Latest figures show Bolton’s railways have gone from bad to worse with four of the "UK’s worst five stations" falling in the area.

In the four weeks leading up to June 13, Kearsley, Moses Gate, Blackrod and Farnworth all feature in ranking website's Ontimetrains' five "worst of all stations list".

All four of the stations are on the Preston-Manchester line, but Blackrod usually serves the Blackpool North-Manchester Airport service which passes through the other three stations.

The Bolton News revealed last month that Kearsley ranked as the country’s "worst performing station" with 81 per cent of stopping trains delayed or cancelled - but at that time only one other Bolton station joined it in the bottom five.

Fresh figures provide the station’s commuters with even more misery, 82 per cent of services at the "UK’s worst train station" are now delayed or cancelled – in the 28 days leading to May 13.

On June 3 only five per cent of Kearley’s trains arrived on time.

Lostock, Horwich Parkway, Westhoughton and Bolton stations are all in the bottom 15 "worst performing", with 13 of them Northern Rail-operated stations.

Bolton train station remains the worst of the "top 500 busiest in the UK" -  according to the site - with only 30 per cent of its 8,006 daily passengers arriving in the town on time.

Labour Cllr Akhtar Zaman, executive cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Obviously this is very worrying.

"Delayed trains do not help our residents and their everyday activities especially when they are travelling to work, to and from Manchester.

"It's something that needs to be addressed by Northern Rail because [the delays and cancellations] have a very detrimental effect on our local economy.

"Over the years there has been a lot more investment in transport infrastructure in the south than here, and what we are seeing is indicative of that."

A spokesperson for Northern Rail said: “Our performance and reliability in Bolton has not been up to scratch in recent months and for that we have apologised.

"We are actively managing higher levels of staff sickness, and on Sundays, which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours, we have seen a reduction in train crew making themselves available on parts of the network.

"In addition, the ongoing industrial relations issues have their own impact. We continue to work hard with our colleagues and other train operators to improve service reliability.”

The 15 worst train stations in the UK on June 13 according to Ontimetrains are below:

  1. Kearsley
  2. Moses Gate
  3. Penrith
  4. Blackrod
  5. Farnworth
  6. Adlington
  7. Bescar Lane
  8. Lostock
  9. Feniton
  10. Chorley
  11. New Lane
  12. Hoscar
  13. Horwich Parkway
  14. Westhoughton
  15. Bolton