Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham welcomed the news railway ticket offices will not close saying they are a vital to the people of Greater Manchester.

He said: “The closures would have had a devastating effect on lots of people and places.

“Many of these ticket offices are at the heart of their communities.

“The Government is trying to put our railways into managed decline, and they cannot be allowed to succeed.”

Bolton Pensioners' Association staged a campaign against the closures.

The Bolton News: Andy Burnham at Bolton Interchange

Mr Burnham said: “The people have made their voices clear on why they do not want to close the ticket offices.

“The ticket offices are an important part of the community as people go in there for help and information and reassurance when using railways.

“The proposal was highly discriminatory against people with disabilities and closing them would have been a massive loss.”

In September, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested closing ticket offices was “the right thing for the British public and British taxpayers” as “only one in 10 tickets are sold currently in ticket offices”.

The plans would have led to the permanent closure of 1,000 tickets offices across the country, with Farnworth, Lostock Parkway and Bromley Cross all listed amongst those facing the axe and the ticket office at Bolton Station in the town centre would operate under reduced hours.

In Bromley Cross, Cllr Nadim Muslim said: "We’re thrilled that our campaign has been successful in saving the Bromley Cross train station ticket office, which was launched earlier in the year alongside Cllr Samantha Connor and Cllr Amy Cowen.

“Over 100 local residents backed our campaign and that shows the strength of feeling about this vital service. The loss of the ticket office would have hugely impacted the elderly and vulnerable in our area, so we’re pleased the Secretary of State for Transport has listened to us.

“We will always fight to protect local services that are currently available to residents of Bromley Cross and Egerton and saving the ticket office at the train station is just one example of that.”

The plans were scrapped after Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the Government has asked train operators to withdraw their proposals.