 5)
DfT category	C1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	1.868 million
2005/06	1.930 million
2006/07	1.952 million
2007/08	2.098 million
2008/09	2.771 million
2009/10	2.834 million
2010/11	3.059 million
2011/12	3.259 million
- Interchange	0.618 million
2012/13	3.583 million
- Interchange	0.625 million
2013/14	3.695 million
- Interchange	0.592 million
2014/15	3.519 million
- Interchange	0.499 million
History
Key dates	Opened 1838 (1838)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bolton from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

File:Bolton (Trinity Street) Station, entrance - geograph.org.uk - 1845173.jpg

The former station buildings (demolished in the 1980s), seen from the Bradshawgate end of Trinity Street

Bolton Interchange is a transport interchange combining Bolton railway station and a four stand bus station in the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. The station is located on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line and is managed by Northern Rail. The station is north west of Manchester Piccadilly.

The railway station was originally named Bolton Trinity Street to differentiate it from nearby Bolton Great Moor Street station which closed in 1954. The station was also known as "Bridgeman Street Station" and "Bradford Square Station".

The entrance and ticket office are at street level, at which there is a bus interchange and taxi rank. 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.

The station is on the Ribble Valley Line, a local line running north to Blackburn and Clitheroe. There are services used by commuters from Wigan Wallgate and on the Manchester to Preston Line. 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).

History

Trinity Street station opened when the Manchester and Bolton Railway completed its route to Salford Central in 1838. The line extended to Manchester Victoria in 1843. This line was extended to Preston by the Bolton and Preston Railway in 1841. The route northwards, now the Ribble Valley Line, 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 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway system by 1858.

The network of routes radiating from here has remained largely unchanged to this day, the one exception being the line to Rochdale which closed on 5 October 1970. Through trains to Liverpool ended in 1977 with the closure of Liverpool Exchange station, 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.

File:Bolton Trinity Street railway station 2118121 46569013.jpg

View northward from the main Down platform in 1965

File:Bolton Trinity Street 2 railway station geograph-2143685.jpg

Up empties train in the snow in 1962

File:Bolton Trinity Street 3 Stationgeograph-2161601.jpg

Down iron ore train running through in 1963

File:Bolton Trinity Street 3 railway station geograph-2206888-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg

The north end of the station in 1963

Although Bolton is a major station, ticket barriers are not installed; tickets are usually manually checked at the main entrance.

Platforms

The station currently has four platforms in use.

• Platform 1 is used for trains heading north to Blackburn and Clitheroe, and trains heading south to Manchester Victoria.
• Platform 2 is situated at the southern end of the station and allows for trains from the Manchester stations to terminate at Bolton.
• Platform 3 is used for trains heading to Manchester Victoria, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport, Rochdale, Stockport, Hazel Grove, Buxton and Chester.
• Platform 4 is used for trains heading north and west including Wigan, Southport, Kirkby, Preston, Blackpool, Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere.

Up until the early 1990s, Bolton also had a Platform 5, latterly used for the Red Star Parcels service. This is currently separated from Platform 4 by a brick wall and the track has been concreted over to form a car park for passenger use.

The old platform 5 is being rebuilt to increase capacity

Refurbishment

In 2005 and 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. 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 arch, which is clearly noticeable in the Bolton skyline.

In 2006 a proposal to refurbish the station toilets, waiting rooms, ticket office and platforms was rejected due to lack of funds. In March 2010, GMPTE launched a consultation which proposed relocating Bolton bus station from Moor Lane to a new site adjacent to Bolton Interchange to improve connections between bus and train services. Refurbishment work on the ticket office, platforms and cafe commenced on 15 November 2010.

Transport for Greater Manchester is working with Kier Construction to build a brand new bus and rail interchange, which will also include a Cycle Hub. This will make it easier for local people to use public transport by bringing bus, cycle and rail services closer together.

The new interchange, being built on land bounded by Newport Street and Great Moor Street, will replace the existing Moor Lane bus station and provide vastly improved waiting areas, passenger facilities, information, safety and security. It will directly connect bus and rail services via a Skylink pedestrian footbridge, improving transport links, as well as access to the town centre.

