CHORLEY commuters will receive a real boost when the town's state-of-the art travel interchange finally opens this weekend.

The first bus will leave at around 8am on Sunday, March 23, from the £2.5 million development, designed to integrate bus, taxi, cycle and rail travel.

Chorley's old bus station in Union Street, built in the 1960s, will close immediately and will be re-developed alongside a new Wetherspoon's pub and Booths Supermarket, opening in the former sorting office.

The joint Lancashire County Council and Chorley Borough Council project includes electronic passenger information boards, CCTV coverage, a travel information office, toilets and baby changing facilities and a Shopmobility service.

A newsagent and cafe are due to be opened in the next few weeks. Project manager Jane Meek, head of regeneration at the local council, said: "It's a vast improvement on the old station.

"Passengers will feel much safer in the enclosed waiting area and there will always be a member of staff on duty during opening hours.

"It's a facility for the 21st century and will bring taxis, buses, cycles and pedestrians together under one roof, and it's right opposite the train station so it's handy for rail users.

"There will even be a satellite Shopmobility service, so disabled or elderly passengers will find it easier to use public transport.

"It's been uniquely designed to fit in with the surrounding conservation area and we're really pleased it's finished."

Work to complete offices and landscaping will continue for some time after the opening of the interchange into the Spring.