START A DIRECT TRAIN SERVICE BETWEEN BOLTON AND LONDON

(As well as signing the petition please don't forget to click confirm in the email that you receive too in order to confirm your support)

There are no direct trains between Bolton and London despite significant demand. This hugely impacts the people and economy of Bolton and surrounding economic areas. 

Despite being a huge town that is larger than many cities with a population of more than 265,000 people, Bolton still has no direct train line with London. Instead people from Bolton are forced to catch a train to Wigan or Manchester to then catch a different train to London. This is both costly and time consuming and increases the risk of being impacted by delays. 

Moreover Bolton is connected to the West Coast Mainline which runs from Glasgow to London so there is no requirement to build any new railway lines. Direct London trains stop in nearby towns and cities such as Wigan, Preston, Warrington, Stockport, Wimslow etc but not Bolton. 

In fact Virgin Trains applied to operate on the West Coast Mainline starting from as soon as 2025 and their plans included adding Bolton and Horwich Parkway as  stops.  However the Office for Rail & Road (ORR) made the decision to reject this proposal in July 2025. It was highlighted there could be too much congestion on rail lines but this is definitely a solvable problem and not a blocker. 

Link: https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/rail-regulator-rejects-west-coast-main-line-applications-due-insufficient-capacity

Not only would this have added a stop in Bolton but more competition could have reduced prices and improved quality.  Trains between London and Manchester/Wigan and Bolton can often be as much as £300-400 during peak times (and mostly over £200) return. This is more than some long haul flights. 

Potential benefits include to Bolton and the people of Bolton of having a direct Bolton <> London train service: 

• This could give students direct access to careers events, networking events, internships and much more to help boost their career prospects in Europe's largest and best jobs market (London). Without this direct service the next generation of youth in Bolton and surrounding areas will be adversely impacted when it comes to access to careers opportunities. The vast majority of excellent opportunities for young people are in London. 
• This could benefit home BWFC and away football fans as they commute to and from matches between Bolton and London / the South. 
• Locally based businesses could benefit by having more direct access to London based conferences and networking events generating more opportunities. Moreover Bolton based businesses in many cases have offices and clients in other parts of the UK and in London so a direct service would be beneficial. 
• Job seekers would have better access to London enabling them to explore more opportunities 
• Families benefit as they can plan day / weekend trips with children with direct access to London where there can be some amazing events for everyone all year around and especially during the Summer holidays. 
• People with disabilities who are hesitant to travel can benefit from a smoother train ride directly to London to take advantage of any work opportunities, events or social activities. 
• Senior citizens who want to visit friends, family and explore London would benefit from direct and convenient services
• The cost of travel nowadays (along with everything else) is so high and increasing so this could help to cut the cost of travel - especially if there are multiple competing train service providers 
• London feels like a city that is so far away in the distance due to poor transport links from Bolton. As such people from Bolton have little interest in taking advantage of the great opportunities (work & social) that London can offer - and this has become the norm. So a direct service may help to break this and would make the UK's capital city feel closer and more accessible should people want to travel to London more frequently without it feeling like endless travelling. 
• A direct train service to Bolton could bring more commuters and consumers to Bolton town centre which in turn may help to increase spending and investment into the town centre.
• Schools could organise school trips to London more easily to visit some great museums, galleries, historical places and much more. This in turn could broaden horizons
• Potentially could open up the opportunity for people to better access flights from airports such as London Heathrow which has direct flights to countless destinations around the world (rather than only having the option to take indirect flights from Manchester with long transits). 

Overall it is in the interest of everyone in Bolton to have a direct train service to / from London. It would bring tremendous long term benefits to the town and it's people. 

There has been a lot of talk of 'Levelling Up' and investing in the North but if places like Bolton are not connected to London directly then this is not really possible. Paris has better access to London than Bolton and as such people from France can and do commute to London daily for excellent working opportunities. 

***Please sign this petition to request the relevant bodies and organisations to start a direct train between Bolton and London***

You will also receive an email once you sign it. To complete your support you also need to click confirm in the email that you receive (also check junk inbox)

For any enquiries or support or ideas please email kasrali@hotmail.com