Preston-Bolton Closed

[BelleIsle]

The 0814 ex Preston got held after coming off the mainline due to severe track circuit failures between there and Bolton. It then drove through a landslide near Chorley tunnel. After a bumpy crawl up to the next signal (PN27?) it got permission to creep towards Bolton. Reversal and going via Wigan was discussed. Been announced that this is the last train this way for the foreseeable future.

 

[Francis]

Northern update at 20.34 on 27/12 tells us only:

"Manchester - Preston via Bolton

A landslide at Chorley (a picture can be seen here) means that trains cannot run between Preston and Bolton. Buses are replacing trains between these stations.

Some trains will be diverted via and call additionally at Wigan North Western"
Picture at
https://twitter.com/northernrailorg/status/681044086363688962

One Northern reply to a customer on Twitter two hours ago hopes the line will be open tomorrow.

The landslip looks as if it is on the west side of Chorley tunnel near the flying arches, but I could be wrong. More a question of whether the steep sides are safe or if there might be further landslips. Certainly will need an engineer's assessment of the stability of the cutting.

Annoying because we'd only just got a half-decent service back in Chorley (3 tph) after all the inconvenience of the Farnworth tunnel reconstruction. Must be pretty difficult keeping things running at the moment with all the floods and landslips though.