Engineering works and bus replacements start

New rails and sleepers waiting to be installed at Walkden

Network Rail have started to re-new the track at Walkden, working overnight and on Sundays over the next month or so. The new rails and metal sleepers can be seen stacked up at the station already (left).

Bus Replacements

As of tomorrow there are no Sunday trains to or from Walkden until 7th August. Bus replacements will be provided but … they do not run to the same timetable, are slower, have no toilets, and will not carry wheelchairs, bikes or prams.

Late evening services during the week are also affected: from now until 12 September the 22.27 departure from Wigan and the 23.20 from Manchester will also be placed by buses every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Please refer to the National Rail Enquiries website for full details of the disruption and replacement buses if travelling on a Sunday or late weekday evening.

No more Sunday trains until August

Due to extensive engineering works along the line (track renewals and replacement of a bridge at Atherton), today’s  trains were the last ones to serve Walkden on a Sunday until August 7th.

A bus replacement timetable will operate instead, with 10 buses a day in each direction rather than the 8 trains we usually have, however the buses take much, much longer and do not carry prams or bicycles.

Note the buses call at the station at different times to the usual train services.

For full details of the Sunday bus replacement service running from next Sunday until August 7th, see the National Rail Enquiries website or download the timetable from Northern Rail,

The Black Hole of Walkden

Network Rail engineers have been working at the station today to repair the under-floor rafters on the Booking Office level entrance hall at Walkden station. The floor has been “spongey” in this area for a couple of years since a leaking pipe in the roof above (since repaired) gave the floor a good soaking.

Working hard on Father’s Day, we hope the engineers got the job done in time to see their kids today !

Bus replacements next week

The last train out from Victoria (the 23.20) is replaced by a bus each evening next week from Monday (6th June) until Thursday (9th June).

The usual warnings about the bus being slower, lacking toilets, cycle space etc apply.

Only the last Wigan-bound train of each evening is affected by bus replacement – all other services are due to run normally.