BOLTON’S fed-up commuters WILL get extra seats on their morning rush-hour cattle-truck services into Manchester.

That is at least according to Prime Minister David Cameron who has once again stepped in to reassure us that more carriages are on the way.

They were strong words from Cameron.

He said “getting this sorted” remained a priority for the government.

“We fully expect Network Rail and Northern Rail to have this resolved early next year," he added.

"I have asked ministers to work with Network Rail and Northern Rail to get them to pull out the stops and make it happen as soon as possible.”

It is not often that Downing Street bothers itself on-small town issues like this — so why are they worried about little old Bolton at the moment?

The fact that the PM himself has effectively told Network Rail, Northern Rail and his ministers to pull out their collective finger and get on with it tells us two things.

One, Whitehall has finally realised how terrible a rail service their poor northern neighbours must put up with every day.

And two, not only are more trains "arriving soon" — but an election is too.

Labour has pretty much got two of the three borough seats sewn up — but Bolton West is a crunch constituency.

In 2010, Julie Hilling held the seat for Labour by just 92 votes.

Current polling suggests Labour will hold again by about 1,000 votes — but that is just a poll and the election is still six months away.

I echo our local MP David Crausby’s words over the new seats — I’ll believe it when I see it.

However, the fact that an election is just around the corner, means that time is of the essence for the government to get this sorted.

But there is a bigger issue here. People down south just wouldn’t put up with such a shoddy service.

In the north, we have been beaten down so much over the years by the London-centric government, that what would be considered unacceptable in London has become the norm for us — dirty, cramped, diesel trans.

Down south they already have an all-singing, all-dancing electrified service with trains built in the last decade, not the last century.

Our new carriages, by the way, will still be the same old dirty diesel carriages — there will just be more of them.

We’re getting hand-me-downs, once the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool line is complete. So we are still being treated like a poor cousin — even in the North West.

So let’s not be too grateful for these crumbs from the capital. We need to continue to demand better.

We must not settle for second best.