Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of public transport services operating between Greater Manchester and Bolton.

Regarding train services, this was reviewed as part of the work of the Manchester Taskforce, which concluded that increasing the train lengths to meet capacity was the priority, rather than adding more services, as this would provide an improvement in operational performance. This was implemented as part of the timetable change in December 2022. The successful implementation of this timetable, which has significantly reduced delays within Manchester, is the first phase in the Manchester Taskforce programme. Last month this government announced a further £72m infrastructure package around Manchester Victoria to make train journeys for passengers more reliable in Greater Manchester. In addition, Network Rail are also electrifying the route between Wigan North-Western station and Lostock Junction near Bolton in a £78 million upgrade. Electrifying the route will complement the electrified line between Preston, Bolton and Manchester which was completed in 2019, and the project provides train operators with more operational flexibility to deploy trains to the Wigan and Bolton areas.

With regard to local transport services, the Government has invested over £3.5 billion in buses and light rail since March 2020, including our recently announced package of up to £300 million to protect and improve bus services long-term. The Government believes that Local Transport Authorities, working closely with operators, are best placed to determine the shape and structure of their local transport network to deliver high quality services for passengers.