Bad weather to blame for delays

10:54am Saturday 12th January 2013 in Local

TRACK faults and bad weather have been blamed for train delays at Westhoughton station.

Cllr David Chadwick, Bolton Council’s representative on the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) committee, said he had investigated the issue after receiving a number of complaints from passengers about Northern Rail train services between Westhoughton and Manchester.

He found that recent wet weather and “seasonal adhesion issues”

— such as leaves on the line — had been to blame.

More than 197,000 passengers used the service in between April, 2010 and March, 2011.

Cllr Chadwick also revealed that the Southport to Manchester line passing through the station would have work undertaken in the near future to improve performance.

He said: “Several members of the public have contacted me about the poor services, running through Westhoughton en route to Manchester, in particular the service departing at 9.04am.

“I have drawn the matter to the attention of TfGM officers for investigation.”

He added: “I sincerely hope that we can improve the poorer performing services through Westhoughton in the near future.”

In a reply to Cllr Chadwick, Stephen Clark, TfGM’s rail programme director said: “During the last few weeks the performance on this route has specifically been affected by external weather related factors including flooding, and also by seasonal adhesion issues which trains experience during the autumn period.

“As well as this, a number of track faults have occurred in recent weeks. Following discussion at the Metrolink and rail networks sub-committee at its December meeting, the Southport line will be given some focused attention by the rail industry and all actions explored that could improve performance on this route.” Area director Lee Wasnidge, from Northern Rail — which operates rail services at Westhoughton — said: “This winter has been a particularly difficult period on this route with seasonal adhesion problems and significant flooding issues affecting performance.

“Thanks to close partnership working between Northern Rail, Network Rail and Transport for Greater Manchester, performance on the Southport line is being examined closely to discover how we can address these issues together and encourage improvement.”

Comments (7)

11:25am Sat 12 Jan 13

buskersball says...

bad weather...its been the mildest winter for ages so far! Flooding?Where???
Leaves again????
God help Westhoughton when real bad weather starts then
bad weather...its been the mildest winter for ages so far! Flooding?Where??? Leaves again???? God help Westhoughton when real bad weather starts then buskersball

12:31pm Sat 12 Jan 13

SmoggyDiasboro says...

For the benefit of those who appear tasked with this, 9:04 will still be 9:04 regardless, and next autumn leaves will fall. With 9 months notice surely it should be possible to make the necessary adjustments - even if it means changing the winter. I think everyone would be happier knowing that the service would run at 9:10 reliably rather than continuously late. Interesting however that this goes to the Metrolink Sub-Committee of TFGM - maybe someone should be addressing when the Metrolink service to all parts of Greater Manchester is starting. It's OK connecting up the Tory areas first (Altrincham to Bury) , the rollout to those who need a cheap reliable public transport service (Bolton and Wigan) seems overly delied. Coincidence...I think not
For the benefit of those who appear tasked with this, 9:04 will still be 9:04 regardless, and next autumn leaves will fall. With 9 months notice surely it should be possible to make the necessary adjustments - even if it means changing the winter. I think everyone would be happier knowing that the service would run at 9:10 reliably rather than continuously late. Interesting however that this goes to the Metrolink Sub-Committee of TFGM - maybe someone should be addressing when the Metrolink service to all parts of Greater Manchester is starting. It's OK connecting up the Tory areas first (Altrincham to Bury) , the rollout to those who need a cheap reliable public transport service (Bolton and Wigan) seems overly delied. Coincidence...I think not SmoggyDiasboro

2:59pm Sat 12 Jan 13

boltonnut says...

I don't beleaf this crock of sh!t.
I don't beleaf this crock of sh!t. boltonnut

6:17pm Sat 12 Jan 13

Rocket_Scientist says...

