THIS could be the scheme that helps get Bolton back on track.

Julie Hilling, MP for Bolton West has met engineering bosses who are widening a rail tunnel in Yorkshire.

The same method will be used on tunnels in Farnworth when Bolton’s railways are electrified.

Ms Hilling and Cllr David Chadwick, Bolton Council’s cabinet member for transport, visited the Holme tunnel in West Yorkshire to see how train bosses are preparing to electrify the Bolton line.

They joined Network Rail and construction company AMCO for a tour of the engineering works.

Ms Hilling, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group Rail in the North, championed our Let’s Get Back on Track campaign which called for an end to our town’s “cattle-truck trains”.

But she warned that while infrastructure improvement was welcome, it would not solve overcrowding problems now.

She said: “It was great to visit Holme tunnel and see how the work is being carried out. A similar process will be used on the Farnworth Tunnels next year when work will be carried out to enlarge the tunnel to allow the line to be electrified.”

The Bolton News presented a petition to 10 Downing Street with almost 1,500 signatures calling on the government to act on overcrowded carriages.

Bolton’s three MPs — Ms Hilling, Yasmin Qureshi and David Crausby — also met Department for Transport bosses to discuss solutions.