A COLLAPSED tree closed the railway line between Bolton and Manchester this morning.

The obstruction, which Northern Rail said was a 'tree of a substantial nature' at Kearsley, meant that no trains were running in either direction on the line from just after 10am.

Network Rail staff were dispatched to the area and had managed to clear the line by 1pm.

The railway line only re-opened on Wednesday after weeks of closures - caused first by the electrification works at Bolton station and then due to a bridge collapse at Moses Gate.