TRAINS will be back to normal in Bolton next week after First North Western announced that it would be reinstating its full timetable from Monday.

The company is to run its entire daily timetable of nearly 1,500 services throughout the North-west and North Wales following months of cancellations and delays.

The 29 services that have been cancelled since September 2002 are being restored following the negotiation of a new rest-day working agreement with ASLEF, the train drivers' union.

An extra 100 drivers are being trained, which means that drivers will no longer need to work on their rest days in future. Another dispute over pay, which led to strikes, was settled some time ago.

Managing director Vernon Barker said: "We are aware of the disruptive effect on our passengers of the industrial action and amended timetable and regret the inconvenience. We are delighted that all of our services are being reinstated."

and look forward to being able to offer our usual level of service once again."

The industrial action began last summer with a series of mid-week, 48-hour strikes. This was followed with a number of weekend strikes, which also affected commuters travelling over the New Year holidays.