They better get it sorted out quickly because most of the councillors votes come from Daisy Hill where they have invested heavily in allowing building houses over the years and invested in the infrastructure of the station.
They better get it sorted out quickly because most of the councillors votes come from Daisy Hill where they have invested heavily in allowing building houses over the years and invested in the infrastructure of the station. Rocket_Scientist

2:57am Sun 13 Jan 13

bwfc58 says...

Will this stupid council of ours get away with this bloody greater manchester name .we are still and all ways be part of .LANCASHIRE. and as for the train services in Bolton .Lancashire they are a Disgrace .rain snow leaves sunny to dry . but lets put the rail fares up . why
Dont people in this country wake up and do some thing about it . Vote UKIP. they are he only party that would get this country back to where it once was . lower taxes and better services
Will this stupid council of ours get away with this bloody greater manchester name .we are still and all ways be part of .LANCASHIRE. and as for the train services in Bolton .Lancashire they are a Disgrace .rain snow leaves sunny to dry . but lets put the rail fares up . why Dont people in this country wake up and do some thing about it . Vote UKIP. they are he only party that would get this country back to where it once was . lower taxes and better services bwfc58

1:35pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Beyond News Forum says...

Oh it's not just the trains...

Is it me or does anyone else feel sorry for the Scandinavians who must have an absolute nightmare for much of the years with their transports systems?

The problem is this... greedy fat controllers, no real structured investment on rail services or the transport infrastructure in general to combat situations such as winter, that this country has had issues with well... since more or less the last ice-age!

PMSL - how on Earth is anybody expected to believe anything that comes out of the mouths of the rail owners/government/co
uncil/regulators etc. FFS we have a winter every year...

You see what happens is this... money gets siphoned off to CEO's and shareholders, the rest is a cheap overhaul that is basically just patching up until the next financial year. Then they do it all over again.

Too much money is spent on the southern lines and lines that go to that other country London.

Honestly how the hell the US got it right with AMTRAK that travels through some seriously rough terrain and weather. The British rail system is absolutely pathetic, and so are the roads.

We have seen a systemic abuse of power, money and investment and it boils down to that stinky word 'privatization'!

Like I said it is not just the rail system... its the bloody think in the UK. A dusting of snow, a dash of ice and the whole place comes to a standstill.

Every year people! EVERY YEAR it is the same old same old... it is totally pathetic!

The roads are not even build proper in the first place, they simply crumble under that dusting of snow and ice. Roads should be lasting years not weeks or months before they become full of potholes. Very thin layers of low quality asphalt...

The rail industry is completely 3rd world...
Oh it's not just the trains... Is it me or does anyone else feel sorry for the Scandinavians who must have an absolute nightmare for much of the years with their transports systems? The problem is this... greedy fat controllers, no real structured investment on rail services or the transport infrastructure in general to combat situations such as winter, that this country has had issues with well... since more or less the last ice-age! PMSL - how on Earth is anybody expected to believe anything that comes out of the mouths of the rail owners/government/co uncil/regulators etc. FFS we have a winter every year... You see what happens is this... money gets siphoned off to CEO's and shareholders, the rest is a cheap overhaul that is basically just patching up until the next financial year. Then they do it all over again. Too much money is spent on the southern lines and lines that go to that other country London. Honestly how the hell the US got it right with AMTRAK that travels through some seriously rough terrain and weather. The British rail system is absolutely pathetic, and so are the roads. We have seen a systemic abuse of power, money and investment and it boils down to that stinky word 'privatization'! Like I said it is not just the rail system... its the bloody think in the UK. A dusting of snow, a dash of ice and the whole place comes to a standstill. Every year people! EVERY YEAR it is the same old same old... it is totally pathetic! The roads are not even build proper in the first place, they simply crumble under that dusting of snow and ice. Roads should be lasting years not weeks or months before they become full of potholes. Very thin layers of low quality asphalt... The rail industry is completely 3rd world... Beyond News Forum

1:39pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Beyond News Forum says...

WOW typos are my thing at the moment!
WOW typos are my thing at the moment! Beyond News Forum

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