Plans for Golborne’s new railway station are moving on, with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) agreeing next steps, and a planning application expected to be submitted soon.
The Golborne station scheme forms part of a significant investment locally to support GMCA’s ambitions to make local rail an integral part of the Bee Network – Greater Manchester’s vision for a joined-up London-style public transport system.
A public consultation into the plans earlier this year showed that 93% of the 3,000 respondents backed the scheme – 84% saying they did so “strongly”.
At a meeting held in Leigh on Friday, 27 September, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham – a long time supporter of the project – said: “Lowton and Golborne is the largest and most populace area in Greater Manchester without rail connectivity. So the proposal for a Golborne Station is based on extremely sound evidnence and huge progress has been made, with a recommendation going to ministers soon.”
CGI image shows how the new Golborne Station might look from the air
But Andy Burnham did acknowledge that the plans do impact a number of residents, whose gardens are next to the new station platform, as well as a local business premises and St Thomas’s School – all of which may be required to lose some land in order to make the plans work.
Mr Burnham said that Transport for Greater Manchester must now consider land assembly options, including Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO), which he admitted “no one would want” and that “we need to be fair”, but which might become neccessary to ensure the scheme is delivered without delay.
What happens next?
Golborne New Station has been categorised as a ‘Retained’ scheme (on the grounds of Network integration). Therefore, the Department for Transport (DfT) will need to approve the business case. It is expected that the DfT will make a recommendation to Government ministers to progress and a formal decision is anticipated sometime this Autumn.
Meanwhile, work is currently taking place to prepare for submission of the planning application by Wigan Council, land
negotiations and a tender for the detailed design and build.
It is hoped that the station will be open to passengers by 2027.
Golborne currently has no direct bus, train or tram services to Manchester, so train services would reduce journey times into Manchester city centre by up to 30 minutes.
The proposed station would be on the West Coast Main Line, five miles south of Wigan North Western station and one mile north of Golborne Junction – near to the site of the previous Golborne Station. Services would run to both Wigan and Manchester from the station – initially with one service an hour.
You can find out more about the proposals for the new station on the Transport for Greater Manchester website.
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