PEOPLE in Bolton are set for more travel misery with lengthy road and rail delays on the way.

Starting from Monday, one lane of the southbound carriageway on the A666 between Manchester Road and the Kearsley Spur will be closed for five weeks — with a 40 mph speed limit then enforced on both lanes of the carriageway for the following five months.

The news is no better for train passengers as major engineering work at Farnworth tunnel will see services through the borough reduced to just four per hour on weekdays for that same period between May 2 and October 4. To make matters worse, stations at Farnworth, Kearsley, Moses Gate and Clifton will be closed altogether.

There will also be no services stopping at Bolton train station at weekends during the five-month work period, with a range of replacement buses being offered to passengers.

The work forms part of the £1 billion electrification of the railways in the North West — with extra room needed to fit the new overhead electric lines that are expected to be in operation by the end of 2016.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “Rebuilding Farnworth Tunnel to provide a modern, electrified railway between Manchester and Preston, via Bolton, is one aspect of wider improvements being delivered as part of more than £1bn being invested in the railway in the north of England.

“It is a significant engineering challenge and there is no other way of completing this essential work without impacting on rail services in the area.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this work will cause and while the benefits won’t be realised immediately, the end result will be a better, faster and more reliable railway for decades to come.”

The engineering project will see contractors use a huge machine to bore out the southbound Farnworth tunnel to create a single large tunnel which will eventually see electric trains running in both directions.

The ongoing work will mean that for five months, trains will only be running through the northbound tunnel using a system of bidirectional signals.

With a work site based next to the tunnel, trains will be limited to travelling at just 25 mph through the site and this will mean a maximum of four trains per hour can pass through the area — compared to a usual average of 17 or 18 services.

Trains running through the borough are provided by either Northern Rail or TransPennine Express. A spokesman representing both operators said: “It is thanks to this electrification programme that we will be able to run faster electric trains, with more space by the end of 2016.

“We know from discussions with our customers over the past weeks that capacity is key for them on this line of route. We are currently finalising our timetables but want to ensure we are offering customers as many travel opportunities as possible.

“We appreciate the changes will be disruptive, which is why we are working so closely with Network Rail to keep customers and the local community updated on forthcoming plans.”

The lane closure on the A666 is needed so that contractors can create a new lay-by which will allow vehicles carrying material from the work site to gather enough speed to then join the rest of the traffic on the road.

Once the lay-by is created and the tunnels project begins in May, there will be a 40 mph speed limit in place on the A666 for the safety of vehicles travelling alongside the heavy goods vehicles.

Bolton Council’s executive member for the environment, Cllr Nick Peel, said: “There was a prospect that the one lane might have had to close for the whole five months but the highways engineers have come up with an innovative plan which means it will be five weeks.

“But that will be a period of maximum disruption and people need to be aware of it so they can make alternative arrangements.

“The Farnworth tunnels job needs to be done, because otherwise we won’t get electric trains in Bolton — it is as simple as that, so it is a bit of suffering now for a long-term improvement.”

The A666 has seen other recent closures, with work to repair Raikes Lane Bridge completed a month ahead of schedule and resurfacing work carried out over two separate weekends in March.