The new interchange will offer enhanced accessibility with a modern concourse and passenger facilities including a retail outlet, cycle hub, shop mobility, café and modern public toilets including adult and baby changing facilities. It will also make use of innovative sustainable energy initiatives, including rainwater recycling to flush the toilets, solar panels, air source heat pumps and low-energy LED lighting.

The new transport interchange is being delivered by Kier Construction for TfGM in partnership with Bolton Council. The £48 million scheme is being funded by the Greater Manchester Transport Fund and will support the Bolton Town Centre Transport Strategy and the wider town centre regeneration plans.

Electrification

From May 2015 until December 2015, to facilitate the electrification of the route from Manchester to Preston a reduced service pattern was be in place as only one track through the Farnworth Tunnel could be used. During this period, many TransPennine Express services were re-routed via Wigan North Western avoiding Bolton altogether. At the weekends train services between Manchester and Bolton were replaced by buses.

Services

Rail

There are frequent rail services to both main Manchester stations provided by both Northern Rail and First TransPennine Express. Some of the services to Manchester Victoria continue eastward to Rochdale, whilst those to Piccadilly mainly run to either Hazel Grove 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 a number of through services beyond Preston to Barrow-in-Furness and Windermere. Prior to the December 2013 timetable change, a two-hourly service operated to and from Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central (alternating), but now most of these Scottish services on this route now run via Wigan North Western and the newly electrified line over Chat Moss. A small number of Scottish peak services still operated via Bolton/Wigan North Western and Bolton/Chorley using diesel traction until December 2014. There was also a single service to and from Glasgow operated by Virgin Trains in the 2007–08 timetable, but this ended in December 2008.

Most routes have an hourly service on Sundays. Services on the Southport line run through to Stockport and (every second hour) to Chester via Altrincham.

TPE services to and from the station will cease in April 2016, when the new Northern and TransPennine Express franchise agreements come into force. Services from Manchester Airport to Windermere, Barrow & Blackpool North will then be operated by the new Northern franchise holder Arriva Rail North under their Northern Connect brand, with improvements in service frequencies on the two former routes to follow.

Virgin Trains, who operate the InterCity West Coast franchise have committed to commencing services direct to London Euston. These services will start once electrification of the Manchester to Preston line, due to be finished in December 2016, is complete.

Bus

Several bus companies provide a comprehensive route network of services around Bolton and the surrounding areas on behalf of GMPTE: Arriva North West, Stagecoach, Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, Cumfybus, First Manchester, Diamond Bus North West, Lancashire United and Rosso.

Other bus companies also provide services to/from Bolton, including: Manchester Community Transport (Route 22 Evenings only between Bolton and Stockport), UK Coachways (Routes 535 Bolton to Belmont and 537 Bolton to Sharples Estate offering up to 4 buses per day on each route); National Express (Aberdeen / Birmingham / London)

External links

• Train times and station information for Bolton Interchange from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Westhoughton		Northern Rail Manchester to Southport Line		Salford Crescent or Moses Gate
Hall i' th' Wood		Northern Rail Ribble Valley Line		Salford Crescent
Lostock		Northern Rail Manchester to Preston Line		Salford Crescent
Chorley		Northern Rail Blackpool to York Line		Manchester Victoria
Lostock or Westhoughton or Hall i' th' Wood or Terminus		Northern Rail Buxton Line		Salford Crescent
Westhoughton		Northern Rail Mid-Cheshire Line or Hazel Grove/Manchester Airport/Manchester Piccadilly–Southport/Wigan Wallgate		Salford Crescent
Chorley or Horwich Parkway or Lostock		TransPennine Express TransPennine Express Manchester–Preston		Salford Crescent
Chorley or Horwich Parkway		TransPennine Express Manchester–Blackpool/Windermere/Barrow		Salford Crescent
Wigan North Western or Chorley		TransPennine Express TransPennine Express Manchester–Glasgow/Edinburgh		Manchester Oxford Road
	Historical railways
The Oaks Line open, station closed		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway		Moses Gate Line and station open
	Disused railways
Lostock Junction Line and station open		Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Liverpool and Bury Railway		Darcy Lever Line and station closed