The North West is now receiving the biggest investment in its railways since the Victorian era. The Conservatives are investing £1Bn in electrifying much of our infrastructure and this will increase rail capacity, cut carbon emissions by 20-30%, and reduce maintenance costs by a third.
In 2005 only a third of Britain’s network was electric and, in thirteen years of Labour Government, only nine miles of additional track was electrified. Bolton has one of the busiest tracks and electrification is essential to increasing capacity but that investment never happened under the last government.
Part of the electrification programme requires work on bridges and tunnels to enable the overhead line to be installed. People using the Lostock, Horwich Parkway and Blackrod stations will travel through the Farnworth tunnels on their way through Bolton and on to Manchester. These tunnels, one built in 1838 and the other in 1880, are now set to be worked on.
The boring machine has a 9m diameter which makes it far larger than the 6m diameter borer used for London’s Crossrail Project. It has being designed and built in Oldham and will weigh 998 tonnes. The investment in local infrastructure has secured local jobs, led to more apprenticeships and some of the kit may even be used for building HS3.