A FURIOUS Bolton councillor has accused rail bosses of secretly axing some long distance services which serve the town.

A surprise letter to Bolton Council from Virgin Trains and the Strategic Rail Authority revealed they had agreed to cut the number of Midlands and Scotland bound services stopping at Bolton's Trinity Street Station.

"The letter offered no explanation as to why we had not been consulted," said angry Cllr Guy Harkin, Bolton Council's executive member for the environment.

"It just gave details of the fact that fewer Scotland and Birmingham trains would be stopping at Bolton in future.

"The trains aren't going to stop running -- they're just not going to stop!"

At the moment Bolton has eight trains a day to Scotland -- two to Glasgow and six to Edinburgh.

But on the new timetable, which comes into force on May 18, there will be no Glasgow bound trains, only four going to Edinburgh and two doing the return journey.

On the Birmingham service there are currently seven trains daily each way but in future only one will head to the city from Bolton and three will return.

Cllr Harkin plans to resist the changes and is contacting Bolton's MPs and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.

"We must fight this. It is a kick in the teeth for the region. Good communications are vital," he said.

"There was no consultation with either Bolton Council or the GMPTA, of which I am vice chairman, just a letter out of the blue giving us the timetable details."

A spokesman for Virgin Trains confirmed that services which stop at Bolton have been reduced although he stressed that it is the company's policy to consult over timetable changes with local authorities and other interested parties. He said that similar timetable changes have been made around the country in order to ease over crowding and improve timetable reliability.

"We are focusing our services on longer distance passengers," he added

Bolton West MP Ruth Kelly has also spoken of her shock at the planned cuts.

She said: "Many of my constituents use Bolton station for business and leisure and this reduction in train journeys will significantly limit the times they can travel.

"I will be writing to the SRA and Virgin Trains expressing my dissatisfaction about the manner in which these decisions have been made."

A FURIOUS Bolton councillor has accused rail bosses of secretly axing some long distance services which serve the town.

A surprise letter to Bolton Council from Virgin Trains and the Strategic Rail Authority revealed they had agreed to cut the number of Midlands and Scotland bound services stopping at Bolton's Trinity Street Station.

"The letter offered no explanation as to why we had not been consulted," said angry Cllr Guy Harkin, Bolton Council's executive member for the environment.

"It just gave details of the fact that fewer Scotland and Birmingham trains would be stopping at Bolton in future.

"The trains aren't going to stop running -- they're just not going to stop!"

At the moment Bolton has eight trains a day to Scotland -- two to Glasgow and six to Edinburgh.

But on the new timetable, which comes into force on May 18, there will be no Glasgow bound trains, only four going to Edinburgh and two doing the return journey.

On the Birmingham service there are currently seven trains daily each way but in future only one will head to the city from Bolton and three will return.

Cllr Harkin plans to resist the changes and is contacting Bolton's MPs and the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.

"We must fight this. It is a kick in the teeth for the region. Good communications are vital," he said.

"There was no consultation with either Bolton Council or the GMPTA, of which I am vice chairman, just a letter out of the blue giving us the timetable details."

A spokesman for Virgin Trains confirmed that services which stop at Bolton have been reduced although he stressed that it is the company's policy to consult over timetable changes with local authorities and other interested parties. He said that similar timetable changes have been made around the country in order to ease overcrowding and improve timetable reliability.

"We are focusing our services on longer distance passengers," he added.

Bolton West MP Ruth Kelly has also spoken of her shock at the planned cuts.

She said: "Many of my constituents use Bolton station for business and leisure and this reduction in train journeys will significantly limit the times they can travel.

"I will be writing to the SRA and Virgin Trains expressing my dissatisfaction about the manner in which these decisions have been made."